(Annual Meeting, 2021)
DENNIS CONSERVATION LAND TRUST BOARD OF TRUSTEES – PROFILES
JOSEPH MASSE President, Joe Masse is the former President of the Customer Support group at Warner Lambert/Pfizer. Locally, Joe has served on the Bass River Park Use Committee, Save the Crowe, Fire Chief Search Committee, and the Dennis Port Public Library Building Committee. He also serves as a Board member of the Jacob Sears Library.
CONNIE BECHARD Connie, a full time resident of Dennis for nearly 50 years, was a founding member of the Trust. Connie has a degree in Zoology from University of Massachusetts, is a past member and Chair of the Dennis Planning Board, and served on the Dennis Land Acquisition Committee.
CAROLE BELL Carole is an eleventh generation Cape Codder and a founding member of the Trust. She is a past member of the Beach Committee and the Arts & Cultural Council. Carole currently is the President of the Village Improvement Society (VIS) of Dennis, which owns the village green, children’s playground and the Revolutionary Soldier’s Training Field. In 2004, the VIS partnered with the town of Dennis to un-develop a former gas station and create a pocket park, known as Nobscussett Park.
MARK BURGESS Mark lives and works in Dennis. He spent all of his childhood summers and some years in college working in Dennis. He graduated in 1984 with a degree in Ocean Engineering, and after working for various firms in California, moved back here in 1996 to be with his family. Mark has been a consulting engineer since 2008. Mark enjoys camping, all kinds of paddling, and the outdoors in general.
DIANNE CALLAN Dianne joined the DCLT Board in 2012. Dianne has a background in environmental law and lives year-round in South Dennis.
KATIE CLANCY Katie is a native Cape Codder and Dennis resident. Katie graduated from University of Massachusetts with a degree in Zoology and has a master’s degree in Education from Lesley College. Katie owns the Cape House at William and Raveis Real Estate. Katie involvement with the Trust started with volunteering with the Summer Auction.
FRANK DAHLSTROM Frank has been a citizen of the Town of Dennis for over 30 years. He has previously served on the Comprehensive Planning Committee, the Dennis Planning Board, the Dennis Sign Code Committee, as well as the Save the Crowe CPC Committee. Presently he is a member of the Community Preservation Committee. Dr. Dahlstrom has a dental practice in Dennis Village and lives in East Dennis with his wife, Shawn, an artist.
DORRIA DIMANNO Dorria is Professor Emerita in Communications at Curry College, retiring after more than 25 years of teaching. Previous to that, she worked in broadcast television, as well as independent and corporate media production. She holds degrees in media studies and public relations from Sacred Heart University and Boston University, and a doctorate in education from Johnson & Wales University. Dorria recently stepped down from the Dennis Planning Board and the Community Preservation Committee after serving for nearly two decades. She is a member of the Zoning Bylaw Study Committee and the Old South Dennis Village Association Board of Directors, and drives for Meals on Wheels in Dennis. Dorria is committed to conservation and preserving community character, and is especially concerned about overdevelopment. She is most passionate about her grandchildren, film, environmental issues, and baseball.
THOMAS DINGMAN Tom has worked in the administration of Harvard College for forty-five years, most recently as Dean of Freshmen. His family started the Mashantum Tennis Club in town; they, like he, have been committed to preserving open space and raising awareness about the environment.
CHRISTOPHER FOLEY Chris Foley leads the Finance Committee at the DCLT, and comes to the Trust from a successful career as a physician and having managed a large medical practice in Connecticut. He and his wife live in East Dennis, and is a master woodworker in his spare time.
KATHLEEN FOWLER Kathleen has been practicing law in Dennis MA for over twenty-five years. Her focus is on estate and tax planning and estate administration. Kathleen moved to Dennis in 1998, and along with her husband and two sons, all live and work on Cape Cod. For fun, Kathleen paints, throws pots, and makes mosaics.
RICHARD JOHNSTON Richard Johnston is a founding trustee of DCLT and served as president from 1997 to 2015. He also served as president of the Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trust’s from 2000 to 2015. Since 2015, Rich has been Chief Legal Counsel to Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and oversees, among other responsibilities, enforcement of the state’s environmental laws. Previously, Rich was a longtime partner in the Boston office of the international law firm WilmerHale, where he specialized in business litigation and arbitration as well as environmental law. He also was involved in several nonprofit and pro bono efforts in Africa regarding education, economic development and land rights of indigenous peoples.
BOB LAUFER Bob has lived in Dennis for years. He was the Chief Financial Officer for Stratus Technologies, a leading global provider of continuously available solutions for mission critical applications. He earned a B.S. degree from Babson College and a master’s degree in business administration from F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business.
PAUL McCORMICK Paul is a restaurant owner and entrepreneur in the town of Dennis, who also serves on the Town of Dennis Select Board. He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of the town and Cape business community to the DCLT and serves as a Co-Chair of the Events Committee.
NORMAN TAUPEKA Norm, a native of Haverhill, has been a resident of Dennis since the 1970s, starting out as a summer vacationer with his wife and family. After graduation from Worcester Polytechnic Institute he was a Signal Corps officer, and then became a career engineer for the Army Tactical Data Systems for the U.S. Communications-Electronics Command at Fort Monmouth, NJ. In addition, he was awarded a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Upon retirement, he became a “Wash-a-Shore” resident in East Dennis. Since moving to the Cape, he has been president of the Quivet Neck Homeowners Association for 10 years, and he has also served for six years as a director of the Friends of the Dennis Senior Citizens. He started his support in conservation activities twenty years ago as a principal member of the Crowe’s Pasture initiative to “Save the Crowe” and preserve thirty acres in Quivet Neck, which could have led to the commercial development of this precious land, but now has been preserved forever for natural conservation purposes thanks to his involvement. He has been a leader for corporate sponsorship and major donation for the annual summer auction.
VICTORIA SCALTSAS Victoria is a native Cape Codder and Dennis Resident and has always been interested in preserving the beauty of natural environments. She graduated from Simmons College with a degree in Communications and also holds a Certificate in the Culinary Arts from Boston University. Currently working in Medical Sales, she is very excited to be working with the DCLT to help advance their mission.
JOHN TODD John lives in Dennis, and had a successful career at Fidelity Investments. We are glad to have John’s keen financial background in assisting the Trust’s financial management and accounting.
TRUSTEES EMERITUS
BEVERLEY LEBLANC Beverley is a founding member of the Trust, and has served as a member of the Town Land Bank Committee and the Land Acquisition Committee. After graduation from UMass, she taught 1st grade, and later served on the Guilderland, NY School Board. Also, by forming/leading a group called The Dennis Committee, Beverley helped to organize and lead a grass roots effort to promote the acquisition of several parcels of land for open space in the Town of Dennis in the mid 1980s.
EDMOND NICKERSON Edmond has been a longstanding member of the Board of Trustees, and resident of South Dennis.
PAUL PRUE Paul has lived in Dennis for nearly his entire life. He is retired from Prue Foundry Inc. and is a retired Deputy Chief of the Dennis Fire Department. Paul has been a DCLT Trustee for many years, is a past member of the Town of Dennis Land Bank, and has been an elected Dennis Water District Commissioner for many years. He currently serves as the Commission Chairman.
CHRISTOPHER WADSWORTH Christopher has been a valuable contributor to the Board of Trustees, most recently, directing the Membership Committee.
JAMES (JIM) WICK James became a trustee in 1996 and has lived in Dennis since 1996. James was employed by the IBM Corporation for 33 years, including positions as: Manager of Competitive Evaluation and Manager of Market Research. James currently belongs to the South Side Civic Association, Dennis Capital Outlay Committee, Community Preservation Committee, and the Dennis Municipal Affordable Housing Trust.
Advisors
Brad Boyd
Kate Byron
Christine Eosco
Peter Flood
Staff
Julie Early, Executive Director jearly@dennisconservationlandtrust.org
David Fryxell, Land Manager dfryxell@dennisconservationlandtrust.org
Janice Backus, Administrative Assistant info@dennisconservationlandtrust.org
Korri Basinger, AmeriCorps Member 2021-2022 korri.basinger@barnstablecounty.org
CONSULTANTS
Michael Bulger, Lamb, Mason, Bulger & Co. PC
Stefanie Fournier, Accounting, Brennan & Fournier
Dina Pandya, Newsletter Design
Karen Ryder, Webmaster