KELT Staff & Board of Directors
Becky Kolak
Executive Director
A Maine transplant with midwestern roots, Becky served KELT as an AmeriCorps volunteer in 2011 doing community outreach on the impact of water quality to regional shellfish beds, harvesters, and local economies. From there, she became KELT’s first Education Coordinator in 2012 and then Program Director in 2017. Now as Executive Director, she energetically shares her knowledge of the natural resources of the Kennebec Estuary and manages KELT’s programs with fellow staff. When not out in the estuary, you’ll find her happily hiking, reading mystery novels, trying out new recipes, or scouting for interesting invertebrates. Huzzah!
Ruth Indrick
Project Director
Ruth found her way to Maine in 2011 as an AmeriCorps volunteer for the Department of Marine Resources. She started at KELT in 2012, leading the Kennebec Estuary Shellfish Area Project with a mix of outreach, education fieldwork, and science. Since then, she has delved into more projects throughout the estuary, leading KELT’s focus on water quality and restoration through projects that target coastal ecosystems, fish passage, marine invasives, tidal restrictions, and water quality. Ruth also helps support regional water quality and bike trail initiatives.
Andrew Morgan
Land & Stewardship Director
Andrew joined KELT in 2023 and is excited about protecting land in one of the state’s most ecologically important regions. Prior to his role at KELT, Andrew spent four years stewarding and acquiring properties for the Pound Ridge Land Conservancy in New York. He has also served in stewardship roles for The Nature Conservancy in Maine and New Hampshire. During his academic years, he was a research assistant for the Center for Research on Sustainable Forests, the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainable Solutions, and the School of Forest Resources. He holds a B.S. in Parks, Recreation and Tourism and an M.S. in Ecology and Environmental Sciences from the University of Maine. Andrew, his wife Alison and their four children pursue a homesteading lifestyle in Topsham. When not working at KELT or on the homestead, Andrew can still be found outside exploring by canoe or foot, usually accompanied by a few kids and his dog.
Emily Pistell
Community Engagement Manager
Emily is joining the KELT team from a decade spent in the field as an experiential classroom educator and as an outdoor expedition instructor with Outward Bound on the Boston Harbor Islands. Her love of connecting communities to their local environments began with studying environmental justice at Tufts University, and turned into an adventurous career leading student groups outdoors in New York City, Boston, midcoast Maine, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and on a particularly wild year on expeditions in Australia. As a resident of Bath, you will find Emily exploring the trails and coastline with her young daughter in a backpack or a canoe. She is thrilled to share the rich beauty of the Kennebec Estuary with the community she now calls home.
Dillon Mulhern
Preserves Manager
Born and raised in Durham, New Hampshire, Dillon moved to the midcoast in April 2020. After graduating in December 2020 from the University of New Hampshire he began to volunteer at his local land trust, and went on to be a stewardship intern at Coastal Mountains Land Trust. Dillon began his work with estuaries while studying at UNH, where he helped conduct Habitat Restoration research at the Jackson Estuary Laboratory, where he found his passion for the preservation of natural communities and salt marshes. That experience, and his passion for the outdoors, led him to Kennebec Estuary Land Trust. He is excited to continue to work to protect and steward natural habitats as KELT’s Preserve Manager.
Board of Directors
The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust’s Board is a highly experienced and respected group of innovative leaders who are actively engaged in guiding KELT’s planning and projects.
Reeve Wood, President, Bowdoinham
Travis Wolfel, Vice President, Bath
Steve August, Treasurer, Bath
John Swenson, Secretary, Bath
Bethany Atkins, Woolwich
Jenny Burch, Woolwich
Anna Christie-Carnicella, Bowdoin
Dennis Dunbar, Westport Island
Richard Lorenson, Westport Island
Dixie Stedman, Bath
Eloise Vitelli, Arrowsic
Amy Wesson, West Bath
Warren Whitney, Bowdoinham
Jack Witham, Arrowsic