Meet the Wissahickon Restoration Volunteers (WRV) Staff and Board of Directors!

WRV is a small but mighty organization. Despite having no full-time paid staff, we are able to plan, initiate, and maintain restoration projects all over the Wissahickon. This is due to the tremendous work of the volunteers, our part-time Restoration Specialists, as well as the leadership of WRV board members. who also take on the tasks of planning, logistics management, budgeting, outreach, data gathering, tool sharpening, and so much more.

A brief introduction to our Restoration Specialists as well as each WRV board member is below, and if you are as passionate about preserving the Wissahickon as they are, considering applying to the board!

RESTORATION SPECIALISTS

Jo Brunelli
Restoration Specialist

Jo began their work as a restoration specialist with WRV in 2025 as a way to connect and learn more about the Wissahickon. They hold a BS in Natural Resources giving them a strong background in forest ecology, tree/plant identification, and hands-on fieldwork. Jo’s experience includes conducting field research in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest and leading volunteer groups in tree planting and foraging hikes. They currently live in South Philly and can often be found walking around, birdwatching, hanging out at the park or playing tennis with a friend.

Allegra Dingle
Restoration Specialist

By day, Allegra is an educator; by night, a baker and artist. On weekends, you’ll find them somewhere outside, which led them to this important ecological restoration work! He’s super excited to get his hands dirty and to be a part of this organization’s efforts.

Andrew Litts
Restoration Specialist

An advocate for native ecology, Andrew leads tree planting projects with East Falls Tree Tenders and has initiated restoration efforts at local sites like the Thomas Mifflin School and Falls of Schuylkill Library. He enjoys deep dives into researching native plants and loves discovering new ones in the Wissahickon.

Liam MT
Restoration Specialist

Liam comes to us with a strong background in community leadership, having served as a mentor and teaching assistant at Kensington High School through City Year. After discovering his passion for urban forestry with PowerCorps, he’s focused on preserving Philadelphia’s green spaces, with experience in tree care, park maintenance, and a commitment to conservation.

Linda Malinowski
Restoration Specialist

Linda fell in love with the Wissahickon while studying Environmental Sustainability at Philadelphia University. She believes strongly in community connectedness and accessibility, values solidified by her studies at Temple Ambler where she eventually graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Community and Regional Planning. She is now living back in her childhood neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia after spending 5 years in Pittsburgh. No matter where she lives she can’t stay out of the woods, and enjoys the simple act of hiking and meditating on a scenic trail.

Nick Manai
Restoration Specialist

Nick has been a Restoration Specialist with WRV since 2021. He had previously worked in residential garden design focused on native plants. He likes to help volunteers dig the perfect hole. Outside of WRV, he works at the Fair Housing Rights Center in Southeastern PA, a civil rights office working to end housing discrimination. He loves Philly and wants to see it thrive. Go Birds, Go Phils!

Michelle Mancini
Restoration Specialist

After 20+ years advising and teaching college students, Michelle has plunged into work supporting Philadelphia’s green spaces, through organizations such as Tree Philly, Friends of the Wissahickon, and of course WRV. She is pursuing certification as a Pennsylvania Master Naturalist, with a focus on native plants and land stewardship.

Abhishek Saini
Restoration Specialist

Abhishek has been a valued part of WRV since 2019, first joining as a dedicated volunteer and now serving as our Restoration Specialist. These days, you’ll find him out in the field, machete in hand (his favorite tool, naturally), helping bring the Wissahickon back to its wild, native glory.

OFFICERS

Nicole Cantwell
WRV President

Nicole first connected with WRV as a Pennsylvania Master Naturalist trainee and was instantly inspired by the group’s impact. Now, she’s excited to support WRV’s mission as a board member, focusing on restoration projects, community engagement, and program support.

She lives in Fairmount with her husband, Jeff, and their dog, Lido. Three big fans of Philly’s parks and green spaces.

Steve Jones
WRV Treasurer

Steve Jones serves as WRV’s Treasurer and helps with our annual restoration planning. He has been active in WRV for over twenty years. Steve is a Pennsylvania Master Naturalist. He manages the native plant nursery for LandHealth Institute and enjoys hands-on environmental education for young people.

At different times over many years Steve has lived on both sides of the Wissahickon Creek, which has been his classroom for learning and teaching about plants, birds, and natural connections.

Sarah B. Nossov
WRV Secretary

Sarah is a PA Master Naturalist who did a lot for WRV during our pandemic period as part of her training and has continued to support us ever since. She has been an active WRV volunteer and an energetic presence.

MEMBERS

Andrew Conboy

Andrew is an ISA-certified arborist with a passion for trees, native plants, and wildlife. He works as an urban forester, and founded a local ecological restoration non-profit called Colonial Canopy Trees. When it comes to positive ecological and environmental change, he strongly believes in the power of small, locally-organized, community-led initiatives – something that WRV does so well!

Scott Quitel

Scott Quitel, JD, MBA has extensive experience in ecologically-based land use planning, ecological restoration analysis, and ecological landscape design and construction. Scott is a faculty member at the Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship at Drexel University, where he is also the Director of Social Entrepreneurship. He also teaches at Philadelphia University/Jefferson, serves on several local boards, and is a frequent invited speaker on planning, design, and ecology. He has led hundreds of educational ecology and design-oriented tours/hikes for people of all ages in natural areas in and around Philadelphia. 

Chris Richter

Chris’ love of the Wissahickon goes back to childhood when his Roxborough relatives took him “back the crick” on weekends (he celebrated his 13th birthday at Valley Green Inn).

Chris is a Pennsylvania Master Naturalist, certified Tree Tender, and a former member of the Springfield Township Environmental Advisory Commission.

If he’s not in the Wissahickon it’s likely because his day job with the Philadelphia Outward Bound School took him on expedition to some other wilderness. 

EMERITUS

Ronald Ayres

Ron Ayres is an enthusiastic amateur horticulturalist with extensive course work in the 4-year Horticulture program at Temple University – Ambler (1988-1994), where he also contributed heavily to establishment of Temple-Ambler’s Native Plant Nursery back in the late 1980’s under renowned landscape architect John Collins.

He has been a member of the Upper Dublin Shade Tree Commission since 1995, serving as Secretary;  a founding member of the Ambler Shade Tree Advisory Committee during its existence from 1994-2004;  an associate of the Ambler Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) during its early inception, again acting as Secretary;  member of Plant Ambler (1993-present) and Treasurer since 2014, responsible for acquiring and sustaining thousands of plants annually for planting by volunteers throughout Ambler;  and a long-time volunteer (since 1999), board member (2004-present), and trail crew leader for Wissahickon Restoration Volunteers (WRV), serving as Treasurer from 2005-2021.

Ron has attended extensive seminars, symposiums, and classes related to trees, nature, and the environment, including ISA’s Arborist Short Course.

Ron’s main interest is in planting and caring for trees.  He has personally planted thousands of trees, hundreds of bare-root trees, about a hundred B&B trees, and uncountable container trees and shrubs throughout Upper Dublin Township, Ambler Borough, and the Wissahickon Valley.  Ron grows various plants in his back-yard.

Ron is a retired self-employed Systems Analyst serving in the human services sector throughout Pennsylvania for 27 years.  He formerly worked as a programmer analyst in scientific and government applications and has a background in physics.