Meet our Team
Little Falls Watershed Alliance is a mostly volunteer organization with a working board, a very part-time Executive Director and an occasional intern.
Staff
Sarah Morse, Executive Director
Sarah is an educator, artist, and naturalist. She has worked as a statistician, an art teacher, and the Director of the Jewish Folk Arts Festival.
In 1996, when her oldest child was in 4th grade, Sarah began leading a stream assessment program at Somerset Elementary School for fourth graders. In just 16 years, the aquatic life of the Little Falls Branch went from a wide diversity of macro-invertebrates including crayfish, cadisfly larva and an occasional may fly larva to nothing but leeches and black fly larva. It was this dramatic decline in the stream and desire to do something to help the stream recover that lead to her involvement in stormwater management and stream restoration.
She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Grinnell College double majoring in Art and General Science and a Masters of Art Education from Temple University.
Sarah is a founding member of Little Falls Watershed Alliance. In 2014, she was hired as Executive Director, a part time position. In 2016, she was honored by both the Maryland State Recreation Association and Montgomery Parks for her volunteer efforts on behalf of the environment and area parks and natural spaces.
Toby Kathan, Volunteer Coordinator, Website and Graphic design
Toby has been helping LFWA on all things website and graphic design since almost the beginning when he and Sarah sat at a watershed conference in 2010 and made lfwa.org a real website. Then, in 2019, he moved the website from the old platform to the new one, redesigning it in the process. All along, he has helped with countless graphics and signs for LFWA. In 2025, he also started handling the volunteer database and making sure that volunteers can register for events and get thanked for their work.
Toby lives in St Paul, MN with his three kids, two cats and one wife. He has a history BA from Grinnell College and a Graphic Design BFA from the University of Iowa. He likes exploring the beautiful nature around him while hiking, biking, canoeing, and XC skiing. He has a woodshop in his basement where he sometimes creates furniture and little tiny wooden bowls.
Kelsey Bitter, Bacteria Monitoring Intern
Kelsey is an environmental researcher from New Hampshire with a passion for protecting local ecosystems and making science accessible. She recently graduated from American University with a degree in Environmental Studies and has worked with the EPA, where she supported ecological risk assessments and developed GIS-based habitat maps for species conservation. She spent 15 months studying the endangered Hay’s Spring Amphipod under the leadership of Dr. David Culver in collaboration with the National Park Service. At LFWA, she coordinates the bacteria monitoring program, overseeing weekly sampling and public data sharing. Outside of work, Kelsey enjoys hiking and exploring new trails.
Board
Karen DaPonte Thornton, President
Karen is an attorney and educator with a passion for learning and building connections across communities. Raised in Sumner, Karen took weekly family walks along the Little Falls Branch and C&O canal throughout her childhood. Her education and career have been guided by a commitment to public service and the environment. She is an Army veteran who has served in each of the three branches of the federal government and on the faculty of The George Washington University Law School.
As the mother of three MCPS students, Karen has been an active supporter of our neighborhood schools, participated in LFWA weed warrior events, and is determined to ensure future generations inherit a healthy planet. She earned a BA in political science from Providence College, a JD from Georgetown University Law Center, and does karate in her spare time.
John Drake, Vice President
John Drake originally hails from Ohio where he spent his youth wading the local creek catching crayfish, minnows, and the occasional blue gill. John learned the joys of gardening from his mother and became hooked after his first sunflower grew to be over 12 ft and the birds fed off the seeds for weeks. In 2007, John started the “Plot Against Hunger” program in Arlington, VA with a mission to bring fresh produce donated by local gardeners to clients of the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC). Since that first year, over 600,000 pounds of fresh produce have been donated to AFAC.
Now living in Bethesda, John is passionate about improving our watershed through advocacy, action, and education with focus on restoring our local ecosystem with the native plants that once flourished throughout. Living within mere feet of the Little Falls Branch, John and his family enjoy biking and walking their dogs throughout the watershed whenever they can.
Sara Schneeberg Robinson, SECRETARY
Sara worked as an assistant general counsel in the Air and Radiation Law Office at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where she was been employed in various positions for more than 30 years. Before her retirement in 2015, she managed a group of attorneys working on matters related to state implementation of national ambient air quality standards under the Clean Air Act.
Early in her career, Sara was employed by the New England River Basins Commission and the National Wildlife Federation. She holds an honors law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and an honors undergraduate degree in geography from Clark University.
Sara is a founding member of Little Falls Watershed Alliance.
George Wyeth, treasurer
George Wyeth has devoted much of his career to environmental issues. He was a lawyer at EPA for 27 years, and is now a Visiting Scholar at the Environmental Law Institute. He is also a founding member and on the board of the Environmental Protection Network. He has lived in the Little Falls watershed since 1990. George sees LFWA as a chance to take concrete action on a local scale, where individuals can make the greatest difference.
Peter Chessick
Peter first started volunteering with LFWA as a weed-puller in 2022, and joined the board in 2025. He liked pulling English ivy and bush honeysuckle so much that he went and got certified as a Level 1 Weed Warrior with Montgomery Parks. With that in hand, he started pulling the top six non-native invasives in Brookdale’s Boundary Park, where he discovered half of an unused soccer goal (the other half continues to evade attempts at capture), an old air conditioner, car parts, and numerous old bottles and cans. Level 1 certification was followed by Level 2 and the privilege of pulling more types of NNIs. Peter’s wrangling with NNIs exemplifies his lifelong interest in protecting and preserving the environment for future generations, and does so in a concrete, tangible way.
Peter is a native Marylander and, with the exception of stints in California, Siberia, and Vermont, has lived in the area for most of his life. He has a wife and son who both love to hike around the area’s waterways. In his free time, Peter likes to work wood, garden, and spend time with his family.
Lisa Marcus
Lisa has been an active member of the Westbrook community for over a decade. Her son is a current member of the LFWA Salt Watch team and her family enjoys spending time in the parks and trails throughout the area. When Lisa’s children attended Westbrook Elementary School, Lisa became involved with the Trash Free lunch program and helped pilot a food composting program at the school. This led to her interest in sustainability issues in our community. She believes that making a difference in your own backyard whether it be through planting native plants, composting, or volunteering will collectively lead to lasting positive environmental change.
Lisa earned an undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis and holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Columbia University. Lisa wants to use her professional experience in non-profit volunteer and program management to help LFWA reach more community members who can make a tangible difference right here in Montgomery County.
Mikel Moore
Mikel first joined LFWA in 2012 as a Neighborhood Liaison and has served as Vice President of the Board since February 2014.
Mikel combines her passions of science, the environment, and working with kids as a local environmental educator planning and teaching programs for area schools, scout groups, and LFWA. She is also an environmental educator with the Audubon Naturalist Society. Since 2009, Mikel has lead the Eco-Defenders, an after-school nature & environment club at Westbrook Elementary School. She is a member of the Maryland Association for Outdoor and Environmental Education and a Montgomery County Weed Warrior.
From 1993 to 2001, Mikel worked at the U.S. Department of Education. She is originally from the Chicago area and graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in Political Science and International Relations. She is married with two sons.
EMILY SIMONE
Emily has been an active member of the Westbrook community since she moved there in 2010. She is originally from Vermont, where her love for the outdoors was instilled at a young age. Professionally, she leads communications and social impact programs for major corporations in the Washington area. She is a graduate of Williams College.
Emily and her family can often be found in the watershed. She and her husband run regularly on the trails. Their daughter is an active LFWA volunteer, and their son views Little Falls as an extension of his backyard. She sees her role on the board as a way to pay forward the joy they have found in the watershed.
Jack Sobel
Jonathan Breul
Emeritus
Suzanne Richman
Emeritus
Maurie Kathan
Emeritus
Dan Dozier
Emeritus