FRIENDS of HERRING RIVER
This year’s annual meeting of the Friends of Herring River will be held Tuesday August
17 at 4 pm at the Wellfleet COA building. At that time, The Friends of Herring River will hold
their annual election for Board members and officers.
A brief biographical sketch of each candidate follows:
CANDIDATES for NEW BOARD APPOINTMENT:
Debby Freeman. This year Debbie Freeman became a part time Wellfleet resident, retiring from
a 30 plus year career as a labor and employment trial lawyer. She and her husband Andy live in
Indian Neck where they bike, walk the marsh, woods and beaches, kayak, or swim in the Bay
almost every day. They have been coming to Wellfleet for over 40 years and intend to live in
Wellfleet and become part of this community. Debby has been appointed to the Town's
Personnel Task Force and also wants to work to maintain and restore the amazing natural beauty
that makes Wellfleet a gem.
Barbara Brennessel. Barbara Brennessel has been a non-resident tax-payer in Wellfleet since
1978. Trained as a biochemist at Fordham and Cornell, she has been a member of the Wheaton
College faculty since 1980. She has studied Diamond Back Terrapins, river herring and shellfish
in Wellfleet; in each case, she has written a book about the subject. Barbara is a member of the
Shellfish Advisory Committee in Wellfleet.
Bob Prescott. Bob Prescott is the Director of Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
on Cape Cod, where he is actively involved in coastal issues and research. He has a degree in
wildlife biology from the University of Massachusetts and has studied such diverse topics as
whale strandings, harbor seal distribution around Cape Cod, and, most recently, the home ranges
of box turtles. Bob is also Massachusetts coordinator for the Northeast Sea Turtle Stranding
Network. His particular interests include seabirds and coastal ecosystems. Bob has led natural
history and birding tours throughout the world, including Baja, Costa Rica, the Galápagos
Islands, Churchill, Antarctica, Belize, and Big Bend, Texas. Bob has a lifelong connection with
Cape Cod, currently residing in Orleans.
CANDIDATE for RE-ELECTION to a full three year term:
John Riehl. John Riehl was trained as a chemist. He spent the bulk of his career in the
chemical industry, retiring in 1999. He is currently active in a variety of environmental activities
in Massachusetts. From 2006-2008 he was a member of the Herring River Technical Committee,
planning the restoration of the Herring River salt marshes in Wellfleet, MA.
RETURNING BOARD MEMBERS not requiring re-election:
Lisbeth Wiley Chapman. Lisbeth Wiley Chapman consults to financial services
professionals and investment management firms on public relations and marketing issues from
her home office in Wellfleet. She is currently consulting on PR and serving as the Event Planner
for Seashore Point, Provincetown, the outer Cape's only full-service retirement community. In
addition, she has served on numerous non-profit boards, including building of Truro’s new
playground, Truro’s Tercentennial Celebration, and Friends of Herring River, developing
communications and public relations activities to build community support for those
organizations. She holds a leadership position as Junior Warden at the Church of St. Mary of the
Harbor (Episcopal) in Provincetown.
Barbara Gray. Barbara Gray has been an environmentalist during her career. She served
on the Framingham Planning Board and now sits on the Wellfleet Planning Board. During her
time in the Massachusetts state legislature she was a key author of C. 40A., the Zoning Act, and
she also sponsored the Rivers Protection Act, the Open Space Bond Bill, Title 5 legislation, and
an Act to Control Invasive Species. Ms. Gray founded the Friends of the Sudbury River and is
an Overseer of the New England Wildflower Society.
Jeff Hughes. Jeff Hughes is a longtime resident of Wellfleet and currently serves as its
Herring Warden, a position encompassing a broad range of activities designed to protect the
Town’s herring run, educate students and the community about the importance of the herring run
to the ecology of the region, and enlist community participation in its maintenance and
restoration.
Gary Joseph. Gary Joseph has been a volunteer involved in the environmental protection
of Wellfleet for thirty years. Mr. Joseph is a former member and chairman of The Wellfleet
Conservation Commission, a founding member of the Wellfleet Conservation Trust and currently
the Chairman of the Herring River Restoration Committee.
Donald J. Palladino. Following a career as an officer in the US Army Corps of
Engineers, Don Palladino worked in the private sector and then for the past 21 years for an
international non-profit and as a volunteer since moving to Wellfleet full time in 2006. He
serves on the Town Zoning Board of Appeals, is President of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish
Pastoral Council, President of Friends of Herring River and Treasurer of Wellfleet Conservation
Trust.
John Portnoy. Dr. John Portnoy worked as a National Park Service ecologist on Cape
Cod for 29 years, during which time he volunteered on various Town of Wellfleet committees.
He recently retired, but he continues to volunteer for Cape Cod National Seashore and serves on
the Wellfleet Open Space Committee and on the board of Friends of Herring River.
The officer candidates are:
 Don Palladino – President
 Barbara Gray – Vice-President
 John Riehl – Treasurer.
All three are the current incumbent in their position.
August 2010