Meet the Team

Michelle Roos (she/her) has over 25 years of experience in project management, grassroots organizing, and environmental protection, and has served as the Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Network since 2018. EPN has a small staff and over 800 EPA alumni across the country volunteering their time to protect the integrity of EPA, human health, and the environment. Michelle helped launch EPN’s capacity-building pro bono technical assistance work in 2021, which has provided 1:1 assistance to over 3000 under-resourced community groups; nonprofit organizations; and state, local, tribal government agencies.

While working at EPA, Ms. Roos co-founded and co-managed the West Coast Collaborative—a public-private partnership that implements projects to reduce emissions from diesel engines along the West Coast, Alaska and the American Pacific Islands. She also led a national work group to better incorporate environmental justice into the federal environmental permitting process. Previously, she served as the Special Assistant to the Regional Administrator of Region 9 in San Francisco, CA; and as the Special Assistant to the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Air and Radiation in Washington, DC. Ms. Roos was also Presidential Management Intern.

After she left EPA in 2006, Ms. Roos worked as an independent environmental consultant for a variety of clients including E4 Strategic Solutions, His Majesty Charles the Third, and EcoMedia. Prior to working at EPA she worked for the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission and spent a summer at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Ms. Roos has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Duke University and a Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University.

She lives in New York.

For two decades, Marc Boom (he/him) has worked at the intersection of environmental policy, clean energy, and community revitalization. As Senior Director of Public Affairs at the Environmental Protection Network (EPN), he leads the organization’s intergovernmental, communications, and campaign work.

Before joining EPN, Marc served as a Senior Advisor in the Office of Policy at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where he helped coordinate cross-agency initiatives, improve decision-making, and modernize how the agency delivers on its mission. He led EPA’s engagement with the Energy Communities Interagency Working Group, helped launch a pilot program to support communities transitioning from fossil fuel economies, and advised on efforts to strengthen environmental review and permitting. He also helped the agency explore how artificial intelligence and data tools could make federal permitting more efficient, transparent, and fair.

Earlier, Marc spent more than a decade at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), where he directed federal advocacy on clean energy, manufacturing, transportation, and climate change. He worked closely with business leaders and labor unions to shape policies that drive clean energy investment while supporting good jobs and stronger communities. Marc played a key role in building bipartisan coalitions and advancing major climate and energy legislation — including provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — that link environmental outcomes with economic renewal.

Marc began his career on Capitol Hill as a Legislative Assistant to Congressman Patrick J. Murphy (PA-08) and managed a state senate campaign in Pennsylvania. He earned his degree in political science and history from The George Washington University.

for New England, EPA Region 1

Anthony Nicome is a Senior Community Outreach Associate for Regions 2 and 3 with the Environmental Protection Network’s pro bono capacity-building and technical assistance program. With a background in environmental health and health equity, Anthony’s work centers on safeguarding federal investments in communities. He works across the organization and with its partners to assist EPA grantees, foster collaboration and co-creation, and help ensure that every community has both agency in the decisions that shape their health and the opportunity to thrive.

An EPA alumnus, Anthony has served in multiple regions and headquarters offices, including the Office of Water, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, the Office of Policy, and the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. He has held a range of leadership roles, most recently as the Program Manager for the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. His career has also included serving as an inaugural Environmental Justice Fellow at the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Center for Health Justice, as well as roles in academia and local government – each deepening his commitment to advancing equity at the intersection of environment, health, and policy.

Anthony holds a Bachelor of Science in Geography from Texas Christian University, a Master of Health Science in Environmental Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a Master of Public Health from the Yale School of Public Health.

He resides in Maryland, where beyond his professional work, he enjoys partnering with communities to advance local public health goals and writes as a freelance journalist on issues related to the U.S. food system, community resilience, and environmental justice.

for the Southeast, EPA Region 4

Olivia Smithfor EPA Region 5

Olivia Smith serves as the Technical Assistance Manager for Region 5 on EPN’s pro bono technical assistance program. Olivia seeks to cultivate connections between community organizations in the Great Lakes and Midwest Region, experienced EPA alumni, and other environmental justice allies towards the support of the self-determined goals of Environmental Justice communities across the region.

Prior to working with EPN, Olivia worked in project and technical assistance roles with the Rockefeller Foundation’s US Food Initiative and with the Red Cross Climate Center.

Olivia holds an M.A. in climate studies from Columbia University’s Climate School and a B.A. in economics from Swarthmore College, where she also engaged in community organizing on campus. During graduate school, she served as a teaching assistant for a practicum course on climate justice that facilitated partnerships directly with community groups in Manhattan and New Orleans.

Olivia is passionate about community development, food system politics, and the liberation of environmental knowledge from institutional hierarchies. She is originally from St. Louis, MO, and currently lives in Chicago, IL.

for EPA Region 6

Melanie Michaud is a Community Outreach Associate supporting Environmental Protection Network’s pro bono capacity-building technical assistance program. Melanie works with communities across EPA Regions 8 and 10, connecting them with experienced EPA alumni and other environmental experts to advance community-identified projects focused on water, land, and public health. She is passionate about ensuring that underserved and environmental justice communities can access the technical resources they need to address longstanding environmental challenges.

Kathy Pope serves as EPN’s Director of Development, leading the organization’s fundraising and partnership-building efforts. Before transitioning to development, Kathy co-founded and managed EPN’s pro bono capacity-building technical assistance program to fight climate change and environmental injustices across the country.

She brings 18 years of experience in editorial work and office management. Prior to joining EPN, Kathy worked independently with clients such as Wiley Publishing, Agency Sacks, and California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, contributing research on climate justice. She also supported a hydrogen fueling campaign in California for E4 Strategic Solutions.

Earlier in her career, Kathy managed large-scale interior design projects and worked as an editor at Rubin Postaer and Associates, the largest independent advertising agency on the West Coast. At EPN, she draws on her diverse background in development, communications, and project management to expand organizational capacity, strengthen coalitions, and advance environmental justice.

Kathy lives in New York with her husband and twins.

Caitlin Bolger is the Senior National Grants Associate at EPN. She works alongside our pro bono capacity-building technical assistance program, with a focus on safeguarding federal funding. Caitlin creates new and deeper connections between disadvantaged communities across the country, EPA alumni with decades of expertise, and other allies to provide assistance to EPA grantees, amplify their voices, and protect program integrity.

Caitlin holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Florida Southern College and completed a Dual-Master’s Degree Program at the College of Charleston where she earned a Master of Science in Environmental and Sustainability Studies and Master of Public Administration. In graduate school, Caitlin participated in the Community Assistance Program, a high-level capacity building clinic that serves nonprofit and municipal organizations in Charleston, SC. Prior to EPN, Caitlin worked in grants administration for a university-based program that aims to support and conserve South Carolina’s coastal and marine resources.

Caitlin currently resides in Rhode Island. In her free time she enjoys yoga, spending time with her cat Benny, and adding new house plants to her collection.

At EPN, Peter Murchie (he/him) is the Senior Director of Policy, leading the Public Affairs and Policy teams and initiatives including Save EPA and Civil Service Resilience.

Peter has 30 years as a public sector leader focused on collaborative governance solutions for complex environmental health challenges. Peter has degrees in Public Health and in Natural Resource Science and Policy from the University of Michigan. 

Peter worked at the World Health Organization and United Nations to support better water resource governance regimes for environmental health, led high priority climate change and clean energy initiatives and has led nonprofit boards for local education and international programs to empower communities through water and energy projects.  

Most of his career has been with the U.S. EPA working in leadership and management roles including co-founding the West Coast Collaborative (improving air quality with a focus on diesel emissions), leading the Making a Visible Difference in Communities Initiative, developing and advising on Region 10’s climate and sustainability efforts, and managing the Community Involvement and Environmental Justice programs and the Grants and Interagency Agreements programs.

Most recently, Peter was the management lead for the U.S. EPA Puget Sound National Program Office Branch that focuses on watershed health for the Puget Sound and Columbia River Basins with hundreds of partner organizations working together to recover two of the most important ecosystems in the United States. In that role he built and maintained relationships with congressional leadership, state and local government elected officials, tribal leaders, state and federal agency leaders, and NGO and community-based organizations. Peter was instrumental in the growth of these watershed programs – from $30M to over $100M annually – and the passing and implementation of two new statutory programs for EPA–the Puget Sound Recovery National Program Office and the Columbia River Basin Restoration Program–authorized by rare amendments to the Clean Water Act.  

He lives in Washington State.

Michelle Montoya serves as EPN’s Policy Director. She joined EPN in October 2019. Michelle manages and facilitates all of EPN’s issue teams—comprised of volunteers who write formal comments and letters, delivery testimony, and meet with government officials on proposed national environmental policies. Michelle also fosters partnerships and collaborations with other allies in this space.

Michelle has ten years of scientific editing and project management experience. She worked as a manuscript editor at Nature Publishing Group, where she handled the acceptance and publication of research manuscripts in the fields of biochemistry, molecular biology and biophysics. Michelle has a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and earned a doctorate in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. Her doctoral studies, conducted with Eric Gouaux at Columbia University, focused on structural studies of pore-forming toxins and their use in biosensor technologies.

Michelle lives in New York with her husband and two children.

Senior Policy Associate
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Senior Director of People & Operations
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Mark Osborne is the Senior Director of People & Operations at EPN. He started with EPN in September 2024 and has spent the last 20 years of his career dedicated to roles in the non-profit sector.

Previously, he served as the Managing Director of Organizational Effectiveness & Internal Operations at Thrive Scholars, where he led the development and management of internal systems and processes, drove annual people and operations initiatives, and supported senior leadership on strategic improvement projects.

Before this role, he spent fifteen years with Teach For America, holding several senior leadership positions across the country. Mark is deeply committed to social justice and disrupting systems. His journey began as an elementary school teacher in Washington, D.C., where he was a Teach For America corps member and witnessed firsthand the transformative power of education.

He is passionate about driving systemic change and nurturing talent to create inclusive and effective working environments, and he is excited about supporting EPN in its next stage as an organization.

Mark lives in Minnesota with his husband and their energetic five-year-old daughter.

Nora Ripley-Grant is EPN’s IT and Volunteer Network Coordinator, working closely with the IT team on CRM updates and ensuring a streamlined interface between EPN’s CRM and staff.

Nora graduated from the University of Vermont Patrick Leahy Honors College in May of 2023 with a BA in both Political Science and Environmental Studies. During her time at UVM, she completed a thesis that combined ethnographic and social value research about Assateague Island in an attempt to understand visitation motivations and deconstruct wilderness conceptions. Nora is passionate about the creation of just and equitable environmental policies, and is especially interested in food sovereignty and marine protections.

Nora is from Washington, D.C. and currently lives in Athlone, Ireland, where she can be found cooking elaborate meals, ranting about the lack of DC statehood, and admiring the ducks on the River Shannon.