As the Alliance starts work in our 52nd year, we are excited to announce new Board leadership and members.

For the last two years, Andy Field, from Alexandria, VA, has served as the Chair of the Board. Utilizing her legal background and skills in guiding teams, Andy has worked closely with CEO, Kate Fritz, to continue to grow the staff and programmatic impact of the Alliance. Under Andy’s tenure, the organization weathered the global COVID-19 pandemic, saw the organization greatly expand its work in the four Program areas, celebrated our 50th anniversary, and maintained a steady and forward-looking perspective of the next generation of our work. Andy has served on the Board since 2015, and will continue on as the Chair Emeritus in 2023. We are very grateful to Andy for her service to the Alliance, and cleaner water!

As Andy moves into her new role, we are very excited to welcome Brian Macnamara as our Board Chair for the next two years. Brian served as the Vice Chair in 2022, and Treasurer from 2020 – 2022, and has provided invaluable support and advice on financial management and organizational excellence in his time with the Alliance. Serving as a member of the Board since 2017, Brian brings his 26+ years of experience in accounting, finance, and real estate. Now retired, Brian spent 20 years of his career with Host Hotels & Resorts, serving most recently as SVP/Corporate Controller. Brian’s interest in the environment brought him to Virginia Tech’s Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability, where he completed a Master’s Degree in natural resource management and leadership in sustainability. Brian is a long-time resident of Arlington, Virginia, and passionate donut enthusiast.

Brian Macnamara (middle), Board Chair, chats with guests at our
Taste: Celebrate the Chesapeake event in Richmond, VA in September 2022.

“I like to say it is always easier to edit than create and following Andy and a long line of passionate and professional Board chairs is a privilege and a great responsibility. Over the past five-plus years the Alliance has almost quadrupled the amount of grant revenues that it has used in collaboration with communities and businesses to improve the watershed. The Alliance’s agricultural, forestry, green infrastructure and stewardship programs have been instrumental in improving the watershed along major tributaries like the Susquehanna, Anacostia and James rivers and in urban neighborhoods like Richmond’s Fulton Commercial district and Washington, DC. The Alliance applies innovative solutions in thoughtful and inclusive ways to reach as many of the nearly 19 million residents of this critical watershed. I think with its inclusive, collaborative and results-driven approach, the Alliance’s leadership will continue to be a positive force for the watershed and solid partner to all its communities and businesses.” -Brian Macnamara, Board Chair

In partnership with Kate Fritz, CEO, Brian will continue to guide and advise on how to continue to intentionally grow the Alliance’s work and partnerships across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Welcome to Kaci Easley, Marvin Washington, and John Cox!

We are excited to have three new Board members join the Alliance as we continue to chart a course of cleaner water for all in the Chesapeake.

Kaci Easley

Kaci Easley, Legislative Affairs Advisor with Dominion Energy, and new Alliance board member.

Kaci Easley, born and raised in Charles City County, Virginia, joined the Alliance Board in February 2023. She continued her family’s example of public service, working with the likes of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and was appointed to the staff of Virginia’s Secretary of Natural Resources in 2014. Later, as Director of Virginia’s Executive Mansion, Easley worked with the First Lady to make the mansion more accessible and environmentally friendly. In 2018, Easley joined McGuireWoods Consulting, specializing in executive and legislative affairs and local government relations. She is currently the Legislative Affairs Advisor with Dominion Energy. You can see Kaci’s bio here: https://www.allianceforthebay.org/board/kaci-easley/

John Cox

John Cox, Alliance Board Member, provides remarks at
the Taste: Celebrate the Chesapeake event in Wrightsville, PA
in September 2022.

John Cox is no stranger to the work of the Alliance, and has been an important part of the inception of our Agricultural supply chain work through his former role as CEO of Turkey Hill Dairy in 2017. John joined the Alliance Board in September 2023, and brings his skills in scaling impactful work through systems-level change and a deep understanding of how the corporate sector can continue to be a catalyst for clean water in the Chesapeake Bay. You can read more about John Cox at his bio here: https://www.allianceforthebay.org/board/john-cox/

Marvin Washington

Marvin Washington joins us with a passion for recreational angling in the Chesapeake Bay, and with skills in financial and organizational audits, risk management, and advising C-Suite Executives and Boards through change management processes. Marvin grew up in Gloucester, Virginia, and has enjoyed a life of crabbing and fishing on the many southern rivers of the Chesapeake Bay. You can learn more about Marvin in his bio here: https://www.allianceforthebay.org/board/marvin-washington/

The Alliance’s Board of Directors has been critical to guiding and supporting our work, and we want to thank outgoing Board Members Sally Hornor, Tara Scully, Florence von Pelet, and Jennifer Jackson, for their time, energy, and support in so many ways.