Staff

Heather McMann, Executive Director

Heather began consulting with Groundwork Lawrence in December 2005, joined the staff as Operations Director in 2006 and became Executive Director in 2009. She has spent almost 20 years in the nonprofit sector building community and individual assets and she holds a breadth of experience in nonprofit management, with a focus on preparing organizations for growth. Heather received her MBA from The Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and her BA from Smith College. Beyond GWL, she serves as a board member of Groundwork USA and the MA Public Health Association, an Essex National Heritage Area commissioner, a Haverhill Brownfields Steering Commission member, and volunteers with the Merrimack Valley Sandbox. In 2010 Heather was honored to be one of the YWCA of Greater Lawrence Tribute to Women Awardees and to be included in the Irish Echo's Top 40 Under 40. Contact Heather at hmcmann @ groundworklawrence.org or ext. 7009.

Amanda Cochrane, Development Director

Amanda joined Groundwork Lawrence in 2012 and has taken on the new role of Development Director. As a resident of Lawrence, Amanda personally values the work Groundwork Lawrence does to improve access to fresh local food, as well as the environmental improvements that have been created in the city. She is also passionate about programs that respect and support the voices of youth such as GWL’s Green Team; she has worked in various capacities for organizations that seek to empower youth including her role as Coordinator for Youth and Community Education at a domestic and sexual violence crisis center. Amanda cares deeply about increasing the capacity of the non-profit sector and has played many different roles in non-profits for the last eleven years, most recently in fundraising at a large organization in Boston. Amanda is a Board Member at the YWCA of Greater Lawrence and is Treasurer of Hermanos Por La Salud, an organization which raises money to support public health, education and economic development initiatives in rural Nicaragua. She earned her BA from Colby College in Government and Creative Writing and an MBA from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandies University in non-profit management. Contact Amanda at acochrane @ groundworklawrence.org or ext. 7007.

Brad Buschur, Project Director

Brad is responsible for managing the community input, design, and construction of landscape and infrastructure improvements, including the Spicket River Greenway, Merrimack Riverwalk Trail, Bradford Rail Trail, and community and schoolyard garden sites. He is overseeing GWL's expanding role in supporting low-impact development (LID) practices and economic development in the city and implementing Lawrence's Open Space and Recreation Plan. Brad most recently worked as a Project Coordinator for Cabot, Cabot & Forbes in Boston, MA where he coordinated the firm’s build to suit projects, leasing of existing properties and prepared feasibility studies for multifamily housing development. Previously he worked as a Landscape Designer on park projects in Boston as well as large commercial and institutional projects in Russia and Pakistan and as a Land Protection and Conservation Associate with The Nature Conservancy. Brad holds a BA in Urban Planning and Political Science from Miami University and a Masters in Landscape Architecture from University of Massachusetts. Contact Brad at bbuschur @ groundworklawrence.org or ext. 7003.

Lindsey Cotter-Hayes, Program Director

Lindsey joined the GWL staff in November 2012, filling the new role of Program Director. In this capacity, she manages both youth and adult education initiatives and programming in stewardship, environmental education, and healthy food production and access. Lindsey most recently worked as the Director of Education for the Urban Ecology Institute (UEI), where her work focused on teacher professional development, developing inquiry based field studies curriculum and engaging young people in authentic scientific research to inspire enthusiasm for creating positive change in the health of the environment and local communities. Prior to her work at UEI, Lindsey taught both middle and high school science, was the Director of Curriculum for Shackleton School, and developed and taught a semester abroad program in Ecuador for Global Quest. Lindsey has participated in field research related to population dynamics and behavior of marine mammals, bird nesting behavior and predation in island communities, botany and invasive species growth and control, and conducted ground truthings and keystone species research in the American Southwest. Lindsey also has extensive experience in youth development, agriculture, and in wilderness naturalist education, working for the National Park Service; leading youth trail crews throughout the United States; as an assistant grower for many summers; and as a Registered Maine Guide leading expeditions on land and ocean. She received her B.A. in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic and her M.S. in Environmental Education from Lesley University. Contact her at lcotterhayes @ groundworklawrence.org or ext. 7013.

Rosa Pina, Outreach and Events Manager

Born and raised in Venezuela with Dominican parents, Rosa came to live to the U.S. in her teens. After living in Lawrence for 10 years and working closely with the community at Greater Lawrence Family Health Center (GLFHC), Rosa moved to Florida where she was involved in working with the underprivileged Spanish population. She became a spokesperson for the Healthy Start Coalition of South West Floria, promoting health and safety in local TV programs on Telemundo and Univision channels. Rosa has a long history of participating in numerous charitable programs, fundraisers, and non-profit organizations such as the United Way, and has worked closely with the local health department. Rosa is an eager pro-community person, who enjoys working closely with residents. She recently returned to Lawrence after 11 years and looks forward to re-integrating herself into the city. In December 2011 Rosa was sworn in as a Committee Member of Semana Hispana (Hispanic Week), an event with 34 years of tradition that celebrates Lawrence's Latino heritage and culture. Rosa is very happy to become a member of the GWL team. Contact Rosa at rpina @ groundworklawrence.org or ext. 7001.

Tracy Sopchak, Development Manager

Tracy began volunteering with Groundwork Lawrence in 2010 through Jericho Road Lawrence before joining the staff as the Development Manager later that year. Tracy brings technical expertise in engineering and software development from a previous career in the corporate realm. She transitioned to environmental sustainability and justice grant-writing work through volunteer involvement in local organizations during the 6 years that she stayed at-home with her son. She received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University and her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. Contact Tracy at tsopchak @ groundworklawrence.org or ext. 7005.

Mary Beth Burwood, Education Program Coordinator

Mary Beth joined Groundwork in March 2013 as the Education Program Coordinator. Mary Beth’s work focuses on leading our high school youth employment program, Green Team in open space stewardship, community building, and healthy food access projects throughout the City. In addition, as part of the education team, she develops and implements garden and environmental education programs throughout numerous schools and nonprofits in Lawrence, and helps to implement vacation and summer educational programming. Mary Beth graduated from University of Massachusetts Lowell in 2012 with a B.A. in Psychology and a specialization in Developmental Disabilities. During her time there she joined the Merrimack Valley Sandbox and the DifferenceMakers program in order to develop and launch the first school gardening program in Lowell, MA. She spent two years working with middle school students to improve their connection to healthy food and sustainability. In her free time, Mary Beth enjoys snowboarding, biking, and camping throughout New England. Contact Mary Beth at mburwood @ groundworklawrence.org or ext. 7011.

Noreen Marton, Finance Manager

Noreen joined the GWL team in early 2012 and manages the finances of the organization. Prior to coming to Groundwork, she worked as a programmer at Wang Laboratories and as the staff accountant at Esped.com, Inc. Now at GWL, she maintains bookkeeping records for the office, manages payroll, prepares financial reports, and maintains the non-profit filings, among other tasks. Outside of work she is on the board of two organizations: ABC House in Andover (for which she is the Treasurer) and Habitat for Humanity.Noreen received a B.S. in mathematics from UMass Lowell and an M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Contact Noreen at nmarton @ groundworklawrence.org or ext. 7008.

Maria Natera, Healthy Living Programs Manager

Maria joined the team of GWL as a LISC AmeriCorps member in September 2010 and became the Healthy Living Programs Manager in the fall 2012. She is currently managing the development and implementation of a series of healthy living workshops for the Lawrence community, is working to strengthen the growing community gardener network, and expanding the city's tree canopy through GreenStreets and other tree plantings. Originally from the Dominican Republic, Maria moved to New York in 1993 and six years later to Lawrence, where she received her Associate’s degree in Psychology and Social Work from Northern Essex Community College and then completed a B.S. in Psychology at UMass Lowell. Maria is a passionate and committed member of the Lawrence community and says she loves to work with children “because they are the future.” When she is not at the Groundwork office, she is a volunteer at Lawrence CommunityWorks. Contact Maria at mnatera @ groundworklawrence.org or ext. 7006.

Benjamin Padilla, MassLIFT AmeriCorps Member

Ben joined GWL in September of 2012 as a MassLIFT AmeriCorps service member. Ben works closely with the community, doing outreach and service learning events and park/garden improvement projects. Ben grew up locally in Haverhill, MA where he spent many summers exploring the local trails on his bike. He graduated from Gordon College in Wenham, MA with a B.S. in Biology in 2010, and moved on to The Ohio State University where he graduated with a Masters of Science in 2012 where he studied landscape level structure and movement dynamics of urban bird populations in Columbus, OH. Ben spends much of his free time cycling competitively. Contact Ben at bpadilla @ groundworklawrence.org or ext. 7010.

The Green Team

The Groundwork Lawrence Green Team is a year-round program that offers part-time, paid employment for 10 - 20 Lawrence high school students each year. Members learn about and lead local environmental and healthy community initiatives, conduct research, grow food, raise awareness, challenge their peers to do community service and participate in hands-on improvement projects throughout the city. The program is intended to promote the protection and restoration of Lawrence’s critical ecological systems, natural resources and public health by engaging teens in advocacy and service-learning focused on the community’s parks, streets, gardens, waterways and vacant open spaces. The Green Team program has dual goals: to prepare Lawrence’s youth for a lifetime of environmental and healthy community leadership, and to invest in Lawrence’s future capacity to improve its physical environment.