The SBL Board of Directors is comprised of a diverse group of individuals with backgrounds in research, finance, business, philanthropy, education, and environmental preservation.
David Elliott is the founder and President of the Board and major financial supporter. He has worked for the past 12 years on UV laser optical systems and reactive gas tools for surface processing with his company, UVTech Systems, Inc. Prior to founding UVTech, Mr. Elliott worked at Shipley for 18 years. He has written several books on IC fabrication and UV laser technology and holds a number of patents in the fields of UV optics and semiconductor processing technology. David Elliott oversees research and development of the filtration system, conducts field-testing, and maintains continued contact with program participants and collaborators to monitor progress.
Board members Dr. Kamal Bawa, Chris Walter, James Crisp, Arlene McLaren, and Lelia Elliston all have significant expertise with starting and/or directing nonprofits focused on social and environmental concerns.
Dr. Kamal Bawa, a Distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts/Boston, is also President of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bangalore, India. Dr. Bawa is considered a leading authority on environmental ecology and is currently working to promote healthier living environments for people.
Chris Walter is the Founder of Barakat, a nonprofit organization providing educational opportunities for various ethnic groups associated with carpet weaving in South Asia, including refugees from Afghanistan living in Pakistan, newly established communities in Afghanistan, and citizens living in India. Barakat also works to preserve the earth's environment for future generations through habitat conservation initiatives in Central, South, and North America as well as in Asia.
James Crisp is a conservation biologist with more than 25 years of experience working in North, South, and Central America. As director of the Monteverde Conservation League in Costa Rica, he facilitated the purchase of over 60,000 acres of rain forest to create the International Children's Rain Forest.
Lelia Elliston received a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts/Boston in the Environmental Biology program. Her experience includes Regional Director at Massachusetts Audubon; Director of Resource Development at NOAH, an inner-city Social and Environmental Benefit Organization; and Executive Director of Land's Sake, an environmental non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating community and environmental awareness through farming, forestry, and education. As she raises her two children, Lelia is currently the Director of Alumni Relations at the Cambridge School of Weston. She is a board member of numerous non-profits that work toward both social and environmental benefit. Lelia also owns and operates an organic wholesale cut flower farm and consults on sustainable land use for private land owners.
Arlene McLaren is a part-time research and administrative volunteer at Solutions Benefiting Life. Throughout the years, she has been a board member or advisory committee member of educational, housing, and social advocacy non-profit organizations.
Nitin Parekh is currently Vice President of Marketing, Business Development and Applications at NanoNexus. He has over 20 years experience in business development, marketing, technology development and productization in the semiconductor and systems industries in the USA, Europe and Asia. Previously he was with Novellus Systems where he was the General Manager of the Optical Products Business Unit. While at Novellus he also led the Strategic Marketing and Business Development organization and led the team that acquired Gasonics International Corporation. Prior to Novellus Systems, he was with Texas Instruments where he had dual responsibility for strategic planning and technology development and productization for removal storage and hard disk drive applications with a worldwide team based in the USA, Germany and Japan. He has also held a variety of management positions at Silicon Systems and Philips (Netherlands) and started his career at Xerox PARC. He is the author or inventor of over 20 publications and/or patents and has an MS degree from Stanford University along with an MBA from UCLA. Nitin is in charge of strategic planning for the expansion of SBL projects in India.
Fara Faramorzpour is the vice president of business development and the co-founder of Tambora Software, a start up company dedicated to linking of design software in the modeling of new products. This technology was developed at MIT and was funded by the industry and the National Science Foundation. Before Tambora, he was responsible for the architecture and the quality of digital and instant products at Polaroid Corporation, and served as the chairman of the International Standards Organization for standards in conventional and digital photography. Fara has extensive experience in product development, and helped to develop cameras, new media, printers, testing equipment, batteries and new digital products at Polaroid Corporation. Fara was invited as a visiting faculty to teach at Tufts University and Northeastern University in the area of electro optics, and has numerous patents related to photography. He was awarded the ANSI meritorious award for his contributions to the development of digital photography, and his efforts to promote the use of international standards in the development of new products.
While all SBL Board members have had significant nonprofit experience with fundraising and financial accountability, two Board members bring important experience to bear on the financial stewardship of the organization.
Edward Scribner is the majority owner of Edward A. Scribner PC, a certified public accounting firm. Mr. Scribner is also a director for two non-profit organizations; Education Matters, Inc. and Barakat, Inc., both located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mr. Scribner was a former board member of The Asian American Bank and Trust Company, a Publicly Traded Bank ,serving on The Executive Committee, Audit Committee and Chair of the Business Development Committee. Mr Scribner has held the position of International Financial Manager for Ionics Inc., The Water Treatment Corporation now a division of General Electric.
Martin Gavin has been the principal advisor at Gavin Financial Services since 1980. Mr. Gavin received both his MBA and BS from Boston College. He is a registered investment advisor and a licensed broker in both real estate and insurance. He is also on the board of directors of UVTech Systems, Inc. in Sudbury, Massachusetts, and Brahms/Mount Textiles in Hallowell, Maine. Marty has extensive travel experience worldwide.
