Jess Burton is a weaver, connecting people, ideas, and resources to build a better world. As the founding Executive Director of Momentum Conservation, she continues to learn and grow and seek ways to seed justice here.
Jess grew up in New York City, ancestral land of the Lenape, and was born with an innate connection to nature and to being outside. She lives on Peaks Island with her husband Ponch Membreño, her daughters, and 2 dogs. Jess loves big ideas and is re-learning how to imagine that which has not existed yet.
While Lindy’s professional background includes many varied ventures, most recently serving as Outreach and Education Director at Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, she cares most about helping people connect – to themselves, to each other, and to the natural world around them. This has looked like leading backpacking trips in British Columbia, growing food and community in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and more recently exploring the waters of Casco Bay any way she can, but especially as a registered Maine Sea Kayak guide.
Lindy moved to Maine in 2022 to kayak and was so inspired by the beauty of the landscape and the people who frequent it, she decided to make it her permanent home and build her career around the conservation of this exceptional place. When not working, Lindy enjoys cycling, way too many hobbies, and spending time with her dog.
Peyton Black is originally from New Jersey and moved to Maine in 2018. She holds a BA from College of Charleston in South Carolina. Before joining the Momentum Conservation team, Peyton worked at The Telling Room as Program and Volunteer Manager for over five years. Peyton is passionate about environmental and social justice and is excited to support the Maine conservation community in her role at Momentum.
In her spare time, Peyton enjoys playing and coaching field hockey, working her way through her reading list (preferably sitting by a body of water), and taking her three-legged rescue dog Sawyer on adventures.
Treasurer
Chelsey Berlin is a nonprofit leader with more than fifteen years of experience in organizational leadership, humanitarian work, and international programming. She currently serves as the Director of Organizational Effectiveness at Our Generation Speaks. Previously, she was Executive Director of the Eastern Trail Alliance and Eastern Trail Management District and held national leadership roles at HIAS and B'Tselem USA. Born and raised in Old Orchard Beach, Chelsey has a lifelong connection to the ocean and outdoors.
President
Andrea Berry is a community organizer at heart who fully believes that we can use the tools of public policy and finance to bring about environmental justice and climate resilience. Working at the New England Environmental Finance Center as Climate Funding Manager, Andrea supports environmental justice projects throughout the New England region in securing needed funding and building critical community engagement and support. Previously she served as the Executive Director at Wild Seed Project and as the Director of Community Engagement at Maine Initiatives. In her “free time” Andrea serves as the Select Board Chair for her hometown of North Yarmouth, ME, and in addition to her Board role at Momentum, she sits on the Board of the Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG). Andrea lives in North Yarmouth with her partner, teenage child, and dog Penny. She is an avid gardener, loves fantasy books, and believes in always showing up with homemade baked goods.
Stefan J. Jackson is Principal of NATURAL DIFFERENCE, LLC, specializing in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Consulting & Coaching and Mediation Services, with a focus in natural resource and environmental conservation, stewardship and education organizations. Stefan has over 30 years in land and water conservation in both transactional and kinship models, over 45 years in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and over 25 years as trained negotiator and mediator. Currently, serving on the Board for the Maine Environmental Education Association, as Advisor to Land for Communities (formerly Conservation for All and ME Land Protection) funds at the Maine Community Foundation. As an educator, coach, advisor, and friend, Stefan has mentored dozens of current and future nature educators and stewards; facilitated many productive, restorative resolutions to seemingly intractable conflicts; and working with Momentum
Deja Manson currently works as the Director of Operations at the Maine Environmental Education Association. Originally from San Diego, she moved to Bar Harbor Maine in 2020 where she worked until 2025 as an arborist for Acadia National Park. With a strong passion for being outside and using her skills to care for the land, she has spent most of her professional time in the last decade doing field work in some of the most beautiful parts of the country. From Wildland Firefighting for 4 summers in the Oregon old growth, to teaching environmental education in the hills of Southern California, to documenting fossilized dire wolf tracks in New Mexico. As time passed and priorities changed, she began to put her focus to the administrative side of the environmental movement by getting experience working in tech and administration within the park service for a year before joining MEEA in January of 2025. Deja is excited to keep connecting, growing, and learning new things from the people she encounters!
Matt is the Executive Director at Loon Echo Land Trust, where he has worked since 2018. Matt grew up in a small city in central Connecticut and has lived in Maine for the past 15 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College - Hartford, a graduate certificate in organization development from the University of Southern Maine, and is completing a Master’s Degree in Leadership Studies also from the University of Southern Maine. Matt is passionate about connecting people to each other and places through the power of conservation and outdoor access. His prior work experience in Maine’s conservation and environmental education communities include roles at the Nature Conservancy in Maine, an AmeriCorps Environmental Steward with the Maine Natural Areas Program, and as an environmental and experiential educator at Kieve-Wavus Education. He is currently the Chair of the Maine Land Trust Network’s Steering Committee, the Co-Chair of the Sebago Clean Waters regional conservation partnership, and serves on the town of Bridgton's Open Space Committee as vice Chair. Matt lives in Bridgton with his partner and enjoys cycling, skiing, paddling, and traveling.
Helen Scalia is the Principal of Scalia & Company, Inc. where she is a consultant to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and other mission-driven organizations, helping them tell their stories, design programs, raise money, make informed decisions, and plan for and adapt to change. She works with start-ups and established institutions in urban and rural communities and in Indian Country. Helen lives on and tends to a small patch of earth in the geographically seductive city of Portland, Maine.
Ex Officio Board Member, Secretary
