Tidewater Institute empowers people to build a sustainable future as they live, work, play, and create.
Leah Lopez Schmalz, Esq., Board President
Leah serves as the President of the Board of Directors for Tidewater Institute. For twenty years, she has developed and advocated for innovative solutions that promote sustainable product design, green buildings, and livable communities. Over the past decade and a half, she has led major policy initiatives that protect our region’s land and water.
Leah earned her J.D. and Environmental Law Certificate from Pace University School of Law in 2000. During her time in law school, she was the Articles Editor of the Pace Environmental Law Review, represented clients with environmental grievances at the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic, and interned with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environmental Enforcement Division. Her undergraduate study in sustainable architecture and design culminated in a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design from the University of Louisiana. In her spare time, she serves on the board of two music non-profits: CT Folk and TENET NYC, and enjoys creating wood-fired pottery.
Charles J. Rothenberger, Esq., Board Vice President
Charles has more than a decade of experience in both non-profit and private sector settings working on environmental, energy, and land use issues at the state, local and federal level. He was one of the main architects of Connecticut’s 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act and spearheaded the legislative effort to secure its passage. He has successfully litigated land use issues before local boards and state courts and has served as counsel on federal Clean Air Act, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Endangered Species Act litigation.
Charles is a 2001 honors graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he edited the Connecticut Journal of International Law. He has a master’s degree from Trinity College, where he majored in Public Policy Studies, and a bachelor’s in History from the University of Connecticut.
Charles did his legal internship at the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and his judicial internship in the United States District Court in New Haven under the Honorable Peter C. Dorsey. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Thomas G. West and the Honorable Joseph H. Pellegrino at the Connecticut Appellate Court, and has been admitted to the Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts Bar.
Brittany Chamberlin Martin
Brittany is founder and CEO of Bgreen Consulting, a firm that provides support for private, academic, and non-profit organizations seeking project management in green infrastructure, energy efficiency, sustainable development, and water resource management. Brittany has spent the past ten years working in academia, corporate, and non-profit organizations managing projects ranging from green building initiatives in large and small apartment complexes to green infrastructure initiatives throughout several municipalities.
Brittany holds a BS in Biology and Environmental Science from Syracuse University and a Masters Degree in Climate Change and Societal Impacts from Columbia University. Brittany is most passionate about spending time with her husband and two young children any chance she gets and unwinds in many outdoor activities.
Juliet Manalan
Jamie Lyn Rubin, Esq.
Jamie has dedicated the past decade to working in the nonprofit sector providing a voice to those who are all too often ignored. A graduate of Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and Boston College; she is a member of the Connecticut and New York State Bar Associations.
Jamie spent five years with the Anti-Defamation League, a leading nonprofit civil rights organization, fielding and mediating hate crime complaints, and serving as the Associate Director of Investigative Research, which focused on domestic extremism and counter terrorism. She dedicated the following five years to Best Friends Animal Society. As the New York Programs Manager, she built the New York office and developed, managed, and executed high impact animal welfare projects within the NY tristate area to create life-saving opportunities.
Always an advocate for animals, she managed a 24-hour animal law hotline in New York City; attended the Adventures in Veterinary Medicine program at the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine; trained in animal emergency and disaster response with United Animal Nations Emergency Animals Rescue Service (Red Rover); and qualified in swift water rescue, rappelling, and animal handling with Best Friends Animal Society. She is certified in Pet CPR and First Aid, and spent a great deal of time providing assistance to animals and their people in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. After 20 years of living in New York City, she is now living back in her home state of Connecticut with her furry family Sugarbear, Romeo, Goldie, Polly, and Wolf.