Board of Directors
Sheldon Perry, President
After graduating from Dartmouth College, Sheldon moved to Jackson, NH where he started two seasonal businesses: Wildcat Academy, a tutorial ski racing program for high school kids, and a cabinet shop called Caseworks. After 20 years, his marriage to Nina prompted a move to Tamworth, where his shop was renamed Steepleview Cabinetry. Sheldon is now retired. He is also a board member of the Tamworth Planning Board and the Tamworth Outing Club. Sheldon hopes to spend more time outdoors, hiking, canoeing, camping and riding his British motorbike! Email Sheldon.
William Zehring, VICE PRESIDENT
Will and his wife Kristi retired and moved in 2020 from Pennsylvania to a home in Silver Lake, New Hampshire, in search of snow. Will has participated in many CLC events and was a key Winter Fest volunteer. He is a member of CLC’s Development & Outreach Committee. He received his BA from the University of Kansas, his PhD from the University of Chicago, and has also trained at Brandeis and at Duke. Will is an Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry from the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. While at Brandeis he contributed to research that led to the Nobel Prize in Medicine to three U.S. researchers for their decades-long work on the circadian clock. Will's interests, apart from hiking and skiing, include old movies, books, music, and rusty sports cars. Email Will.
Geoffrey Gill, Treasurer
Geoff has spent time in Chocorua since the 1960s when his parents bought a house on Chocorua Lake Road. Geoff served a three-year term on the CLC board from August 2015 to August 2018, and has served on CLC’s Finance Committee since 2015. Geoff is the founder and currently serves as CEO of Verisense Health, a digital health company. He previously served as a CFO for ten years at two other companies. Geoff and his wife Karen live in Newton, Massachusetts. He has an A.B. from Harvard University and an M.S. from MIT. Geoff is an avid tennis player and has organized the Chocorua Labor Day Tennis Tournament for the past several years. Email Geoff.
Ruth Weld, Secretary
Ruth spent summers in Chocorua her whole life and volunteered with the CLC during much of that time. She served as chair of the Education & Outreach Committee for five years and is now on the Development & Outreach Committee. Her father instilled in her a love of wooden boats, re-reading books, and blueberry picking. Her mother instilled a love of architecture, travel, and art. Ruth graduated from Oberlin College in 2014, worked at a family philanthropy fund, worked at a women's shelter, and has worked as a nanny for the past 6 years. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Communication Disorders with the goal of becoming a Speech Language Pathologist. She lives with her husband Mike and two cats in Quincy, Massachusetts. Email Ruth.
John Kumm
John’s grandparents bought The Rafters on Philbrick Neighborhood Road in Chocorua in 1947, and John has been going there since 1955. After many years of seasonal visitation, John and his wife Ellen realized a long-time dream and moved their home to the Rafters in 2022, where they now reside full-time. John has been an active CLC participant and volunteer, most recently as a member of the Winter Fest planning team and the Finance Committee. John is also a member of the Tamworth Energy Committee. He works remotely as a senior environmental engineer for EA Engineering, which is based in Maryland. John has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. In his free time he is happiest maintaining the Rafters and spending time outdoors. Email John.
David Kunhardt
David has been coming to Chocorua since 1962, when his family purchased land and built a house on Chocorua Lake Road. David served on the CLA board from 1987 to 1991 and the CLCF board from 1990 to 1996, and facilitated the Chocorua Mountain Club-CLC merger talks in 2023. David retired from his solar business in 2020. After moving from California to Scarborough, ME, he and his wife Susan now spend almost half the year in Chocorua. David made contributions to building sustainable communities for over 30 years, primarily as a finance professional. He is active with Citizens Climate Lobby in Maine, and is on the Board of the Piper Shores Lifecare Retirement Community. David is also a Member of the Tamworth Energy Committee. David has a B.A. from Middlebury College and attended the Master of Urban & Regional Planning program at George Washington University. Email David.
Jean McKinney
Jean had three careers while raising five children: co-founding and running a Christian K-8 school, helping her husband at his church goods store, and working customer service at an insurance company for eighteen years until retirement. She has volunteered as a soccer coach, for the Boy Scouts for forty years (three Eagle sons and first female SM of a Woodbadge course from Boston Council), and as vestry member and warden at Good Shepherd Church. Education is the best foundation for a good life, and saving pristine nature is good for the soul. Email Jean.
Michael Rich
Michael is a third generation Chocoruan, having first dipped his body into our sylvan waters in his first year of life. While The Admiral (grandpa) was off in the Pacific during WWII, his grandmother, Joan Watt, and his mother, Joan Watt Rich, bought Merrybrook Farm, home of the now (in)famous Orgasmic Organic Blueberries. Michael spent every summer of his young life on that farm, swimming in The Lake daily and climbing The Mountain every summer since he was 5. He and his siblings continue the PYO blueberry tradition started by his father. Michael, his wife Lydia, their sons, Jason and Ian, are now “hill people” on Page Hill (but swim only in The Lake). In his other life, Michael is a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, known as “The Mediatrician” for his research and clinical work on the effects of screen media use on the health and development of children and adolescents. Email Michael.
Staff
Alex Moot, Executive Director
Prior to joining CLC as its first Executive Director in 2022, Alex served for eight years as the Board President of CLC. He previously served on the boards of CLC’s two predecessor organizations for twelve years. Alex has been a member of the Chocorua Lake community for over 50 years. He spent twenty years working as a venture capital and private equity investor, most recently investing in small companies located in rural areas of New England. Alex previously served on the Board of Directors of the Loon Preservation Committee and the Board of Advisors of WGBH, a public radio station in Boston. His interests include photography, downhill and cross-country skiing, ice hockey, and tennis. Alex and his wife Nancy have two adult children and a large dog. Email Alex.
Debra Marnich, Stewardship Director
Debra brings to CLC over 30 years of land conservation planning, project management, outreach, and environmental education expertise. Before joining CLC in 2022, Debra enjoyed a 20-year career with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) as a Conservation Planner in Carroll County, NH helping private landowners and nonprofit organizations navigate and implement Federal conservation programs and assisting them with conservation planning. Through this work she has deep connections in the Chocorua Lake area, where she has worked with CLC and other landowners in the Basin area on NRCS conservation projects. Debra holds a B.S degree in Zoology and a MS Degree in Forestry with a concentration on education and recreation. Her interests include hiking, skiing, canoeing, birding, fishing, foraging, gardening, photography and cooking. Debra and her husband, Eric and their rescue pup, Maggie live in Center Conway, NH. Email Debra.
Mike Morin, Membership and Volunteer Coordinator
Mike is a lifelong conservationist who gained a deep appreciation for the natural world while growing up in Maine’s Penobscot River Valley, where he spent countless hours exploring the woods and waters around his home. Those early years set the stage for what has been a 20 year career in land conservation where he gained experience coordinating volunteers, developing community partnerships, and managing outdoor recreation on public lands. He enjoys applying those skills to his work at CLC, where he works to build and maintain meaningful relationships with members, volunteers, and local organizations. Mike cherishes days spent in the mountains and on the water, and taking in the sunset with his wife Amanda at their home in Glen, NH. Email Mike.
Juno Lamb, Communications director
Juno is a writer, teaching artist, and community facilitator. Her connection to this region extends back many generations, and her interests include relearning reciprocity with the other-than-human world, growing and supporting diverse human communities through creative, expressive, and interactive activities, native and abundant plant medicine, and art-making with repurposed textiles and other low-impact materials. Email Juno.
Troy Emerson, Lake Patrol
Troy has served as the CLC’s Lake Patrol Officer since 2013. Troy and his wife, Melissa, and children are life-long residents of Tamworth. Troy attended the Brett School in Tamworth and graduated from Kennett High School in North Conway. From Memorial Day weekend through mid-October, seven days a week and twice a day, Troy patrols the lakefront public access areas. Troy is responsible for trash pickup, ensuring that rules for these sites are followed by all, and answering questions. Troy reports that his most common question from members of the public is: “Will you take a photo of us?”
Sherry Birth, Bookkeeper
Sherry lives in Chocorua with her husband, Scott and their chocolate lab, Bailey. Sherry is the bookkeeper at Castle in the Clouds in Moultonborough., and has worked as an accountant at nonprofits for 30 years here in New Hampshire and in Arizona. Sherry graduated from Kennett High School in Conway and lived for many years over the hill in neighboring Silver Lake. After spending 11 years in Surprise, Arizona, Sherry returned in 2014, as New Hampshire will always be home. Loving the outdoors, she is a gardener and has been called a “plantaholic” by family members. Baking, reading and quilting are some of the other things she enjoys. Together, Sherry and Scott have three grown children and two grandchildren. Email Sherry.
Melissa Poirier, Office Manager
After a lifetime of vacationing in Tamworth, Melissa moved to Chocorua permanently in 2020 with her husband and four children. She brought with her a love of nature and a passion for conservation. Her family serves as Property Steward of the Grove public access area at Chocorua Lake, and enjoy recreation at the lake year round. Melissa spent the first 15 years of her career working as a nurse and office manager in outpatient pediatric and adolescent medicine, specializing in the treatment of eating disorders. She continues to work as a pediatric triage nurse, as she has for the last 10 years. When she's not busy working or homeschooling her four kids, she enjoys gardening, beekeeping, and getting outside. Email Melissa.
Banner: Chocorua on a perfect June day. Photo: Juno Lamb