scientific partner bios

Anne-Marie Runfola is the Deputy Director for the Bronx River Alliance. Anne-Marie is from Wethersfields Springs, New York. She attended Ithaca College for her Bachelor’s degree in corporate communications and she also attended Columbia University‘s Teachers College. She is interested in the Bronx River because of its educational purposes, recreational purposes, and Rocking the Boat’s interactions with the river. She can relate the beauty of the Bronx River to the cute little creek back in her hometown. Anne-Marie’s goals for the river are for people to use the green way when built, she wants people to be more connected with the river and she wants the river to be swimmable and fishable for the public. Some of her other goals are for people to have a great time on the river, to learn some of its history and also for the people to become more aware about their river. Anne-Marie’s most memorable moment on the river is being out on a canoe trip with a new member who at first was afraid of the water. As time progressed he became more comfortable with the river and being in a boat. He felt so proud when he showed his family his accomplishments and that meant the world for Anne-Marie. Her hobbies are kayaking, composting, camping, hiking, and taking care of her worm bins.

Maggie Greenfield is the Greenway Director and Communications Director for the Bronx River Alliance. Maggie was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She attended the University of North Carolina located in Chapel Hill for her bachelor’s degree in environmental policy. She also went to MIT for graduate school to get her master’s degree in urban planning. Maggie is interested in the river because of the way it is used for transportation, the restoration of the natural habitat, and its recreational purposes. She also likes designing events to get the community involved. Her goals for the river are to get the people of this community involved even more with the Bronx River and to get more people to become aware of the river. Maggie’s most memorable moment on the river was when she was canoeing late in the afternoon with her crew through the Botanical Gardens to Drew Gardens for some restoration work. One of Maggie’s hobbies is taking care of her daughter.

Website: www.bronxriver.org

Betsy Ukeritis works with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) as the Regional Environmental Educator. Betsy is from Hagaman NY, which is 30 miles west of Albany. Betsy went to school at the University of Maine at Orono and got her B.S. in Wildlife Ecology. She is interested in the Bronx River because some students use it for some of their classes and because it is an under used area. Her goals for the Bronx River are to get more teachers to use it in their classes and add it to their curriculum. She says Rocking the Boat helps her goals because RTB provides community contact to the River, Water Quality Monitoring on the river and also by having staff available as resources. Betsy’s most memorable moments on the Bronx River is when she goes kayaking. Her hobbies are hiking, reading, and canoeing.

Website: www.dec.ny.gov

One of the scientists that we work with is Allison Mass. Allison works for the College of Staten Island and the Natural Resources Group (NRG). She is a PhD student with the City University of New York Graduate Center, and does her research at the College of Staten Island. Allison has worked this past year with NRG and will continue to consult with them on future projects on the Bronx River. Allison is originally from New Jersey, but now lives in Staten Island. Allison has her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, and her master's from Stony Brook University. Both times she studied marine biology/marine ecology. Allison is interested in the Bronx River because it is a great place to educate the community on ecosystem management since it is so close to so many neighborhoods. Allison hopes that Rocking the Boat can help her accomplish her goals for the Bronx River by continuing to help her monitor the oyster reefs that she will use in her PhD research. Allison says that her most memorable moment out on the river was, “The first time I canoed downriver from Rocking the Boat to Soundview. It was much more beautiful than I had thought!”

Website: www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/parks_divisions/nrg/nrg_home.html