Board of Directors

Susan McAllister, President

A Colorado native, Susan served in the Peace Corps as a math teacher in Botswana, Africa ‘85-‘87. Afterward, she taught middle school math and science, ultimately becoming the K-12 Director of Educational Technology. In 1998, Susan and two other teachers created the non-profit Virtual Explorers—one of the first online learning environments for students. VE sought to provide positive female role models for girls in science, math, and technology by visiting women wildlife biologists and documenting their field research in Ghana, the Amazon, Belize, and Idaho. In 2000, she joined her husband in MA to help build inRESONANCE, an education software company. Susan has traveled to all seven continents, pursuing her passion for wildlife conservation, photography, and storytelling. She loves hiking and the outdoors and has hiked the 500-mile Camino de Santiago. Now retired, she is focusing her time and energy here in Williamsburg—a place she and her husband have called home for 24 years!

Tariq Abu-Jaber, Vice President

Tariq has a lifetime history of conservation advocacy, engagement, and activism. He grew up in a small town in upstate New York, surrounded by wild lands but also enveloped by industrial pollution and its impacts that made him keenly aware of the need for efforts to preserve the air, water, and land on which we depend. Tariq has served on the board of Mass Audubon’s Broadmoor Sanctuary and volunteered with Sudbury Valley Trustees and the Trustees. Tariq lives with his wife on Nash Hill Road in Williamsburg, where he is a member of the Planning Board and has been involved in enhancing the energy efficiency of the town’s new Public Safety Complex. Prior to moving to Williamsburg, Tariq lived for many years in Natick, MA.

Pat Morey, Secretary

Pat Morey retired from Harvard School of Public Health where she worked as Project Manager of various government funded studies including those exploring the relationship of environmental factors with cancer and infertility. Before moving to Goshen, she was Treasurer of Sustainable Braintree, a community advocacy group committed to protecting the environment and promoting a sustainable lifestyle, and co-founder of Sustainable Braintree’s Community Garden. After moving west, Pat joined the Open Space Committee in Goshen and serves as representative on the Community Preservation Committee. She also works part-time in the Goshen Building Department and for the Town Assessor. In addition to being a Board member, Pat has been volunteering with HLT since 2016 in the office and as a property monitor.

Tiffany Thibodeau, Treasurer

Tiffany was HLT’s Office Manager from 2022-2023 and has been a member of HLT’s Stewardship Committee since 2023. Her career spans 15 years as a math and science certified classroom teacher for K-8 students. Leveraging her classroom teaching and nonprofit experience, she launched Tiffany Thibodeau Consulting, a grants consultant specializing in STEM education, youth workforce development, and college access to improve outcomes for young people. Tiffany holds an M.S. in Childhood Education and a B.A. in Communication from Russell Sage College. She lives in Worthington and loves walking Hilltown trails with her two dogs.

Gary Epstein

Gary is a longtime advocate for clean energy, rural land conservation, and environmental health. A serial entrepreneur, he has founded and led multiple companies over the course of his career. He was the founder and CEO of ERS, a national consulting firm specializing in energy efficiency, sustainability, and environmental strategy, where he led large-scale clean energy programs for more than 25 years. After selling the company in 2020, Gary continued in an advisory role to the acquiring firm and now consults with clean tech startups and mission-driven ventures. Based in Ashfield, Gary brings decades of nonprofit leadership, business strategy, and environmental commitment to the HLT board, along with a deep passion for protecting the forests, farms, and rural character of the Hilltowns. He enjoys cycling, drumming, and exploring the woods with his wife, Ina.

Gaby Immerman

Gaby teaches horticulture courses and connects students to plants and community as the Experiential Learning Specialist at the Smith College Botanic Garden. She is a Co-Moderator of the regional Mill River Greenway Initiative, and for the last decade has served as chair of the Mill River Greenway Committee in Williamsburg, a town committee working to extend the MassCentral Rail Trail to the center of Williamsburg. Gaby was an early organizer and long-time Board member of Grow Food Northampton, a hub of local food security that owns and operates a 121-acre organic farm and has developed diverse strategies to increase access, equity, and education around local food in the community. Her affiliation with Grow Food Northampton continues as chair of the Program and Site Advisors committee, spearheading farm development and leading organizational transformation around equitable access to farmland and centering farmers and communities of color in policies and programs.

Michael Madole

Michael is Account Manager at Dendroyka LLC, maker of Landscape land conservation software. Michael came to Landscape from The Trustees, where he served as Assistant Conservation Restriction Stewardship Manager for three years. With The Trustees, Michael helped systematize and modernize the work of the CR stewardship program including establishing processes for drone monitoring and streamlining monitoring workflows. He also helped address easement violations and onboard new landowners. Before that, Michael served as an AmeriCorps Land Stewardship Coordinator for Hilltown Land Trust. When Michael’s not helping land conservation organizations make the most of Landscape, he can be found in the woods with his horse Hazel practicing low impact forestry as Hilltown Horse Logging. Michael lives with his wife in Plainfield.

Rei Matsushita

Rei Matsushita is the Assistant Director of Planned Gifts at Amherst College and a conservation attorney. Rei earned her JD and Masters in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School. She is passionate about conserving our beautiful land in Massachusetts for the next generation.  

Paul Wetzel

Paul Wetzel is a plant ecologist with a passion for wetland ecosystems and their restoration. He studied a wide variety of wetlands from small, seasonal prairie potholes to tree islands in the Everglades. Before that he worked as an environmental analyst for a civil engineering firm, delineating wetlands, designing noise barriers, writing environmental impact studies. Now, he works at the Center for the Environment, Ecological Design, and Sustainability (CEEDS) at Smith College where he supports experiential education and manages the College’s Ada & Archibald MacLeish Field Station in Whately. Paul is active in local Williamsburg government serving on a variety of Committees, including Finance and the Safety Complex. In his spare time Paul enjoys history, gardening, hiking, and canoeing.

Honorary Board Members

Russell Peotter

After retiring as General Manager, Rus is now Senior Adviser to WGBY Springfield, the WGBH-affiliated public television station serving western New England. He is a member on a number of national and community boards, including America’s Public Television Stations (APTS), American Red Cross/ Pioneer Valley Chapter, PeoplesBank, The Springfield Central Cultural District (Chair), MassCreative, OneHampshire Economic Initiative, Leadership Pioneer Valley, TRUSTEES Advisory Board, Double Edge Theatre, and Enchanted Circle Theater. Rus and his family raise goats, chickens, and horses on their farm in Chesterfield where he is also Town Moderator.  He also loves canoes, fly fishing, and is a registered Maine Guide.

Tad Weiss

Tad has a background in engineering and is recently retired as Director of Research and Development at a company in Agawam. He is also Chair of the Westhampton Finance Committee and a former member of the Westhampton Open Space Committee. Tad enjoys travel and in particular the mountains of the northeast, where he is focusing his hiking on the 4000-foot peaks in the Adirondacks. He has served on the Board of HLT for almost 10 years.

Committee Members

Interested in learning more about volunteering? Visit our Volunteer Page for more info and to sign up!