Advisory Council
Board of Directors
Betsy Mortensen, Co-Founder, CEO
Harrison Goodale, Co-Founder, Board Chair
Nicole Reese, Secretary
Board of Directors
Betsy Mortensen
Co-Founder of Sustain, CEO
Elizabeth "Betsy" Mortensen is a passionate conservationist. Growing up in rural New England as the daughter of a music teacher and an avid outdoorsman, Sustain is a natural melding of two passions she has had all of her life.
Betsy earned an M.Phil. in Environment, Society and Development at Cambridge, where she did her thesis in collaboration with BirdLife International, focusing on the role of local conservation groups in biodiversity conservation. She holds a B.S. in Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology from Colorado State University. From 2013-2018, she was part of the American Conservation Projects (ACP) team, where she provided research and organizational support for Simon Roosevelt. ACP, founded by Mr. Roosevelt and Allison Rockefeller, supports multiple conservation projects including the Conservation Roundtable, National Audubon Society's Women in Conservation Program, and an initiative to educate new American citizens about our national parks and public lands.
Prior to co-founding Sustain, Betsy conducted avian field studies for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. She also volunteered on chimpanzee surveys in Tanzania for the Ugalla Primate Project in partnership with the Nature Conservancy.
Harrison Goodale
Co-Founder of Sustain, Board Chair
After earning a degree in music education from the University of Connecticut, Harrison did the responsible thing and joined a band. As a member of folk-rock outfit, Parsonsfield, Harrison toured the U.S and Canada for seven and a half years. During these formative years, the band signed to Signature Sounds and Paradigm, releasing two full length records, two E.P.s as well as various compilations and singles. Parsonsfield became known for delivering dynamic live shows.
In 2014 the band was hired to write music for a play, The Heart of Robin Hood, premiering in the US at Boston’s American Repertory Theater, which went on to have a six month run in Winnipeg and Toronto at the Royal Alexandria Theatre. After recording ‘Blooming Through the Black’ in 2016 with Producer Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter, Lake Street Dive), the band was awarded a grant from the FreshGrass Festival at MassMoCA to compose an original score for the 90 min silent documentary, Nanook of the North. That same year our song, ‘Weeds or Wildflowers’, was synced for Episode 612 of AMC’s The Walking Dead.
Currently Harrison works as a freelance bassist, in both studio and live settings. Harrison performs with the Boulder Symphony and is developing his own project, The Zoologists.
In his free time, Harrison tries to keep up with his wife climbing 14er’s, goofing around with redbone coonhound Bean, and reading Sci-Fi.
Ricky Hernandez
Ricky Hernandez is a corporate and entertainment attorney at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP in Nashville, TN where he counsels clients on a variety of business formation, transactional, and operational matters. He also has experience in intellectual property matters such as trademarks and copyrights.
Ricky graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he completed the Business Law Certificate and was senior development editor for the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law. His note, titled A Fair Stream: Recommendations for the Future of Fair Trade Music, was published in the Spring 2017 edition of the journal. In addition, Ricky gained experience working with a diverse group of individuals and businesses through his time volunteering at Vanderbilt’s IP and the Arts Clinic, as well as Nashville’s Volunteer Lawyers and Professionals in the Arts. Prior to attending law school, Ricky was a Certified Public Accountant working in the Private Company Services division of PwC in Boston, MA.
Music has always been a passion that Ricky has sought to foster. As an undergrad, he was President of Husky Records, a student-run record label on campus that looked to develop and assist student musicians. After graduating, he was recruited to be the general manager of the folk-rock band Poor Old Shine (currently known as Parsonsfield). To this day, Ricky is confident that working with the members of the band has been one of the best experiences of his life.
Nicole Reese
Secretary
After growing up near Washington, DC, Nicole Reese moved to Colorado to follow her dreams as an avid conservationist. For her M.S. in Conservation Leadership from Colorado State University, Nicole studied stakeholder engagement and collaborative conservation efforts to recover an endangered dolphin species in New Zealand.
As founder of the nonprofit organization, Crowd Conservation, Nicole provides facilitation and community outreach services for conservation efforts. Through Crowd Conservation, she has supported research teams, nonprofits, collaboratives, and government agencies in their efforts to connect, share knowledge, and build relationships for more effective conservation projects.
Nicole’s passion for nature and desire to share that passion with others fuels her work in facilitating collaboration. She is proud to be one of the founding board members of Sustain Music and Nature and hopes to inspire actions that make our world a brighter, greener place.
Sam Kassirer
I attended New York University for Jazz performance and, through some friends, met folk superhero Josh Ritter. The timing couldn’t have been more lucky for me to hit the road touring with Josh just as I was graduating. This was the beginning of what would become a long term creative and personal relationship with Josh and his entire band, and crew, one that still is a big part of my musical life.
After touring for a few years with Josh and some other artists, I fell into producing music mostly out of curiosity and some encouragement from one of my producer heros, Brian Deck. I recorded some instrumental music on an Mbox while abusing every friend I had for audio knowledge. One thing led to another and I started making records. In 2006 I bought an old farmhouse in southern Maine that I intended to use as a music rehearsal, writing, hang spot. But, things escalated rather quickly and before I knew it, it turned into a recording studio, The Great North Sound Society, where I still make most of the records I work on today. Website.
Susan Cistone
Susan Cistone is a music industry professional who launched her career producing concerts for the University of Florida’s 40,000+ students, while she completed a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. During this time period, she also became a contributing writer for global dance music magazine, Mixmag.
In London, she worked for one of Europe’s leading talent agencies, MPI Ltd. (now CODA Agency), with a roster of artists on labels like Ninja Tune, Wall of Sound, Skint, Pagan Records, and Full Cycle – including Mercury Prize winner Roni Size Reprazent.
In New York, she’s served as a Global Marketing and Events Manager at BMG Entertainment / Bertelsmann AG, and as Artist Management for Grammy award winners at Def Mix Productions, while earning a Master’s degree in Music Business at New York University.
As a Management Associate at Sony Music Entertainment, Susan was responsible for campaigns for emerging and superstar artists at Columbia Records Publicity and Media, RCA/JIVE International, and Commercial Music Group Strategic Marketing and Brand Partnerships.
She started Transmission MKTG LLC to serve clients across the marketing, public relations, and event production fields. Susan is also part of the core team at Reynard Productions LLC and Avant Gardner, a multi-use event space in Brooklyn.
Mesha Arant
Mesha is currently the Manager of Administration and Programs of 3Arts, a social justice and arts organization that advocates for women-identified artists, artists of color, and D/deaf and disabled artists working in the performing, teaching and visual arts in Chicago. Mesha serves as the organization’s accessibility coordinator, assuring that all communications and programs are accessible to their constituents.
Prior to joining 3Arts, she was the Campus Relations Manager at Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), where she managed grantmaking to colleges and universities across the United States.
Mesha is a co-founder and leader of the Rising Arts Leaders of Color (RALC), an affinity group of predominantly mid- and junior-level staff of color working in Enrich Chicago partner organizations. This group exists to build community, healing, and resilience by analyzing the unique barriers and difficulties that limit the career advancement and personal growth of people of color.
She was awarded a 2019 Interfaith Innovation Fellowship, a competitive fellowship awarded to five people who are poised to cultivate ideas and projects that creatively address social issues through an interfaith lens. Her project, In Tune, strives to bring artists from different religious and philosophical traditions together to collaborate and create work around four themes: birth/renewal, shame, joy/happiness, and suffering/death.
Mesha is a singer-songwriter; her music is situated somewhere between folk and soul, the music she grew up listening to. Her finger-picking style and striking voice have been described as “hauntingly beautiful.” Her first major recording project is forthcoming.
She received her B.A. from Wofford College in 2012 and a Master of Divinity degree from Yale University in 2015.
Doug Cohn
Doug Cohn is an Emmy-winning, senior-level entertainment executive and creative leader at the intersection of television, music and digital content. He brings a proven track record of developing and delivering highly-rated programming and innovative strategies for some of the world’s best-known entertainment companies including Nickelodeon/ViacomCBS and Atlantic Records. Doug is known for conceptualizing and executing innovative content, leading musical direction of national award shows, promotional events, a Broadway musical, as well as television, digital and radio programming. He possesses a deep understanding of the consumer and programs live events and series that generate ratings and social media buzz.
Doug delivers A-list artists by leveraging decades-long relationships with performers and music gatekeepers including managers, agents, labels and publicists. A trend spotter, he identifies and secures long-term deals with top artists before competitors, generating additional revenue through exclusive, long-term multiplatform agreements.
As Senior Vice President, Music and Talent for Nickelodeon/ViacomCBS, Doug created and ran the music department for Nickelodeon, the No. 1 cable network reaching an audience of more than 100 million. He oversaw music-related content across all lines of Nickelodeon’s businesses, including talent management, development, production, casting and strategy. In addition, he forged profitable joint development ventures with top-tier brands including Sony Music, Live Nation and iHeart Media.
Throughout his tenure, Doug played a key role in guiding artist development for Nickelodeon talent, including social media sensation JoJo Siwa and her sold-out 90 city tour, as well as The Fresh Beat Band and Big Time Rush. In addition, he secured some of music’s biggest artists for the Kids’ Choice Awards, Kids’ Choice Sports Awards and Halo Awards, in addition to numerous live-action and animation hits. Some of the artists who have appeared and performed on the network include Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Jonas Brothers, and Rihanna. Most recently, Doug helped lead Nickelodeon’s first foray into theater as executive in charge of Music for the Tony Award-winning SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical, which opened to rave reviews from the New York Times and became the most nominated new musical of the 2018 season.
Prior to joining Nickelodeon, Doug spent more than a decade at some of the world’s top music labels and networks, including Atlantic Records, where he oversaw music video production and promotion and VH1, where he directed music programming and talent relations.
A four-time Emmy winner, Doug was named a Top 20 industry influencer by Variety and received the Visionary Award from the TJ Martell Foundation. He is a Board member of the JoJo Siwa Foundation, the TJ Martell Foundation and most recently of Sustain Music & Nature. In addition, he is active member of both the Academy of Television Arts Sciences and the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.
Doug earned a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in English and Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. An avid indoor cyclist, his favorite activity is spending time with his two sons and his dogs.
Advisory Council
Charles Coplin
Charles Coplin is an Emmy award-winning Programmer and Producer who spent a decade at the National Football League creating the NFL playing schedule, working with its member clubs and rights holders on administrative issues, and launching the NFL Network as head of Programming in 2004. Coplin developed and co-Executive Produced the Emmy Award winning anthology series, America's Game with NFL Films, created a 12-month programming calendar by convincing the NFL's competition committee to let the Network broadcast the NFL Scouting Combine, acquired the Senior Bowl, and made the NFL Draft a centerpiece. As Executive in Charge of the Kickoff and Super Bowl Halftime shows, Coplin had oversight on behalf of the League in partnership with CBS, Fox and NBC for shows including; Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones, all of which exceeded 100 million viewers worldwide. He was also responsible for U2 and Green Day playing together at the reopening of the New Orleans Superdome on ESPN, which at the time was the highest rated cable program in history.
After thirteen years working as an executive for sports leagues, Coplin created Big Monkey Entertainment to pursue a wider variety of interests and passions. He has consulted the NHL, PBS, Activision/Blizzard and Gasprom Media in Moscow. Coplin has also taught as an Adjunct Professor in Sports Communications in Boston at Emerson College. And with the Emerson Los Angeles and VMA program, created an annual hands on program with the Academy Awards.
Allison Rockefeller
Allison Whipple Rockefeller is deeply committed to the communication of American heritage, history, and values, being especially interested in the role of nature and our natural resources in shaping American history and the American character. She is the Founder of National Audubon’s "Women In Conservation", a program building a nationwide community of women in the environment sharing knowledge, fostering relationships, building political influence, celebrating achievements and assisting girls and young women to explore the world of conservation. Allison is Founding Chair of the centerpiece of Audubon's Women in Conservation, its prestigious Rachel Carson Award, one of the most coveted national awards for American women working in the environment.
Simon Roosevelt
Simon Roosevelt is an avid hunter and conservationist whose interests have involved him in a wide variety of conservation and environmental projects in North America, South America and Africa. In the United States, he is the founder of the Conservation Roundtable, a periodic gathering of the heads of leading conservation organizations representing hunters and anglers, land trusts, and environmentalists, to discuss and take action on shared conservation issues. Previously, he organized the Catalyst Dinner, a conference in New York City bringing together world leaders in climate change policy and science with a group of the largest US hedge fund managers. He also was a co-founder of the Friends of the Elkhorn Ranch, a private initiative that successfully organized the purchase and transfer of the last remaining parcel of unprotected private land ranched by Theodore Roosevelt in the Badlands of North Dakota to the US Forest Service's Dakota Prairie Grasslands, where it remains in active grazing use. With colleague Allison Whipple Rockefeller, Simon began American Conservation Projects, to create and pursue ideas that advance the American values of history and landscape. Among their projects is an effort to add, for the first time, study information and a question about citizen ownership of US national parks and public lands on the U.S. Naturalization Test.
Simon is a a member of the Boone & Crockett Club, and the Camp Fire Club of America; he is a member of the President’s Advisory Council of the National Wildlife Federation; and he is a trustee of the Scenic Hudson Land Trust and Scenic Hudson, Inc. He also is Commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for the New York City Region.