Meet the heart and soul behind The Walden Woods Project — our devoted board and staff. The Project is rooted in people who have made it their mission to establish a dynamic environment of creativity, professionalism and continued commitment to preserving the historical landscape of Walden Woods.
Board of Directors
Don Henley, founder of The Walden Woods Project, is the Chairman of the Board. Mr. Henley is a Grammy award-winning recording artist both with the Eagles and as a solo artist. In recognition of his efforts to save Walden Woods and his leadership role in establishing The Walden Woods Project Library, Mr. Henley was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 1997 by President Clinton.
Kathi Anderson is the Secretary of the Board and Executive Director of The Walden Woods Project. From 1977-1990, she was a staff member for U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy. She served as the legislative director of the Senator’s Massachusetts office and as a legislative assistant for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. She has served on a number of nonprofit boards including RESTORE: The North Woods, the Walden Conservancy and The Thoreau Society.
Ed Begley, Jr. is a well-known stage and screen actor and perhaps the living definition of the word “environmentalist.” He was recycling before the first Earth Day took place. When participating in The Walden Woods Project’s events, he often travels across the country by train or in his hybrid vehicle as part of his own crusade to promote mass transit and to reduce energy emissions. He is involved with many organizations such as the Coalition For Clean Air, The Union of Concerned Scientists and the Environmental Media Association.
Douglas Brinkley is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University, a CNN Presidential Historian, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. He has received seven honorary doctorates in American Studies. Dr. Brinkley works in many capacities in the world of public history, including for boards, museums, colleges and historical societies. Six of his books were named New York Times “Notable Books of the Year” and seven became New York Times bestsellers.
John P. DeVillars is Chairman of BlueWave Capital, LLC, a solar energy development and finance company with offices in Boston, MA, Charleston, SC; Nassau, The Bahamas; and Cape Town, SA. He previously served as the New England Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Secretary of Environmental Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Chairman of the Board of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and holds an MPA degree from Harvard University. He has received numerous environmental awards including the President’s Award of the Nature Conservancy for outstanding national leadership.
Thomas O. Jones, a technology entrepreneur, serves as the Treasurer of The Walden Woods Project and as Chair of The WWP Audit Committee. He was a co-founder of Epsilon – the nation’s leading database marketing company – and served as its CEO until it was acquired by American Express. A graduate of MIT and Harvard, he has taught on the full-time faculty of both the Harvard Business School and MIT’s Sloan School. He is featured in a number of HBS Publishing products – the most recent of which appeared in the July 2008 issue of Harvard Business Review. He is a recognized expert in the area of customer loyalty and personalized marketing and speaks widely on issues relating to organizational innovation and transformation.
Betsy Kenny Lack is Head of Global Brand Strategy at Snapchat. She was a Contributing Editor at Vanity Fair magazine for eight years. Prior to that, she was a consultant to Forstmann Little & Co., the investment firm founded by Theodore J. Forstmann. In addition to The Walden Woods Project, she sits on the board of Thirteen-WNET and WLIW, the organization that oversees the public television stations in the New York metropolitan area and the board of the Riverdale Country School.
John H. Tyson is Chairman of Tyson Foods, Inc. and a member of the Executive Committee of Tyson’s Board of Directors. He has worked at Tyson Foods since 1974, in many different areas of the company’s business, ranging from operations to marketing to governmental relations. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and serves on the Advisory Board for the Princeton University Faith & Work Initiative.
Anna West Winter is Executive Director of Save Our Heritage, a non-profit citizen’s organization whose mission is to protect and preserve the birthplace of the American Revolution. She worked as a freelance art director for film and television. Ms. Winter serves on the Science Visiting Council for PBS NOVA, is a board member of the Emerson Hospital Health Care Foundation, a Trustee of The Trustees of Reservations, a member of the Board of Governors at the Concord Museum, and a member of the Board of Directors of Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House.
The Walden Woods Project Staff
Kathi Anderson (see Board of Directors) – is the Secretary of The WWP Board of Directors and has been the executive director of the organization since its founding in 1990. From 1977-1990, she served in various legislative capacities on the staff of Senator Edward M. Kennedy in Washington, DC and Boston. She is a graduate of Boston College. Kathi supervises The WWP staff, oversees strategic planning, mission-related initiatives of the organization, fundraising and public relations.
Robert Friberg – Manager of The Walden Woods Project Farm – started working in the fields and farm stand in 2012, and now manages agricultural production of our 8-acre farm, supervises staff and works with local vendors. He also contributed to the Farm’s transition to organic certification.
Jenifer Ishee – Curator and Library Administrator – joined The WWP in December 2025. Jenifer oversees the functions of the library and curates our special collections. Jenifer holds a MA in history from the University of Nebraska, a MLIS from Kent State University, and a PhD in American History from Mississippi State University. Her work has been published in Pennsylvania History, a Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies; The Journal of Military History; and The Journal of Academic Librarianship.
Cathy Lemay – Special Assistant/Higginson House Historian – Cathy started as a volunteer in 1990 when The WWP was founded. In 1999, she became our part-time bookkeeper. Although she retired in 2021, Cathy still comes in once a week to help with special events and projects. Visitors to our beautiful campus often inquire about the Higginson House, which is now our headquarters. That inspired Cathy to research its history and inhabitants. She is always happy to give a tour and share her knowledge of the estate’s interesting background.
Erin Monahan – Library Assistant – joined The WWP in 2016 as an undergraduate student intern. As part of assisting The WWP Librarian, she processes collections, creates or updates collection guides, coordinates library volunteers, assists researchers, and adds website content. With interdisciplinary interests, she earned her AA at Middlesex Community College before achieving her BLA and MPA: Public Humanities and Arts at UMass Lowell.
Susan Ruzzo – Director of Accounting and Human Resources – joined The WWP in March, 2021. Her accounting background is wide-ranging and includes working with another environmental nonprofit, a healthcare- focused private equity firm and a high-tech start-up. She holds a BA from Boston College and an MBA from Fordham University.
Dan Schmid – Facilities Director – is a licensed contractor who operated his own custom-building business in Boston and the Metro-West area for 20 years. Dan has been with The WWP since 1998 and is responsible for maintaining the organization’s grounds, buildings, and its systems. He also directs The Walden Woods Project Farm and oversaw its transition to organic certification. He has also been involved in the acquisition and the sale of several of the organization’s properties.
Juliet Trofi – Assistant to the Director – has been on The WWP staff since 1991. She manages the office, provides administrative support, organizes special events, assists with fundraising, co-edits the organization’s newsletter, contributes to social media content, and more. Juliet has a BA from Boston College, where she double majored in Political Science and Communications.
Sarah Walker – Education Director – is from Northeastern Pennsylvania and came to Massachusetts to study writing and film at Bridgewater State University. She was the 2017 Dennis Lehane Fellow at the Solstice MFA Program of Pine Manor College, where she graduated in January 2019. Her place-based work has been featured in American University: Folio, Colorado Review, CutBank, Carolina Quarterly, among others. She facilitates and directs a full range of programs, including Approaching Walden, the Live Deliberately Essay Contest, group visits to Walden Woods, and more.
