John Froemming, Chair

John is a nationally recognized intellectual property trial lawyer and a registered patent attorney at the global law firm of Jones Day. For John the Potomac is a place of renewal and resolve, where he trains almost daily in season with the Potomac Boat Club’s competitive sculling team and—in the winter—runs or cross-country skis on its banks. He has four children.

Georgia Chafee Nassikas, Vice-Chair

Georgia Chafee Nassikas is a professional artist with paintings in collections across the country and world, including in the US State Department Art in Embassies Program. Her works in wax and oil reflect her environmental and political engagement. The Potomac River plays a creative force in many of Georgia’s paintings.

Georgia has served in leadership positions on non-profit boards focused on the environment and the arts. She currently serves on the executive committee of Woodwell Climate Research Center. 

Barksdale Penick, Treasurer

Barksdale lives in Georgetown near the Potomac and frequents its shoreline paths. He also often kayaks on the river with his wife and dog. He grew up in a New Jersey family that valued the outdoors and recognized the importance of conserving our recreational treasures. Barksdale spent most of his career as a tax advisor with Ernst & Young and also worked in the US Treasury Department's tax policy office. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and obtained his law degree from UC Hastings in San Francisco. He has also taught taxation for many years at law schools. He believes in the mission of the Potomac Conservancy and is committed to helping achieve a clean and vibrant Potomac River.

Angela Woo Sosdian, Secretary

Angie Sosdian currently serves as Executive Director of Gift Planning for The Nature Conservancy. Angie has been with the Conservancy for forty years and has held a variety of fundraising and marketing positions over that time. She has a highly successful track record in leading and managing teams to raise millions of private philanthropic resources for conservation causes locally, regionally and globally. Angie initiated the Conservancy’s Legacy Club recognition society, developed the Conservancy’s Donor Advised Fund, helped establish TNC’s first brand marketing efforts and led TNC’s first $1+ billion campaign. Angie’s also been active in furthering TNC’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts as executive sponsor of its multi-cultural employee resource group (ERG) and by helping lead development of a divisional DEI action plan.

Angie received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. She enjoys spending time in both Arlington County, VA, and Jefferson County, WV, and as an outdoor enthusiast spends most of her weekends hiking, cycling or otherwise exploring along the banks of the Potomac or within its scenic watershed.

Affie Ambrose, Director

Affie Ambrose leads the Public Sector Legal Team at Salesforce.com where she advises on contractual and compliance matters in the U.S. and Canada and manages public sector contract compliance globally. As the General Counsel for Acumen Solutions, she led the sale of the company to Salesforce. At Acumen Solutions, she served as the Chief Legal, Risk and Compliance Officer, oversaw corporate transactions, contracts, business continuity, privacy, compliance, litigation, and employment law. Prior to joining Acumen Solutions, she was the General Counsel for Picus Communications. Affie earned her BA from the University of Virginia and her MBA and JD degrees from Case Western Reserve University.

She is an avid runner who has completed over 20 marathons, countless triathlons, and two IronMan races. Affie served as President of the Association of Corporate Counsel National Capital Region from 2017-2018 and served on the Executive Leadership Team for Lawyers Have Heart from 2019-2020. She was also a member of the Board of the Women’s Center for almost 10 years before joining the Board of the Potomac Conservancy.

Adam Barnard, Director

Adam is an investment professional at Mosaico Management, a Virginia-based, environmentally focused investment fund. He previously worked in Strategy for SABMiller across Africa focusing on profitable revenue growth and spent seven years in London working in investment management for Man Group, UBS and Morgan Stanley.

Adam received his Master’s in Advanced Management from Yale School of Management with a concentration on investment and environment. He completed his MBA at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business. Adam grew up in South Africa and received his Bachelor’s of Commerce in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and a Bachelor’s of Commerce (Honors) in Financial Analysis and Portfolio Management from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Adam is passionate about the environment, conservation, and the outdoors. He is an avid wildlife photographer and birder. He also enjoys training for Ironman triathlons, often along the paths adjacent to the Potomac and in the river itself.

Rodney Bartgis, Director

With 40 years’ professional experience and a strong passion for conserving the central Appalachians, Rodney is dedicated to land protection, biodiversity research, ecosystem restoration, and landscape-scale conservation planning. With a professional career that included the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and The Nature Conservancy, where he served as West Virginia State Director, he continues to assist local, regional, and national conservation organizations, public agencies, and private landowners in conservation planning and implementation. Growing up just two miles from the Potomac in eastern West Virginia, Rodney has a BSc in Biology from Shepherd University and a MSc in Biology from West Virginia University. He and his wife Debra now live in the mountains of east-central West Virginia. Whenever possible, Rodney is hiking, birding, gardening, engaging in a citizen science project, or otherwise enjoying the outdoors.

Liz Birnbaum, Director

A lifelong resident of Northern Virginia, Liz’s dedication to river conservation started in her childhood, playing in the Tripps Run watershed. As an adult, Liz worked on water resources policy for the National Wildlife Federation and the Committee on Natural Resources of the U.S. House of Representatives before moving to the U.S. Interior Department and then to serve as the general counsel and vice president for government affairs at American Rivers.

Currently she specializes in non-profit law as senior counsel for Arabella Advisors, a philanthropy consulting firm. In addition to these career positions, Liz has held volunteer roles related to environmental policy in local government for nearly 20 years, now serving as a member of the Alexandria Park and Recreation Commission and as co-chair of the Arlington-Alexandria Joint Task Force on Four Mile Run. Liz holds an A.B. in linguistics from Brown University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Ayeisha Brinson, Director

Ayeisha Brinson, Ph.D (she/her) has a 20+ year history working to integrate economics, human dimensions, biology, and oceanography into natural resources management. She has previously worked with the Department of Treasury, Office of International Affairs and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) where she worked on cross-cutting issues, such as understanding the effects of weather disasters or federal fisheries management on local economies. 

Ayeisha holds an interdisciplinary doctorate in marine fisheries, economics and policy from the University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science; a master’s in fishery and wildlife biology from Colorado State University; and a bachelor’s in wildlife ecology and conservation from the University of Florida.

Since moving to the area, Ayeisha has come to love spending time on or near the Potomac River. She enjoys hiking and walking along the Potomac or its connecting urban watersheds.

Kamil Cook, Director

Kamil Cook is a corporate attorney with over 28 years of experience advising clients in the private, governmental and non-profit sectors on their environmental and social impact activities in the United States and abroad.  The Potomac River and its surrounding parks have served as the backdrop for myriad adventures with her husband and son since moving to the Washington region in 1997.  They enjoy hiking Great Falls as well as kayaking, fishing and paddle boarding in the Potomac. Prior to private practice, Kamil worked at The Nature Conservancy as Associate General Counsel for Corporate Services and Senior Counsel for Impact Investments, where she was responsible for advising senior leadership on debt, joint venture, securities, lobbying, and corporate governance issues. Earlier in her career, Kamil served as the General Counsel of MicroVest Capital Management, a micro-finance investment fund manager dedicated to expanding sustainable financial access, and as the Deputy General Counsel of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, focusing on financing infrastructure projects in emerging markets.

Kamil received a B.A. in Political Science from Columbia College and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.  Kamil is an avid reader and also enjoys cooking meals for her family using produce cultivated in their ever-expanding home garden.

Stephanie Flack, Director

Stephanie Flack has spent 25 years in the conservation and non-profit world.  Over nearly 20 years with The Nature Conservancy, she served as a planner and project director, focused mainly on lands and waters of the Potomac watershed.  She worked for a decade with earlier generations of Potomac Conservancy and NPS staff to protect and restore the Potomac Gorge – a fruitful collaboration that earned a Department of Interior partnership award.  She also served as a long-term consultant with The World Bank and as Executive Director of the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital. 

Stephanie currently works as a consultant to nonprofits both independently and with the strategic management firm Bernuth & Williamson. She earned her undergraduate degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University, and a masters’ degree from the Yale School of the Environment.  Stephanie lives with her husband and three kids in the Booze Creek sub-watershed of the Cabin John Creek tributary to the Potomac.  When she is not at her kids’ basketball or soccer games, she enjoys walking with friends and family, practicing yoga, and spending time out in Western Maryland.  

Jeffrey Franco, Director

As CEO of Camino Consulting Group, Jeffrey Franco has worked with local and national nonprofit CEOs to provide strategic plan support, board development, executive coaching and fundraising guidance. Outside of Camino Consulting Group, Jeffrey serves as Adjunct Professor at American University and University of Maryland where he designed and currently teaches a graduate and undergraduate course in nonprofit management. 

Jeffrey served as Interim Executive Director and Vice President of City Year Miami after serving over 12 years as Executive Director of City Year Washington, DC. Franco formerly served as the Director of Global Business Development and Project Manager at Voxiva, Senior Consultant at Deloitte Consulting, Associate Director of Marketing and Sales at Corporate Executive Board, and Consultant at the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group.

Outside of his professional work, Franco was named 2013 American University Kogod School of Business Alumni of the Year, is an alumnus of the Aspen Institute Socrates Program, and is a 2016 graduate of the Co-Active Teaching Institute Leadership Program and 2010 graduate of Leadership Greater Washington. He graduated with a B.A. from Fairfield University, and has a Masters degree in International Affairs and M.B.A. from American University. Franco is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, enjoys traveling, has completed 5 marathons and an Ironman triathlon, walked the 500-mile Camino de Santiago in Spain in 2013 and completed the 150 Mile Annapurna Circuit in Nepal in 2017.

Laura Griffen, Director

Laura Griffen is an attorney with a strong background and interest in conservation and nonprofit work. She currently practices family law, litigating child custody and domestic violence cases.  She previously worked in the General Counsel’s office of The Nature Conservancy, where she advised on legal issues relating to government relations, conservation policy and tax issues, state ballot initiatives and referenda, and legislation affecting nonprofits. Laura was also Secretary for The Nature Conservancy Action Fund. Laura has served on the Board of St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School and Discovery Creek Children’s Museum (now Living Classrooms). Laura graduated from Georgetown University and the University of Virginia School of Law. An avid outdoor enthusiast, Laura and her husband and two children live in Washington, DC and can be found most weekends hiking, running or walking along the Potomac River. She is passionate about protecting this vital community asset.

Elizabeth Maclin, Director

Elizabeth Maclin has worked in the conservation and non-profit field for more than 25 years.  In her 14 years at Trout Unlimited (TU), she led the eastern conservation department, growing it from a five to a 45+ person team operating and impacting conservation outcomes across 13 different states before transitioning to the organization’s Executive Vice President. In that role, she managed numerous operational functions including those in finance, development, marketing and communications, and human resources. A highlight of her work for TU was having the privilege to co-developed and co-lead the organization’s equity practice. Elizabeth also worked for American Rivers for eight years, where she led the organization’s dam removal and river restoration programs.   

Elizabeth currently works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on both domestic and international endangered species issues. She holds a M.S. in natural resource policy and a M.B.A. from the University of Michigan, and a B.A. in biology with an environmental science concentration from Colby College. She and her husband can often be found trailing after their two children and dog on hikes in Rock Creek Park and the George Washington National Forest. 

Dr. Kurt Newman, Director

Dr. Kurt Newman is President and Chief Executive Officer of Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., a surgeon, and recognized leader in pediatric healthcare nationally and in Washington, D.C. Since becoming CEO of Children’s National in 2011, he has fostered a culture of patient-centered care and championed a culture of innovation in research, operations, and clinical care.

Dr. Newman serves on several boards, including, but not limited to, the board of the Economic Club of Washington, Greater Washington Board of Trade, Federal City Council, D.C. Chamber of Commerce, Fight for Children, YMCA Camp Sea Gull/Seafarer, Potomac Conservancy, and Corus International.

Dr. Newman is a professor of surgery and pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Public Health. He is the author of a 2017 medical memoir, Healing Children: A Surgeon’s Stories from the Frontiers of Pediatric Medicine. In 2021, Dr. Newman received the CEO of the Year award from the Washington Business Journal, the publication's highest honor.

Devereux Socas, Director

Devereux is active in several community organizations including The Catalogue for Philanthropy, The Potomac School and McLean Project for the Arts where she served on the Board and the Executive Committee. She worked in financial services public relations, primarily with the global technology investment banking groups of Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown and Morgan Stanley, both in-house and as vice president at Fleishman-Hillard and Edelman Public Relations. Earlier in her career she worked as a political appointee at the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on projects such as the energy retrofit of the Statue of Liberty and the greening of the White House. She earned her bachelor's degree from The University of Vermont. Devereux enjoys cheering on her three sons from the soccer field sidelines, and walking the trails along the Potomac River with her husband James and dog Banjo.

Michelle Tetreault, Director

Michelle Tetreault serves as The Nature Conservancy’s Risk Officer where she leads and manages the Conservancy’s Risk and Safety Team.  As Risk Officer, Michelle plays a significant role in assessing and monitoring organizational risk relating to conservation projects, corporate engagements, fire management, boating, diving, and staff safety, and serves as chair to multiple internal interdisciplinary committees charged with evaluating reputational, financial, conservation and legal risks present in TNC’s operations.  In her sixteen years at The Nature Conservancy, she has served in a number of roles, including Associate General Counsel for TNC’s Legal Corporate Services Team, lead counsel to NatureVest (TNC’s impact investing Business Unit) and counsel to TNC’s Colorado and Wyoming Business Units, among others.  Michelle is a co-leader of TNC’s Enterprise Risk Team with Audit and Compliance, charged with conducting routine enterprise risk assessments and working with the organization to ensure appropriate risk mitigation strategies are implemented. 

Michelle received a B.A. in English from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary.  Outside of work, Michelle is never without a book and enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband, three boys and dog.