Long Island Sound Study Core Program Staff
The core work of the Long Island Sound Study is conducted by staff from EPA (Region 1 and Region 2), the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP), NEIWPCC, and the New York and Connecticut Sea Grant Programs. The non-EPA staff are funded through the Long Island Sound Study with funds authorized by the Federal Clean Water Act, with the exception of the LISS New York Program Coordinator, who is funded directly by NYSDEC.
EPA
| Name, Title, Email, Phone | Description of Responsibilities/Activities |
| Mark Tedesco, Director, EPA Long Island Sound Office Tedesco.Mark@epa.gov 203-977-1542 | Direction of office and program |
| Leah O’Neill, Deputy, EPA Long Island Sound Office ONeill.Leah@epa.gov 617-918-1633 | Overall budget, grants and program support, nitrogen strategy |
| Ashley Desrosiers, EPA Upper Watershed Coordinator Desrosiers.Ashley@epa.gov 617-918-1574 | Project Officer: MA State, Community Impact Fund |
| Melissa Duvall, EPA Research and Modeling Lead Duvall.Melissa@epa.gov 203-977-1545 | Research, modeling, and data analysis; Project Officer: Sea Grant research; |
| Kristen Laccetti, EPA NY Coordinator Laccetti.Kristen@epa.gov 203-977-1544 | Sustainable and Resilient Communities Project Officer: NY State; Ecosystem targets and indicators |
| Esther Nelson, EPA Federal Partnerships Coordinator Nelson.Esther@epa.gov 212-637-3783 | Federal partner coordination; Watershed & Embayment Work Group; Project Officer: USFWS and Dept. of Agriculture/NRCS interagency agreements |
| Evelyn Spencer, EPA Monitoring and Reporting Coordinator Spencer.Evelyn@epa.gov 617-918-1176 | LISS Tracking and Reporting Tool; Project Officer: CT State, University of Connecticut |
| Cayla Sullivan, EPA Habitat and Reporting Coordinator Sullivan.Cayla@epa.gov 212-637-3607 | Habitat and Seagrass Lead; Marine Debris; Indicators Review Team; LISS Tracking and Reporting Tool; Project Officer: University of Connecticut |
| Nicole Tachiki, EPA Strategic Planning Tachiki.Nicole@epa.gov 212-637-3779 | Congressional Reporting; Sustainable and Resilient Communities; Project officer: CT & NY Sea Grant Programs, Interagency Agreements |
| Elizabeth Tanzi, EPA Community Monitoring Coordinator Tanzi.Elizabeth@epa.gov 212-637-3778 | Community science; Water Quality Monitoring Work Group; Project Officer: Save the Sound, IEC; Communications, Outreach and Engagement Work Group |
| Bessie Wright, EPA Community and Tribal Coordinator Wright.Bessie@epa.gov 617-918-1679 | Tribal liaison; Project Officer: Long Island Sound Futures Fund |
| Nicole Hammond, EPA Contracts and Federal Communications Coordinator Hammond.Nicole@epa.gov 617-918-1374 | Communications, Outreach and Engagement Work Group; Contracts and Interagency Agreement Coordinator: US Geological Survey |
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP)
| Name/Title, Email | Description of Responsibilities/Activities |
| Timothy Hunter, Environmental Analyst Timothy.Hunter@ct.gov | Coordinates overall Long Island Sound Study programs for CT DEEP |
| Kathleen Knight, Environmental Analyst Kathleen.Knight@ct.gov | Water quality modeling lead |
| Matt Lyman, Environmental Analyst Matthew.Lyman@ct.gov | Conducts the Long Island Sound Water Quality Monitoring Program |
| Katie O’Brien-Clayton, Environmental Analyst Katie.Obrien-Clayton@ct.gov | Conducts the Long Island Sound Water Quality Monitoring Program |
| Kelly Streich, Environmental Analyst Kelly.Streich@ct.gov | TMDL and technical support lead |
| Harry Yamalis, Environmental Analyst Harry.Yamalis@ct.gov | Coordinates habitat restoration plans and projects in CT |
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)
| Name/Title, Email | Description of Responsibilities/Activities |
| Kimarie V. Yap, Bioextraction Coordinator1 kimarie.yap@dec.ny.gov | Coordinates Bioextraction Initiative activities |
| Sara Cernadas, NY Habitat Restoration and Stewardship Coordinator1 sara.cernadas@dec.ny.gov | Coordinates habitat restoration and stewardship plans/projects in NY |
| Samarra Scantlebury, LISS New York Coordinator2 Samarra.Scantlebury@dec.ny.gov | Coordinates overall Long Island Sound Study program in NY |
| Mark Shuster, Real Property Coordinator1 mark.shuster@dec.ny.gov | Coordinates acquisition of land in the Long Island Sound |
New York Sea Grant
| Name,Title, Email | Responsibilities/Activities |
| Lillit Genovesi, Western Long Island Sound Outreach Coordinator lg543@cornell.edu | Develops and coordinates communications, outreach, and engagement programs in NYC and Westchester County |
| Elizabeth Hornstein, Sustainable and Resilient Communities Extension Professional eeh78@cornell.edu | Coordinates and implements sustainable and resilient community activities in Suffolk County |
| Jimena Perez-Viscasillas, New York Outreach Coordinator jbp255@cornell.edu | Develops and coordinates communications, outreach, and engagement programs in Nassau and Suffolk Counties |
| Sara Powell, Sustainable and Resilient Communities Extension Professional slp285@cornell.edu | Coordinates and implements sustainable and resilient community activities in Westchester County |
| Sarah Schaefer-Brown, Sustainable and Resilient Communities Extension Professional scs292@cornell.edu | Coordinates and implements sustainable and resilient community activities in Nassau County |
NEIWPCC
| Name, Title, Email | Responsibilities/Activities |
| James Ammerman, Science Coordinator jammerman@longislandsoundstudy.net | Coordinates LISS science and research program |
| Alex DuMont, Environmental Analyst adumont@neiwpcc.org | Overall LISS coordination and support |
| Robert Burg, Communications Coordinator rburg@longislandsoundstudy.net | Coordinates the LISS communications program, ecosystem targets and indicators |
| Anya Grondalski, Science Communicator agrondalski@longislandsoundstudy.net | Develops content for the LISS website, newsletters, and social media |
Connecticut Sea Grant
| Name, Title, Email | Responsibilities/Activities |
| Deborah Abibou, Sustainable and Resilient Communities Extension Professional deb.abibou@uconn.edu | Coordinates and implements sustainable and resilient community activities in CT |
| Margaret Cozens, Connecticut Outreach Coordinator margaret.cozens@uconn.edu | Develops and coordinates communications, outreach, and engagement programs in CT |
| Sarah Schechter, Sustainable and Resilient Communities Extension Professional sarah.schechter@uconn.edu | Coordinates and implements sustainable and resilient community activities in CT |