PRINCIPALS

Michael Last
Michael offers the benefit of more than 30 years of practical legal experience specializing in the fields of environmental, real estate and land use law, including mediating/facilitating the successful resolution of complex multi-party disputes. Michael is the founder and President of the Santa Fe Council for Environmental Excellence, a non-profit organization dedicated to bridging differences among industry, government, environmental advocacy group and academic perspectives on leading environmental issues through innovative small group conferences. Creative solutions are the hallmark of the Santa Fe Council’s work. Michael’s work has been acknowledged through his being listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in America Law and Best Lawyers in America.

Anne Kelly
Anne is an environmental attorney and certified mediator with 15 years of experience managing complex cases on behalf of state and federal environmental agencies. As Director of the Massachusetts Environmental Strike Force, Anne managed a multi-agency enforcement team designed to target high profile environmental violators. Anne has settled numerous inter-agency conflicts as well as disputes between government entities and private parties. Anne has facilitated stakeholder groups seeking to reach consensus on regulatory matters and has taught environmental law at Tufts University, Boston College Law School and New England School of Law.


Thomas Balf
Tom is an environmental and communications consultant having nearly 20 years of experience. Trained as a biologist, Tom’s diverse background includes training as a facilitator/mediator, expertise in environmental and regulatory management, and practical experience in communicating information as editor of a national environmental newsletter, developer of the Household Hazardous Waste Wheel®, frequent speaker on environmental topics and author and designer of environmental books and reports. Tom specializes in helping clients to find clear and effective ways of presenting their information and ideas, and defining implementable, practical approaches to achieving their desired outcomes.

T.G. (Tuss) Erickson
Tuss is an engineer and business manager, Tuss has 30 years of experience with a major oil company. Tuss has designed and implemented business systems that integrate the effective management of health, safety and environmental issues into the “mainstream” business, and has managed a consolidated operation overseeing approximately 1,000 environmental projects (including Superfund and other site remediation) and 700 lawsuits related to environmental and personal injury. Tuss has facilitated multiple of “out of the box” solutions that have settled or avoided costly disputes and simultaneously optimized environmental and economic benefits. Tuss has received multiple engineering and executive awards from professional organizations for his work and serves on the Board of the Wildlife Habitat Council in Washington, D.C.

OUR FAMILY OF EXPERTS

Certain mediation or facilitation settings call for specific programmatic or subject matter expertise which can be brought to bear to clarify issues or provide beneficial perspective. We are fortunate to have an “extended family” of expert consultants who join with us in structuring innovative programs and approaches. These include individuals skilled in strategic exercises which foster team building and innovative thinking, and in experiential outdoor programming which emphasizes awareness skills such as those so successfully employed by the Santa Fe Council. Each member of our extended family is an acknowledged expert in her/his field, and their biographies appear both on our web site and in our package of informational materials.

Court Booth – strategic learning exercises and team building


Christina Hepner Brodie - Corporate innovation and assisting in the management and development of new products and services.


Steven Ferrey, Esquire –small power production, renewable energy and energy policy


David Kiser, MBA, Ph.D. – corporate management and business strategy


James J. McCarthy, Ph.D - biological oceanography, marine ecosystems and global climate change


Ruth Musgrave, Esquire – wildlife management and land use


Jerry R. Schubel, Ph.D. - marine issues, including fisheries and marine resource policy


John Stokes – experiential outdoor programming


Jake Swamp – Native American Elder - "peace-making," environmental preservation and land use


Donald Watson, FAIA - Land use planning and building design, including Brownfields redevelopment; energy efficient design and methods for public involvement in architecture and planning issues.