NESEA Staff
Some of us get paid to keep the lights on (but we turn them off when we leave the room).
Our staff is focused on building and maintaining the infrastructure for collaboration—the bones of NESEA. They work at our home office in Greenfield, MA.
As Executive Director, Florence works closely with the board of directors, the rest of the NESEA staff, and members of the NESEA community.
She oversees the growth and development of programs and initiatives in service to NESEA’s strategic plan. She works to continue to integrate all NESEA programs with membership and each other, as well as to evaluate new opportunities for program development.
Florence also serves as the staff point-person for community engagement and for diversity, equity, and inclusivity initiatives.
As Conference Director, Ben manages strategy and logistics for the BuildingEnergy Boston and NYC conferences, working closely with our amazing network of conference chairs, committee members, speakers, and sponsors. He also handles continuing education credits (CEUs) for NESEA events.
Ben grew up in Burlington, Vermont, and holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of Letters at Wesleyan University and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Brandeis University. Outside of work he is active in folk music and dance communities, where he works to promote greater openness and accessibility.
Katie oversees the recruitment, retention, data management, and engagement of NESEA Members. Before joining NESEA in 2014, Katie worked for several years in higher education administration.
As Program Manager, Davis provides planning, logistical, and on-site event support to multiple NESEA programs including the Building Energy Pro Tour series and the Bottom Lines business development program. He comes to NESEA from a background in higher-ed event planning at Amherst College and Smith College.
Outside of work, Davis can be found hiking, cycling, hosting game nights and leading local food tours in Northampton, MA.
After graduating from Hobart College with degrees in English and Studio Art, Ian worked for many years as designer and marketing professional in the Pioneer Valley. Outside of work, he hangs out with his hound dog Sally and makes art.
Larry joined NESEA in 2017 following many years in corporate information technology. Prior to that, he worked as a photographer, journalist, and in broadcasting. He has a long history with non-profit organizations as a co-founder and board member of several grassroots community groups. When not wrestling with technical demons, he can be found outdoors, kayaking, hiking, or nordic skiing.
Diane joined NESEA in August of 2015, continuing a pattern of providing operational support to non-profit organizations in the Pioneer Valley. For NESEA, she handles office management and administrative support for NESEA conference sponsors and registration, as well as programs and projects.
Diane graduated from Westfield State College with a degree in music, which she still pursues avidly in between knitting projects, jigsaw puzzles, and yardwork. She also has coursework and experience in IT/Network Management and Database Design and Implementation, which is very useful in keeping up with the constantly changing functionality of NESEA's database, CiviCRM, as well as keeping track of her ever-expanding collection of craft supplies!
Gina is responsible for all the accounting functions that keeps the books in balance. Some of her other duties include payroll, processes w-2 and 1099 forms after the year end, quarterly payroll federal and state reporting, working with the auditors to get the annual audited completed and the non profit federal and state reports filed and administers the retirement plan and other employee benefits.
Gina started at NESEA in July of 2012. Before joining NESEA, Gina was the Business Manager for the Mary Lyon Foundation of Shelburne Falls, the Treasurer for the Mohawk Regional School District, Charlemont Sewer District and the Town of Conway and the Accounting Assistant and Grants Assistant Manager for the Greenfield Public School System. Gina’s background consist of an Accounting Degree from Newbury College and over 30 working years in accounting positions.