Board of Directors
Janice Bourque
Co-President
Janice Bourque is Managing Director of Life Sciences at Hercules Technology Growth Capital. At Hercules, the leading specialty finance company, she provides venture debt and equity to venture capital and private equity backed technology and life science companies at all stages of development. Ms. Bourque recently advised and provided strategic corporate investor fundraising for Commons Capital and Oxford Bioscience Partners, two life science venture capital firms, to create a Gates Foundation supported $100 Million Commons Capital Global Health focused on innovative healthcare investments for emerging and developing countries. She most recently was Senior Vice President and Group Head-Life Sciences for Comerica Bank for the past four years. She lead Comerica’s strategy for the life sciences, positioning Comerica as the “Bank of Choice” by delivering value to the industry and generating portfolio growth through relationship development and creative debt financing.
Formerly, Ms. Bourque was President/CEO of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MBC) for 12 years. Under her leadership, MBC released MassBiotech 2010, providing a blueprint for Massachusetts to remain at the forefront of the biotechnology revolution. MBC was the first biotechnology association in the world and achieved national and international leadership during her tenure. The organization served as a model for future life science associations by demonstrating success via collaboration with policy makers, educators, media, scientists, business leaders, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and service providers.
Prior to leading the MBC, Ms Bourque held several other senior managerial positions, including CFO/controller of Cambridge Medical Technology Corporation, senior public accountant for Coopers & Lybrand Emerging and Middle Market Group, and NASA Space Science grants Project Manager for the first satellite payloads to be repaired by the space shuttle missions.
Ms. Bourque is currently on the board of the MIT Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and the Boston Museum, Xconomist (industry commentator) for Xconomy.com, chair of the Boston History and Innovation Collaborative, Chair for National Center for Family Homelessness and member of the Women’s Forum. She has won numerous awards and was named one of Boston Magazine’s 100 most influential women.
On a community level, she was elected to the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council in 1992 and has served as President for the past 6 years. She is Chair of the Mayor’s Crystal Lake Task Force and founding member of the Crystal Lake Conservancy.
Ms. Bourque received her MBA degree in finance and accounting and her BS degree in veterinary science from the University of New Hampshire.
Schuyler Larrabee
Co-President
Schuyler Larrabee has been a Newton resident since 1991. A resident of Allerton Road, he has lived very close to the lake for over 22 years, and has taken a serious interest in the welfare of the lake and its adjacent City-owned open space during that time. In 1994, he spearheaded a petition urging the City to restore the two Coves to their original condition. Within two weeks, he had, with the help of two volunteer assistants, collected over 200 signatures from homeowners in the immediate vicinity. This public support resulted in the reconstruction of the parkland at Levingston Cove, and some minor maintenance to Cronin’s Cove. He has regularly advocated for Crystal Lake on an individual basis since that time, leading to his appointment to Mayor Cohen’s Crystal Lake Task Force in 2007. He served the Task Force as its scribe, providing notes of the Task Force’s proceedings through the next two years. Schuyler is a founding member of the Crystal Lake Conservancy.
Schuyler Larrabee graduated from Syracuse University in 1972, with a Masters degree in Architecture. His professional career as a practicing architect has included land planning, office, industrial and residential architecture, and commercial interiors in New York, California, and all New England states. In 1986, he founded Larrabee Associates Architects Inc, which he ran for 18 years. In 2003 he went into public service, working at the Division of Capital Asset Management in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where he manages new and renovation building projects for health care and higher education. In 2009, he was elected Vice-Chair of the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee, a part of the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Jean Artin
Jean Artin has lived in Newton Highlands, two blocks from Crystal Lake, since 1969, and has been swimming in the Lake even longer. She served as a volunteer at Hyde School, Weeks Junior High, and Newton South High School while her children were in school. In 1974, she co-founded the Newton Highlands Area Council with Barbara Kaplan, and continued to serve on the Council for several years. The NHAC was formed when Hyde School was threatened with closure, but has gone on to be a major force in the urban success that is Newton Highlands. Since 1986, Jean has been “doing B&B,” operating a small high quality bed and breakfast. Aware of her interest in and concern for Crystal Lake’s future, and her regular use of the swimming facility, Alderman George Mansfield asked her to join the Mayor’s Crystal Lake Task Force, where she was an active participant over the Task Force’s two year existence. She is a founding member of the Crystal Lake Conservancy.
Jean has always been around water; she has vacationed for over 50 years in the Adirondacks, staying in her family’s log cabin on an island in Franklin Falls Pond, near Saranac Lake NY, where, she notes, the water is much colder than Crystal Lake. She grew up in Rochester NY swimming in Lake Ontario and in Pistakee Lake, a large lake northwest of Chicago, IL. Jean has a BA from Radcliffe College, and has studied piano at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge for 30 years.
Frank Bachner
Dr. Frank Bachner was born in Brookline, MA and moved to Newton when he was eight years old. He attended the Mason School, Weeks Junior High and graduated from Newton High in 1957. Upon graduation he entered MIT where he received his bachelor and doctorate degrees in materials science. After serving two years as a Captain in the Army, Dr. Bachner worked for 15 years at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory and then spent several years working in the microelectronics industry both in Boston and subsequently in San Diego. He has been an industry consultant specializing in advanced semiconductor packaging and assembly for the past several years. While growing up in Newton, Dr. Bachner swam, fished and skated at Crystal Lake. His children raised in Newton also swam and fished in the lake and even skated there when they were very young, Now semi-retired, Dr. Bachner enjoys taking his grandchildren swimming and fishing at Crystal Lake and working to preserve the lake for their
children.
Robert Fizek
Robert Fizek is an Architect and a resident of Newton Highlands since 1991. Robert’s interests in Crystal Lake were formed by experiences shared with his wife and children, walking and fishing around the lake, and swimming at the Gil Bathhouse. Noticing the unusual site constraints and deteriorating conditions there, he contacted City officials to encourage them to plan for betterments and ‘friendly’ purchase of adjacent property as early as 1998.
In 2006 open disagreements between the new owner of the property adjacent to the bathhouse and the City caused significant public concern, and provided the opportunity for action. Mr. Fizek met again with the Mayor, local Aldermen, and some concerned citizens to organize grass-roots support for acquiring the property at 20 Rogers Street using Community Preservation Act funds. Mr. Fizek and volunteers established a website/blog; conducted a petition drive; lobbied relevant agencies and commissions; and collaborated with allied individuals and civic organizations to demonstrate the opportunity available, and help expedite the political process. Despite growing fiscal concerns, the Mayor and local Aldermen gained the approval of the Board of Aldermen to acquire the Rogers Street property by the extraordinary use of Eminent Domain.
Mr. Fizek subsequently joined other interested members of the community in appointment to the Mayor’s Crystal Lake Task Force, formed to oversee a Master Planning study and recommend a plan for the future. Concurrently, Mr Fizek and others worked to support subsequent negotiations between the City and the now next-adjacent- landowner at 230 Lake Avenue, who also wished to have her property become a civic asset, joining two city parklands into a continuous waterfront park. Ultimately this property remained private; but additional wooded landscape and a permanent public easement along the shore were obtained by agreement with the new owner. In 2009 Mr. Fizek joined a small group of committed citizens to establish the Crystal Lake Conservancy.
Robert Fizek graduated from the Boston Architectural Center in 1983 and has served the profession in New York State, Massachusetts, Italy, and Austria. He opened his own practice in Newton in 1998.
Liane Hartnett
Liane Hartnett has lived in Newton since 1988, when she and her husband Paul bought a house in Newton Highlands where his father had grown up. Paul remembers swimming in Crystal Lake as a child when visiting his grandparents. Liane grew up in Braintree, where her parents were active on School Committee and the conservation Commission. She graduated from Wellesley College and went on to get a PhD from Boston University in Medical Sciences. While her three children were growing up, she taught part time at several local colleges. All three children attended Newton Public schools, with the oldest two graduating from Newton North and the youngest from Newton South. Liane was involved in PTO activities, and served on the Parents Advisory committee at Brown Middle School. She and her husband were also Co-commissioners of the Newton East Farm League for several years, and she was a member of the Newton South Boosters club while her son was at South.
Liane is currently the Lab Manager for the Biology Department at Emmanuel College. As a biologist, she is concerned with the environment and preserving and maintaining natural space. She is an avid bird- watcher and amateur naturalist, which gives her a perspective on the necessity of preserving habitats, for our generation and future generations. Her daughter Annie currently lives in Newton and Liane and Annie enjoy walks with their dogs in Cold Spring and Hemlock Gorge.
Srdjan S. Nedeljkovic, M.D.
Treasurer
Dr. Nedeljkovic is an anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist based at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, a major teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Nedeljkovic is also the Fellowship Director and is also Director of Resident Education in Pain Medicine at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. He also holds teaching appointments at both Harvard Medical School and Tufts Medical School. He also is an affiliate faculty in Anesthesiology at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center. He is also on staff at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Nedeljkovic is Board-Certified in both Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and practices in both specialties. Dr. Nedeljkovic has published and given numerous lectures on his areas of expertise. Dr. Nedeljkovic completed his undergraduate education at Penn State University and is a graduate of Jefferson Medical College. After his residency in anesthesiology, Dr. Nedeljkovic completed a fellowship in Pain Management through the Harvard Coordinated Pain Management Program.
Dr. Nedeljkovic has been active in both the Newton community and in the larger community. He is the Vice President of the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council. He has been appointed to serve on the Newton Comprehensive Planning Advisory Committee and the Crystal Lake Task Force. He is the Policy Advisor and on the Board of Directors of Bike Newton. He has been appointed by the MBTA to serve on the Arborway Rail Restoration Advisory Committee and is a member of the Arborway Committee. He is a founding member of the Crystal Lake Conservancy.
Lisa Rosenfeld
Lisa Rosenfeld is Counsel and Legislative Director for the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities at the State House in the office of Newton Representative Kay Khan. Representative Khan serves as the House Chair of the Committee. An integral part of her work is to research, analyze and summarize referred bills for briefing Representative Khan and Committee members and writing advisory opinions. Attorney Rosenfeld organizes the Committee's public hearings, briefings and informational hearings on the referred bills and topics of concern. She also meets with various constituencies including legislators, State House staff, state agencies, advocacy organizations, unions, and the public to craft and improve legislation, regulations and state statutes as well as problem-solve. She assists the Chair and Committee in overseeing and monitoring state agencies and Commissions and their budgets that are under the Committee’s purview. These include the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Developmental Services, the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Department of Youth Services, the MA Commission for the Blind, the MA Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the MA Rehabilitation Commission. She also coordinates the response to the federal Juvenile Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and collaborates on issues surrounding incarcerated women and their children.
Attorney Rosenfeld graduated from Pratt Institute with a Bachelors in Fine Arts in Environmental Design. She received, from the State University of New York at Albany, a Masters of Social Work in Public Policy and Administration, and her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.
Lisa has been active in the community and a resident of Newton Highlands with her family for almost 30 years. She served as Vice President of the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council, worked to extend the swimming season and re-establish ice skating at Crystal Lake and organized a Newton Highlands Area Council Village Day. She co-founded Newton Singers, now a 60-person strong chorus, has been a long-time Board Member of the Newton Food Pantry and founded Friends of Cold Spring Park which resulted in the installation of the playground near the Beacon Street tennis courts.
She has been an active member of the Crystal Lake Conservancy testing the Lake’s water, completing numerous watershed surveys, and distributing the Conservancy’s newsletters. Crystal Lake has played an important role in her life. She looks forward to furthering the Conservancy’s mission and goals so that Crystal Lake remains vital for the neighborhood and the community-at-large.
Robin Saragian
Robin is an accomplished executive assistant and event planner with extensive administrative experience and expertise supporting executive management while working for life science companies such as Dyax, Novartis and Ardais. Robin is the current founder and owner of PAWSwithTAILS that she developed into a multi-service pet care business since 2008. Robin also serves as an Assistant to Director/Aide for the City of Newton Recreation Department where she assists with recreational activities for adults and children with various special needs leading to Special Olympics. She is also active in Special Olympics of MA, Owl Diner Charities (terminally ill patients) and the Salvation Army.
Barbara Wales
Clerk
Barbara Wales has been a resident of Newton since 1986, originally living in Newtonville, subsequently owning two different residences in Newton Centre, including her current home on Rotherwood Road, where she lives with her husband Andrew and her two children. In 1989, Barbara co-led the initial effort to revitalize Washington Park in Newtonville, an effort which continued on after her departure from Newtonville and has culminated in being recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. Barbara is an inaugural member of the Newtonville Historic District Commission and has served as the Commission’s Clerk since its inception. In 2008, Barbara served as co-editor of the “Community Participation and Fund-Raising Plan for Crystal Lake.” Barbara is a founding member of the Crystal Lake Conservancy.
Barbara Wales graduated from Michigan State University in 1984 with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, with a minor in Mechanical Engineering. She worked for over 17 years for GTE and Verizon in secure communications, network management, business process improvement, product design and roll out for DSL. She was also principal engineer for the deployment of the Network Operations Center for the Telephone Company of Venezuela, CANTV. Since 2001, Barbara has successfully pursued her career as a full time Realtor. She is a Graduate of the Realtor’s Institute (GRI); she is Accredited as a Buyer’s Representative (ABR); and she is an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP). She continues to provide service to clients in the city of Newton and in surrounding towns.
Beth Wilkinson (contributor)
Beth Wilkinson moved to Newton in 1994 from Lexington, where she was president of the Pleasant Brook Neighborhood Association, a PTO co-president, and co-president of the townwide PTO Council. She also was the chair of the parent volunteer group and the front-of-the-house manager for the Dance Prism Ballet Company and a board member of Harvard's Soldiers Field Children's Center.
After moving to Newton, Beth continued her involvement in community life. Starting in 1996, she was co-president of the PTO at Day Middle School and in 1998 became co-president of the citywide PTO Council for two years. In 2000, she joined the Board of the League of Women Voters and was a host of the League’s monthly Legislative Round Table on NewTV. She also joined the board of the Friends of the Newton Free Library, serving as co-chair of the annual Book and Author Luncheon for four years. Beth was first elected as a member of the Ward 6 Democratic City Committee in 2005 and also was appointed to the Newton Centre Task Force that year. In 2005, she was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Newton Free Library and elected President in 2008.
Nature in general and plants in particular always have been important in Beth’s life. For decades, she’s been an avid gardener and bird watcher. She was certified as a Principal Master Gardener in 2003 and became an active member of the Massachusetts’ Horticultural Speakers’ Bureau. She became a volunteer for the New England Wild Flower Society and completed their certificate in Field Botany. In 2008, she became a Plant Conservation Volunteer, joining with others to survey rare and endangered plants. In 2010, she joined a team updating the Garden in the Woods’s rare plant garden..
Beth graduated from the University of Rochester and received an MA in English from Boston University. After teaching and completing all but the dissertation for a PhD, she left the academic world to become a Senior Editor in Houghton Mifflin’s textbook division.
Beth’s love of lakes began during her childhood in Minneapolis, where she spent countless hours in and around the three lakes near her home. She and her husband, Hugh, now live one block from Crystal Lake and enjoy walking their dogs around the lake.
Sarah Deighton
Webmaster
Sarah Deighton moved to Newton Centre 12 years ago, and Crystal Lake was a big reason she fell in love with the area. She and her husband, Anthony, had been reluctant to move back east from the Bay Area, but Newton offered such an amazing mix of urban richness and coveted gems of conservation land. Their prerequisite for where they live within Newton has become based on their proximity to the lake! Now as they raise their 3 children in the area, the lake has become special to all of them – whether it’s kayaking, swimming or walking along Lake Avenue – they recognize the beauty of this space and importance of conserving it for generations to come.
Sarah has worked in both corporate and higher education settings. She led programs and outreach initiatives at Harvard, Stanford and Berkeley, in the areas of alumni relations and career services. She began her career at Korn/Ferry International, and got involved in their online presence and outreach when they launched FutureStep in the late 90s. All of her work has involved developing and managing partnerships, and leveraging the use of technology to improve outreach.
Sarah has been an active parent volunteer at Mason-Rice Elementary School, Children’s Coop in Newton Center, and the Bowen Cooperative Nursery School. Sarah received her Master’s degree from Harvard University, and Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University. Sarah will manage our website and communications.
Co-President
Janice Bourque is Managing Director of Life Sciences at Hercules Technology Growth Capital. At Hercules, the leading specialty finance company, she provides venture debt and equity to venture capital and private equity backed technology and life science companies at all stages of development. Ms. Bourque recently advised and provided strategic corporate investor fundraising for Commons Capital and Oxford Bioscience Partners, two life science venture capital firms, to create a Gates Foundation supported $100 Million Commons Capital Global Health focused on innovative healthcare investments for emerging and developing countries. She most recently was Senior Vice President and Group Head-Life Sciences for Comerica Bank for the past four years. She lead Comerica’s strategy for the life sciences, positioning Comerica as the “Bank of Choice” by delivering value to the industry and generating portfolio growth through relationship development and creative debt financing.
Formerly, Ms. Bourque was President/CEO of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MBC) for 12 years. Under her leadership, MBC released MassBiotech 2010, providing a blueprint for Massachusetts to remain at the forefront of the biotechnology revolution. MBC was the first biotechnology association in the world and achieved national and international leadership during her tenure. The organization served as a model for future life science associations by demonstrating success via collaboration with policy makers, educators, media, scientists, business leaders, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and service providers.
Prior to leading the MBC, Ms Bourque held several other senior managerial positions, including CFO/controller of Cambridge Medical Technology Corporation, senior public accountant for Coopers & Lybrand Emerging and Middle Market Group, and NASA Space Science grants Project Manager for the first satellite payloads to be repaired by the space shuttle missions.
Ms. Bourque is currently on the board of the MIT Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and the Boston Museum, Xconomist (industry commentator) for Xconomy.com, chair of the Boston History and Innovation Collaborative, Chair for National Center for Family Homelessness and member of the Women’s Forum. She has won numerous awards and was named one of Boston Magazine’s 100 most influential women.
On a community level, she was elected to the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council in 1992 and has served as President for the past 6 years. She is Chair of the Mayor’s Crystal Lake Task Force and founding member of the Crystal Lake Conservancy.
Ms. Bourque received her MBA degree in finance and accounting and her BS degree in veterinary science from the University of New Hampshire.
Schuyler Larrabee
Co-President
Schuyler Larrabee has been a Newton resident since 1991. A resident of Allerton Road, he has lived very close to the lake for over 22 years, and has taken a serious interest in the welfare of the lake and its adjacent City-owned open space during that time. In 1994, he spearheaded a petition urging the City to restore the two Coves to their original condition. Within two weeks, he had, with the help of two volunteer assistants, collected over 200 signatures from homeowners in the immediate vicinity. This public support resulted in the reconstruction of the parkland at Levingston Cove, and some minor maintenance to Cronin’s Cove. He has regularly advocated for Crystal Lake on an individual basis since that time, leading to his appointment to Mayor Cohen’s Crystal Lake Task Force in 2007. He served the Task Force as its scribe, providing notes of the Task Force’s proceedings through the next two years. Schuyler is a founding member of the Crystal Lake Conservancy.
Schuyler Larrabee graduated from Syracuse University in 1972, with a Masters degree in Architecture. His professional career as a practicing architect has included land planning, office, industrial and residential architecture, and commercial interiors in New York, California, and all New England states. In 1986, he founded Larrabee Associates Architects Inc, which he ran for 18 years. In 2003 he went into public service, working at the Division of Capital Asset Management in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where he manages new and renovation building projects for health care and higher education. In 2009, he was elected Vice-Chair of the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee, a part of the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Jean Artin
Jean Artin has lived in Newton Highlands, two blocks from Crystal Lake, since 1969, and has been swimming in the Lake even longer. She served as a volunteer at Hyde School, Weeks Junior High, and Newton South High School while her children were in school. In 1974, she co-founded the Newton Highlands Area Council with Barbara Kaplan, and continued to serve on the Council for several years. The NHAC was formed when Hyde School was threatened with closure, but has gone on to be a major force in the urban success that is Newton Highlands. Since 1986, Jean has been “doing B&B,” operating a small high quality bed and breakfast. Aware of her interest in and concern for Crystal Lake’s future, and her regular use of the swimming facility, Alderman George Mansfield asked her to join the Mayor’s Crystal Lake Task Force, where she was an active participant over the Task Force’s two year existence. She is a founding member of the Crystal Lake Conservancy.
Jean has always been around water; she has vacationed for over 50 years in the Adirondacks, staying in her family’s log cabin on an island in Franklin Falls Pond, near Saranac Lake NY, where, she notes, the water is much colder than Crystal Lake. She grew up in Rochester NY swimming in Lake Ontario and in Pistakee Lake, a large lake northwest of Chicago, IL. Jean has a BA from Radcliffe College, and has studied piano at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge for 30 years.
Frank Bachner
Dr. Frank Bachner was born in Brookline, MA and moved to Newton when he was eight years old. He attended the Mason School, Weeks Junior High and graduated from Newton High in 1957. Upon graduation he entered MIT where he received his bachelor and doctorate degrees in materials science. After serving two years as a Captain in the Army, Dr. Bachner worked for 15 years at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory and then spent several years working in the microelectronics industry both in Boston and subsequently in San Diego. He has been an industry consultant specializing in advanced semiconductor packaging and assembly for the past several years. While growing up in Newton, Dr. Bachner swam, fished and skated at Crystal Lake. His children raised in Newton also swam and fished in the lake and even skated there when they were very young, Now semi-retired, Dr. Bachner enjoys taking his grandchildren swimming and fishing at Crystal Lake and working to preserve the lake for their
children.
Robert Fizek
Robert Fizek is an Architect and a resident of Newton Highlands since 1991. Robert’s interests in Crystal Lake were formed by experiences shared with his wife and children, walking and fishing around the lake, and swimming at the Gil Bathhouse. Noticing the unusual site constraints and deteriorating conditions there, he contacted City officials to encourage them to plan for betterments and ‘friendly’ purchase of adjacent property as early as 1998.
In 2006 open disagreements between the new owner of the property adjacent to the bathhouse and the City caused significant public concern, and provided the opportunity for action. Mr. Fizek met again with the Mayor, local Aldermen, and some concerned citizens to organize grass-roots support for acquiring the property at 20 Rogers Street using Community Preservation Act funds. Mr. Fizek and volunteers established a website/blog; conducted a petition drive; lobbied relevant agencies and commissions; and collaborated with allied individuals and civic organizations to demonstrate the opportunity available, and help expedite the political process. Despite growing fiscal concerns, the Mayor and local Aldermen gained the approval of the Board of Aldermen to acquire the Rogers Street property by the extraordinary use of Eminent Domain.
Mr. Fizek subsequently joined other interested members of the community in appointment to the Mayor’s Crystal Lake Task Force, formed to oversee a Master Planning study and recommend a plan for the future. Concurrently, Mr Fizek and others worked to support subsequent negotiations between the City and the now next-adjacent- landowner at 230 Lake Avenue, who also wished to have her property become a civic asset, joining two city parklands into a continuous waterfront park. Ultimately this property remained private; but additional wooded landscape and a permanent public easement along the shore were obtained by agreement with the new owner. In 2009 Mr. Fizek joined a small group of committed citizens to establish the Crystal Lake Conservancy.
Robert Fizek graduated from the Boston Architectural Center in 1983 and has served the profession in New York State, Massachusetts, Italy, and Austria. He opened his own practice in Newton in 1998.
Liane Hartnett
Liane Hartnett has lived in Newton since 1988, when she and her husband Paul bought a house in Newton Highlands where his father had grown up. Paul remembers swimming in Crystal Lake as a child when visiting his grandparents. Liane grew up in Braintree, where her parents were active on School Committee and the conservation Commission. She graduated from Wellesley College and went on to get a PhD from Boston University in Medical Sciences. While her three children were growing up, she taught part time at several local colleges. All three children attended Newton Public schools, with the oldest two graduating from Newton North and the youngest from Newton South. Liane was involved in PTO activities, and served on the Parents Advisory committee at Brown Middle School. She and her husband were also Co-commissioners of the Newton East Farm League for several years, and she was a member of the Newton South Boosters club while her son was at South.
Liane is currently the Lab Manager for the Biology Department at Emmanuel College. As a biologist, she is concerned with the environment and preserving and maintaining natural space. She is an avid bird- watcher and amateur naturalist, which gives her a perspective on the necessity of preserving habitats, for our generation and future generations. Her daughter Annie currently lives in Newton and Liane and Annie enjoy walks with their dogs in Cold Spring and Hemlock Gorge.
Srdjan S. Nedeljkovic, M.D.
Treasurer
Dr. Nedeljkovic is an anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist based at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, a major teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Nedeljkovic is also the Fellowship Director and is also Director of Resident Education in Pain Medicine at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. He also holds teaching appointments at both Harvard Medical School and Tufts Medical School. He also is an affiliate faculty in Anesthesiology at St. Elizabeth's Medical Center. He is also on staff at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Nedeljkovic is Board-Certified in both Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and practices in both specialties. Dr. Nedeljkovic has published and given numerous lectures on his areas of expertise. Dr. Nedeljkovic completed his undergraduate education at Penn State University and is a graduate of Jefferson Medical College. After his residency in anesthesiology, Dr. Nedeljkovic completed a fellowship in Pain Management through the Harvard Coordinated Pain Management Program.
Dr. Nedeljkovic has been active in both the Newton community and in the larger community. He is the Vice President of the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council. He has been appointed to serve on the Newton Comprehensive Planning Advisory Committee and the Crystal Lake Task Force. He is the Policy Advisor and on the Board of Directors of Bike Newton. He has been appointed by the MBTA to serve on the Arborway Rail Restoration Advisory Committee and is a member of the Arborway Committee. He is a founding member of the Crystal Lake Conservancy.
Lisa Rosenfeld
Lisa Rosenfeld is Counsel and Legislative Director for the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities at the State House in the office of Newton Representative Kay Khan. Representative Khan serves as the House Chair of the Committee. An integral part of her work is to research, analyze and summarize referred bills for briefing Representative Khan and Committee members and writing advisory opinions. Attorney Rosenfeld organizes the Committee's public hearings, briefings and informational hearings on the referred bills and topics of concern. She also meets with various constituencies including legislators, State House staff, state agencies, advocacy organizations, unions, and the public to craft and improve legislation, regulations and state statutes as well as problem-solve. She assists the Chair and Committee in overseeing and monitoring state agencies and Commissions and their budgets that are under the Committee’s purview. These include the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Developmental Services, the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Department of Youth Services, the MA Commission for the Blind, the MA Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the MA Rehabilitation Commission. She also coordinates the response to the federal Juvenile Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and collaborates on issues surrounding incarcerated women and their children.
Attorney Rosenfeld graduated from Pratt Institute with a Bachelors in Fine Arts in Environmental Design. She received, from the State University of New York at Albany, a Masters of Social Work in Public Policy and Administration, and her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.
Lisa has been active in the community and a resident of Newton Highlands with her family for almost 30 years. She served as Vice President of the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council, worked to extend the swimming season and re-establish ice skating at Crystal Lake and organized a Newton Highlands Area Council Village Day. She co-founded Newton Singers, now a 60-person strong chorus, has been a long-time Board Member of the Newton Food Pantry and founded Friends of Cold Spring Park which resulted in the installation of the playground near the Beacon Street tennis courts.
She has been an active member of the Crystal Lake Conservancy testing the Lake’s water, completing numerous watershed surveys, and distributing the Conservancy’s newsletters. Crystal Lake has played an important role in her life. She looks forward to furthering the Conservancy’s mission and goals so that Crystal Lake remains vital for the neighborhood and the community-at-large.
Robin Saragian
Robin is an accomplished executive assistant and event planner with extensive administrative experience and expertise supporting executive management while working for life science companies such as Dyax, Novartis and Ardais. Robin is the current founder and owner of PAWSwithTAILS that she developed into a multi-service pet care business since 2008. Robin also serves as an Assistant to Director/Aide for the City of Newton Recreation Department where she assists with recreational activities for adults and children with various special needs leading to Special Olympics. She is also active in Special Olympics of MA, Owl Diner Charities (terminally ill patients) and the Salvation Army.
Barbara Wales
Clerk
Barbara Wales has been a resident of Newton since 1986, originally living in Newtonville, subsequently owning two different residences in Newton Centre, including her current home on Rotherwood Road, where she lives with her husband Andrew and her two children. In 1989, Barbara co-led the initial effort to revitalize Washington Park in Newtonville, an effort which continued on after her departure from Newtonville and has culminated in being recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. Barbara is an inaugural member of the Newtonville Historic District Commission and has served as the Commission’s Clerk since its inception. In 2008, Barbara served as co-editor of the “Community Participation and Fund-Raising Plan for Crystal Lake.” Barbara is a founding member of the Crystal Lake Conservancy.
Barbara Wales graduated from Michigan State University in 1984 with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, with a minor in Mechanical Engineering. She worked for over 17 years for GTE and Verizon in secure communications, network management, business process improvement, product design and roll out for DSL. She was also principal engineer for the deployment of the Network Operations Center for the Telephone Company of Venezuela, CANTV. Since 2001, Barbara has successfully pursued her career as a full time Realtor. She is a Graduate of the Realtor’s Institute (GRI); she is Accredited as a Buyer’s Representative (ABR); and she is an Accredited Staging Professional (ASP). She continues to provide service to clients in the city of Newton and in surrounding towns.
Beth Wilkinson (contributor)
Beth Wilkinson moved to Newton in 1994 from Lexington, where she was president of the Pleasant Brook Neighborhood Association, a PTO co-president, and co-president of the townwide PTO Council. She also was the chair of the parent volunteer group and the front-of-the-house manager for the Dance Prism Ballet Company and a board member of Harvard's Soldiers Field Children's Center.
After moving to Newton, Beth continued her involvement in community life. Starting in 1996, she was co-president of the PTO at Day Middle School and in 1998 became co-president of the citywide PTO Council for two years. In 2000, she joined the Board of the League of Women Voters and was a host of the League’s monthly Legislative Round Table on NewTV. She also joined the board of the Friends of the Newton Free Library, serving as co-chair of the annual Book and Author Luncheon for four years. Beth was first elected as a member of the Ward 6 Democratic City Committee in 2005 and also was appointed to the Newton Centre Task Force that year. In 2005, she was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Newton Free Library and elected President in 2008.
Nature in general and plants in particular always have been important in Beth’s life. For decades, she’s been an avid gardener and bird watcher. She was certified as a Principal Master Gardener in 2003 and became an active member of the Massachusetts’ Horticultural Speakers’ Bureau. She became a volunteer for the New England Wild Flower Society and completed their certificate in Field Botany. In 2008, she became a Plant Conservation Volunteer, joining with others to survey rare and endangered plants. In 2010, she joined a team updating the Garden in the Woods’s rare plant garden..
Beth graduated from the University of Rochester and received an MA in English from Boston University. After teaching and completing all but the dissertation for a PhD, she left the academic world to become a Senior Editor in Houghton Mifflin’s textbook division.
Beth’s love of lakes began during her childhood in Minneapolis, where she spent countless hours in and around the three lakes near her home. She and her husband, Hugh, now live one block from Crystal Lake and enjoy walking their dogs around the lake.
Sarah Deighton
Webmaster
Sarah Deighton moved to Newton Centre 12 years ago, and Crystal Lake was a big reason she fell in love with the area. She and her husband, Anthony, had been reluctant to move back east from the Bay Area, but Newton offered such an amazing mix of urban richness and coveted gems of conservation land. Their prerequisite for where they live within Newton has become based on their proximity to the lake! Now as they raise their 3 children in the area, the lake has become special to all of them – whether it’s kayaking, swimming or walking along Lake Avenue – they recognize the beauty of this space and importance of conserving it for generations to come.
Sarah has worked in both corporate and higher education settings. She led programs and outreach initiatives at Harvard, Stanford and Berkeley, in the areas of alumni relations and career services. She began her career at Korn/Ferry International, and got involved in their online presence and outreach when they launched FutureStep in the late 90s. All of her work has involved developing and managing partnerships, and leveraging the use of technology to improve outreach.
Sarah has been an active parent volunteer at Mason-Rice Elementary School, Children’s Coop in Newton Center, and the Bowen Cooperative Nursery School. Sarah received her Master’s degree from Harvard University, and Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University. Sarah will manage our website and communications.