Meet the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy Board of Directors

SUSANNA RHODES BECKWITH (Board Chair)

Susanna is an educational consultant at McMillan Education in Boston, MA. Previously, she was the executive director of Reach Out and Read Rhode Island for more than nine years, a nonprofit early literacy program serving over 40,000 children statewide. She also served as Campaign Finance Director for Rhode Island’s Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts and from 2001-2006. She was the Director of State Relations at Clarendon Group, a public policy communications firm in Providence, RI where she provided clients with expertise in government relations and communications, with a specialty in education and health care policy. Susanna serves or has served on the board of several nonprofit organizations, including The Gordon School, Andover Breadloaf, City Year Rhode Island, and Planned Parenthood Votes! RI. She has worked on several local, statewide and national campaigns. Susanna received a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University and a Masters in Liberal Studies from Dartmouth College.

Cynthia Wigren

Cynthia holds a Master of Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University and Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Management from University of New Hampshire. She spent twelve years working for online trading companies in the energy industry, with a focus on project management and strategic planning. Cynthia is an avid traveler and a scuba diver with a deep appreciation for wildlife on land and sea. Her underwater experiences with whale sharks, great hammerheads, nurse sharks, and great white sharks, inspired her to leave the corporate world in 2012 to establish Atlantic White Shark Conservancy to support shark research and conservation. Cynthia also serves on the Massachusetts Ocean Advisory Commission.

John King

John is an entrepreneur with a diverse resume who has strong ties to Cape Cod that span many generations. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, John spent more than seven years working as a commercial fisherman on vessels in Alaska. He relocated back to his roots in Chatham after concluding a twenty five year career in the biopharmaceutical business and has been active in various pursuits working to make a difference in the community. John currently serves as a Member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Center for Coastal Studies. He also serves as an Adviser to the Roy and Diana Vagelos Life Sciences and Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Ben Wigren

Ben holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Hobart College, and is a Senior Investment Officer at Cape Cod 5. After more than two decades with Bank of America and legacy companies, where he last was responsible for all taxable fixed income trading within the Private Bank, Ben joined the Wealth Management team at Cape Cod 5 in 2022. He is enjoying this new chapter of his career, working for a community bank and helping clients achieve their financial goals. Ben’s love for the Cape, its beaches, and the ocean were apparent early in his life—spending summers fishing, clamming, sailing and surfing at Nauset Beach. He is passionate about protecting and conserving the wildlife and natural resources of the Cape. Ben also serves on the Fourth of July Committee for the Town of Orleans, and on the Executive Committee of the Orleans Yacht Club.

Chris Scanzillo

Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering from Maine Maritime Academy and a Masters in Diplomacy from Norwich University. He has over 15 years experience in the commercial marine industry, leveraging his background in commercial fishing and as a USCG licensed Chief Engineer and Master working for Caterpillar Marine.  In this position, Chris is responsible for product support for the east coast territory of North America and has managed global initiatives focused on global shark research, environmental sustainability, and education. Chris currently serves on the Board of Directors for Little Steps Learning Center, in Scituate, MA. He is an avid traveler, fisherman, and outdoorsman.

STEPHEN DANIEL

Following an entrepreneurial career in finance that ran for over 25 years in New York City, Stephen transitioned to a life of service.  Stephen is a lifelong outdoorsman who grew up on the waters around Chatham, spending several summers working as a commercial fisherman. Stephen serves on the Board and as a member the the Executive Committee of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, on the Board of Tabor Academy, on the Board of the Center for Coastal Studies, and is a Trustee Emeritus at the Wesleyan University.  Stephen also serves as Chairman of the Town of Chatham Finance Committee.  Stephen holds a Master of Business Administration from Yale University.

JOHN MANDELMAN, pH.D.

John is the Vice President and Chief Scientist of the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium, which encompasses all of the Institution’s solutions-driven scientific research, engagement and conservation work. In collaboration with various colleagues around the globe, his research focuses on the physiological ecology and conservation physiology of marine fishes, with a specific focus on better understanding and mitigating the lethal and sublethal effects of human-induced disturbances on vulnerable and/or socioeconomically important species, particularly in the Gulf of Maine. All of his work aims to generate best-practice mitigation strategies that directly aid or inform fisheries management processes and policies. In addition to his primary role at the New England Aquarium, John is Research Faculty at the University of Massachusetts Boston. 

ANDREW P. YOUNG

Andy has been a summer resident of Chatham since 1950, year’ round since 1981. He retired in January 2017 as Vice President and Regional Manager for Commercial Lending at Cape Cod Five. In addition to the Conservancy, he serves on the Advisory Council for the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, and as an Honorary Trustee of the Chatham Conservation Foundation. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Dartmouth College and Bachelor of Science from Boston University. After 50+ years of fishing and sailing the waters of Cape Cod and the Islands, Andy recently became a USCG licensed Master (50 Tons GRT).

Paul Parker

Paul is the president of Catch Together, a recently launched impact fund that invests capital in tradable seafood quotas to support fishermen, fishing communities and ocean conservation.  Previously, Paul worked for twenty years in leadership roles at the Cape Cod Fishermen’s Alliance including formation of the Cape Cod Fisheries Trust which invested over $4M in seafood quotas to support the local commercial fishing fleet.  Paul earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Cornell University and a Master's of Environmental Management from Duke University.  In 2006, Paul was honored with the Duke Nicholas School Rising Star Award.  For over a decade, Paul held numerous fishing jobs aboard Cape Cod commercial fishing vessels using all manner of fishing gear to catch clams, cod, dogfish, tuna, haddock, lobster and scallops.

Chris Bouton, Ph.D.

Chris attended Amherst College for his undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and received his Ph.D. in Molecular Neurobiology from Johns Hopkins University. He is currently the CEO of Vyasa Analytics, a technology startup company applying deep learning A.I. approaches for text and image analytics. Previously, Chris was the CEO of Entagen, a software company that won numerous awards including the "Innovative Technology of the Year Award for Big Data" in 2012 from the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council. Chris spent many happy summers on Cape Cod as a boy and currently lives in the Boston area. He has been fascinated by and has had a fundamental respect for sharks since a very early age. He has participated in lemon shark tracking research at the Bimini Biological Field Station, has been cage diving with Great White sharks at Guadalupe Island and has been scuba diving with Scalloped Hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos Islands. Chris also serves on the Board of Directors for Newburyport Bank, Code & Circuit, Anna Jaques Hospital and the Beth Israel Lahey Health System IT Committee. 

ROB STEFANIC

Rob Stefanic was the Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer for DentaQuest, the nation's leading purpose-driven oral health organization with a mission to improve all oral health. Rob joined Dentaquest in 2019 and was responsible for all aspects of information technology (IT) and digital innovation. He oversaw and provided direction to IT and business leaders on strategy, standards, and opportunities for shared services and economies of scale for DentaQuest and its affiliated companies. Before joining DentaQuest, Rob was the Vice President Global Shared Services and CIO for Sensata Technology, where he set the company's digital IT and global shared services strategy. Rob also held leadership roles at Princeton Consulting focused on technology risk management, Tyco's Engineered Products and Services covering overall global information technology strategy, and Electrolux Home Products' IT for the Americas. Rob received his Master's in Technology Management from Columbia University and graduated summa cum laude from The University of Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Science in IT.

Kenneth Mayo Johnson

Ken had a 30-year career in the financial services industry, with a focus on investment management and consulting. He was a partner for Hewitt Associates in Chicago and Connecticut, eventually relocating to Denver and becoming a partner and Executive Vice President of Marsico Capital Management. While living in Colorado, Ken served as a board member on a variety of non-profit organizations, including the University of Colorado Altitude Research Center, Warren Village and the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center. He is an honorary board member of the Lower Cape Outreach Council. Since retiring from corporate life, Ken has spent many hours on the waters of Cape Cod, where his family roots date back several centuries, and become an award-winning landscape and wildlife photographer. His work can be viewed at kennethmayojohnsonphoto.com. Ken’s relationship with AWSC began in 2014 and the organization is a linchpin in his life. He received a B.A. degree in history from Dartmouth College in 1983 and has held the Chartered Financial Analyst (“CFA”) designation since 1997.

DOLLY DENYSE

Dolly works in the B2B tech industry for Arbolus Technologies where she serves as the Global Chief Revenue Officer of the company. Prior to Arbolus, Dolly spent 15+ years working at Kantar in various commercial roles focused on strategy, business development, and sales, living and working in the Boston area and on Cape Cod for the last 20+ years. She is a New Orleans native and holds MBAs from Columbia Business School and London Business School and a BFA from Louisiana State University.

Dolly is an avid outdoors-woman and traveler, passionate about wildlife, both on land and in the marine environment. She learned to dive as a teen and went on to teach diving for several years, along the way developing an enthusiasm and passion for all shark species. She loves fishing, hiking, diving, skiing, and other outdoor pursuits, especially spending summers on Cape Cod.