Dr. Pamela Grothe is an Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at UMW. She received her Ph.D. in climate sciences from Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research expertise lies in understanding the impacts of the climate crisis by comparing today’s climate trends with historical climate variability. Beyond research, she is dedicated to tackling the climate crisis through communication and outreach, local involvement with the city of Fredericksburg and UMW, and personal actions.
From 2004 to 2020, Charles (Charlie) Sharpless was a professor of chemistry at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, during which time he served as chair of the Department of Chemistry (2015-2020) and interim chair of the Department of Physics (2018-2020) and served for several years on the faculty senate. He was trained as an environmental chemist and conducted research for many years into how sunlight affects the environmental fate of pollutants and carbon cycling in lakes and oceans, for which he was awarded the 2018 Distinguished Research Award by the Virginia Section of the American Chemical Society. He is currently the Assistant Director for Research at Princeton University’s Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, where he provides strategic direction and oversight for the center’s research programs. Charlie holds a Ph.D. from Duke University in chemistry and a BA in Natural Sciences from the Johns Hopkins University.
Eric Bonds is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, where he studies environmental inequalities. Eric is also one of the co-founders of Fossil Free Fredericksburg and the Bragg Hill Community Garden.
Will Mackintosh is associate professor of early American history at UMW, where his work focuses on and the cultural history of tourism, capitalism, and criminality. In addition to his work as a historian, he is chair of the Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority, which is an independent city agency that acts as a catalyst for responsible economic growth that improves Fredericksburg’s quality of life. He lives in Fredericksburg with his husband Brian, owner of Collage Spa, and their two daughters.
Rebecca R. Rubin is a climate, wildlife and habitat consultant and a longtime resident of Fredericksburg. She is actively involved in climate, environment and resilience initiatives throughout Fredericksburg and Virginia as a whole.
Anne Little is the founder and executive director of Tree Fredericksburg, a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring the canopy in the city of Fredericksburg. Tree Fredericksburg has planted over 8,000 trees along the streets and in parks and schoolyards throughout the city.
George Solley is semi-retired, having worked for the past 14 years as an environmental consultant for Marstel-Day LLC. His community work includes 8 years on City Council, service on the Planning Commission, Parks and Rec Commission, R-Board, and GWRC/FAMPO. He co-founded and served on the Arts Commission and is a founding member of the Clean and Green Commission, where he is currently vice-chair. He started and chaired the Pathways Committee and Riverfront Park Task Force, has served on various boards in the city, and recently trained to become both a Master Naturalist and Master Gardener.
Richard Larochelle is a founding director of the Fredericksburg Food Co-op and has been deeply involved in the essential aspects of helping to make the Co-op a reality for Fredericksburg. In addition to the Fredericksburg Food Co-op board, Rich serves on two other co-op boards – the Cooperative Development Foundation which he chairs and the Food Co-op Initiative. During his career, Rich worked for 40 years for co-op organizations, mainly in the utility and finance space. In 2017 Rich was inducted into the Co-op Hall of Fame. Rich is active in volunteer activities and has been an Adjunct instructor on Cooperative Business at the University of Mary Washington (UMW).
Adam Lynch is a co-founder of Fifteen Minute Fredericksburg (www.fred15.org), a grassroots community organization that envisions a City of Fredericksburg where all residents can reach their everyday needs by foot, bike or transit. Adam is a resident of downtown Fredericksburg, serves on the city’s Planning Commission and has worked full-time at Friends of the Rappahannock since 2017.
