Our Commissioners
Meet our team players. The Commission, an independent subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is charged by M.G.L. Chapter 40B to perform the regional planning functions for the 15 cities and towns which comprise this district, including transportation, environmental and economic programs. The Commission also provides Local Technical Assistance (LTA) Program to individual cities and towns, as well as being called upon by state and federal agencies to represent our communities in many other ways.
Our Commissioners bring their professional experience, commitment to their community’s priorities, a focus on environmental and economic resilience, and a willingness to think broadly in a regional context. These are the qualities that help make the Commission a successful partner. This is a place where their contributions will be valued and will ultimately help make the Merrimack Valley an even more desirable place to live, work, learn and play. Thank you one and all for your contribution and service.
Lisa LaGrasse Schwarz
Appointed 2016
Elected as Treasurer May 2024
Lisa has served as the Senior Planner for Andover since 2001. She serves on the Board of the Merrimack Valley affiliate of Habitat for Humanity and Boston Children’s Hospital CSG. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and the American Planning Association. Lisa also served in the Peace Corps in Ghana, West Africa as an education and environmental volunteer.
Lisa is a graduate of Clemson University’s College of Architecture and the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Design.
Jim Barnes
Appointed September 2016
Jim currently serves as a member of the Boxford Housing Partnership Committee. He served as Lawrence’s Community Development Director from 2008 to 2016. Prior to that, he retired as Deputy Regional Administrator in the Boston Office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) after 36 years of professional experience in various management positions in Milwaukee, Chicago, and Boston. Prior to joining HUD, Jim served as a VISTA Volunteer with a nonprofit housing corporation in Milwaukee.
Jim currently maintains a small community development consultancy practice providing technical assistance nationally to state and local governments.
Jim graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont with a B.A. in Economics and DePaul University with an MBA.
Annie Schindler
Appointed 2022
Annie serves as the Town Planner and Environmental Program Coordinator for the town of Groveland. She has also served as an assistant horticulturalist and visitor relations coordinator for the Trustees in Canton, MA.
Annie graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor’s of Science in Natural Resources and the Environment, with a concentration in environmental conservation.
Martha Taylor
Appointed 2018
Martha has served as Newbury’s Town Planner since December 2008. In her capacity as Town Planner, she participates in several committees, including the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Task Force, Stormwater Management Team, Border to Boston Trail Committee, Master Plan Committee and Open Space Committee. She is involved with short-range and long-range planning issues.
She is a registered architect and a member of the American Institute of Architects and has worked both as a sole practitioner specializing in residential design and for Cambridge and Boston-based architectural firms with a focus on institutional, corporate, and historic rehabilitation planning and design.
Martha graduated from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design with a Master’s Degree in Architecture and Wellesley College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Russian Language.
Rick Taintor
Appointed 2019
Rick serves as a member of the Newburyport Planning Board. He also served as a member and vice chair of the Newburyport Redevelopment Authority. He is a founding member of Newburyport Livable Streets, a community group focused on education and advocacy related to transportation infrastructure and policies.
Rick has 40 years of planning and community development experience, including 18 years as a municipal planner and 22 years as a consultant to municipalities and state and federal agencies. Rick was the Planning Director for Framingham, MA (1983 to 1988), and for Portsmouth, NH (2009 to 2017). While in Portsmouth, he represented the City on the Rockingham Planning Commission, the regional planning agency for southeast New Hampshire.
As a consultant, Rick has directed a wide variety of community and regional planning projects, including comprehensive and master plans, comprehensive zoning revisions, commercial area zoning updates, commercial corridor studies, open space and recreation plans, development review services, regional economic development and tourism strategies, scenic corridor management plans, and statewide scenic byway programs. Locally, his consulting work includes Newburyport’s 2001 Master Plan, 2004 Strategic Land Use Plan, and 2005 Little River Transit Village Feasibility Study.
Eitan Goldberg
Appointed 2024
Bob Snow
Appointed 2006
Elected as Chairman January 2020
Bob served as Vice-Chair to the Commission and elected as Chairman January 2020. He currently serves as a member of the Rowley Board of Selectmen and as a Commissioner on the Rowley Municipal Light Board and served as a member of the Rowley Planning Board.
Bob is retired and has over 40 years’ experience in Telecommunications in both Management and Engineering and is presently the President of the Ipswich Rotary and a former Marine Corps veteran.
Thomas Abisalih
Appointed 2023
Vacant
Appointed N/A
Christine Lindberg
Dan McCarthy
Brian Murphey
Appointed 2010
Brian has served as a member of the West Newbury Planning Board since 2004. He also serves as a member of the Workforce Housing Trust and the Community Housing Committee in efforts to bring affordable housing options to the Town.
He is currently employed in a facility management role at a Greater Boston area bank.
Frank Surillo
Appointed 2023
Kathleen B. Colwell
Appointed 2018
Elected as Secretary 2024
Kathleen has served as Secretary and Vice Chair during her time on the Commission. She is the City of Methuen’s Planning Division Director since May 2006. In her capacity, she administers all applications before the Community Development (Planning) Board, responds to public inquiries advising developers, builders, realtors, citizens, and property owners on items relating to zoning, subdivision, site plan review, rules and regulations, interprets Massachusetts General Laws relating to planning and zoning, makes recommendations regarding comprehensive planning, zoning, and research/es writes local, federal and state grant applications.
She serves on several committees including the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority Advisory Board and the State Designer Selection Board.
Kathleen graduated from Vermont Law School with a Juris Doctor and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Law and from Colby College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Geology and Environmental Science. She recently completed a graduate certificate program in Regulatory Affairs for Cannabis Control from Clark University (2020). In her spare time she likes to travel, read a good book, spend time with friends and family, and aspires to get to the gym on a regular basis.