Rusty Russell is the executive director of the Merrimack River Watershed Association; hired in 2016, following on a decade of teaching graduate students in Tufts University’s urban and environmental policy and planning program. He will be presenting the MRWC’s fight to clean up the Merrimack, New England’s third largest river system. The Merrimack Watershed includes our Shawsheen River, the Pow-wow, the Millvale and the Spickett. And just west of our legion, the Concord, Assabet, Sudbury, Nashua and the Nissitissit.

Rusty has a long history of protecting the environment: he served as an advocate and communications director for the Conservation Law Foundation, the Boston-based NGO. A certified planner, Rusty holds a B.A. from Amherst College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. In addition to a longtime focus on environmental sustainability, his career has included stints as a journalist, corporate lawyer and agency administrator. He has also been active with the Mystic River Watershed Association, and a few years ago his Tufts students helped to found a related organization, the Friends of the Malden River. Having grown up in the shadow of Holyoke, Mass., he is excited to be based in a century-old building in downtown Lawrence that was once a woolen mill, only short walk from the Merrimack River.

Join us at the Ipswich River Watershed Association office, 143 County Road, Ipswich.  The meal is prepared for 6 PM and the official meeting begins at 7 PM. A donation of $5 is appreciated for the meal. BYOB.

Check out our Newsletter for more news of the Chapter this month!