Our Board. 2023.
Melanie Ryan
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Melanie Ryan has been a resident of Elk Township, Chester County for 25 years and a board member of the Elk Creeks Watershed Association to 20 years.
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Melanie earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Rutgers University in Landscape Architecture/Environmental Planning and Design. She has worked in civil engineering firms as a land planner and project manager for over 25 years.
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Melanie serves on the Elk Township Planning Commission, Open Space Committee and the Oxford Area Regional Planning Commission.
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"Water is the source of all life. Clean water is necessary for our existence. When we make water resources protection our priority, other quality of life issues are resolved."
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Denis Newbold
Vice President.
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Denis is an aquatic biologist with the Stroud Research Center in Avondale, Pennsylvania. His research focuses on nutrient cycles in stream ecosystems. Denis’ primary interests include the transfer of nutrients from small headwater streams to larger rivers and the role of streamside forests in maintaining stream habitat and improving water quality. He serves on the Board of the Chester County Water Authority and on the Penn Township Planning Commission. Denis graduated from Swarthmore College in Engineering, received a Master of Science in Hydrology from Cornell University, and a Ph. D. from the University of California at Berkeley in Aquatic Biology.
Kevin Warren has been a resident of Elk Township for 19 years, and he joined the ECWA board in 2020. He is a Master Watershed Steward and a registered professional engineer and energy efficiency consultant. His company, Warren Energy Engineering, supports energy efficiency and climate change mitigation efforts in several states and countries. An avid hiker and fisherman, his passion for the environment has been lifelong but his interest in local watershed issues developed more recently. He is also a member of the Chester County Energy and Environmental Advisory Board, the Oxford Regional Planning Commission’s Volunteer Environmental Advisory Council, and the Elk Township Open Space Committee.
Kevin Warren
President.
Sherrie Robinson
Treasurer
Sherrie moved to Elk Township in 2011 and joined ECWA in January 2022. Her Bachelors degree in Finance led her to a 20 year career with Wilmington Trust Company/M&T Bank, working with pension plans, mutual funds/investments, and Family Office services. She assisted with opening up a private firm specializing in Family Office services in Greenville, DE prior to devoting her full time to her 7 acre farm south of Oxford. A native of England, Sherrie’s interests revolve mostly around outdoor pursuits (gardening, tennis/pickleball, birdwatching, skiing) and animals. Locally she currently volunteers with SILO as well as Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research.
Rachel Roberts
Secretary.
Rachel Roberts lives Upper Oxford Township, and has lived in southern Chester County for 7 years. Rachel joined ECWA in 2018. A graduate of the American University of Paris with two Masters, in Social Research and Law and Social Policy from Bryn Mawr College, she is the President of the American Mushroom Institute. Rachel grew up in northern Chester County and lived and worked in Philadelphia for over 20 years. She serves on the Chester County Agriculture Council, the Chester County Energy and Environmental Advisory Board, and the E. Kneale Dockstader Foundation Board. Rachel loves nature and outdoors sports: she is an avid birder, hunter-jumper horseback rider, and loves bass-fishing, skiing, and "birding while hunting."
Ralph Churchill
​Ralph has lived in West Grove, Penn Township, for six years and has served on ECWA's Board for two. Currently retired, Ralph is an Instrument Engineer, and has worked in the instrument field for over forty years. His expertise is in the design and installation of on line sample and measuring systems. Ralph has applied his designs over a wide range of industries, all over the world. Raplh is a Master Watershed Steward and a Master Gardener.
Jennifer McCarthy, PhD
Jen and her family have been residents of Elk Township since 2011 and have enjoyed hiking, recreating and fishing along the Big Elk and Little Elk Creeks.
Jen received a degree in Zoology from Colorado State University and then studied the ecology of Atlantic Salmon in Norway for her Master’s degree. For her Ph.D. work she researched wild cat species in Indonesia, but retained a strong interest in aquatic ecology. Jen is currently an Associate Professor in the Biology Department at Lincoln University where she teaches various courses in the fields of Ecology and Environmental Science. While her own research is still focused on the conservation of wild cat species internationally, she has worked with students locally to assess water quality in the Little Elk Creek as well as several other ecological projects within the watershed. Jen joined the board of the Elk Creeks Watershed Association in 2023.