ariel shramko

they/them

Staff Engineer

The Horsley Witten Group is happy to share that Ariel Shramko, staff engineer, has joined our engineering group in Boston, MA. Ariel is a recent graduate from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering. They are currently pursuing a graduate degree in Environmental Engineering.

Growing up in Attleboro, MA Ariel lived close to a nature preserve and was fascinated by nature and interested in solving complex problems as a young person. Engineering runs in the family as their great-grandfather was an electrical engineer, their grandfather a civil engineer, and their mother is a retired chemical engineer.

Ariel has completed internships as a research assistant and an engineering intern at a wastewater utility. As a research assistant, Ariel learned about heavy metal testing in drinking water and found the experience personally worthwhile as the group evaluated a handheld device to assess water instead of samples being sent to a lab. They found the outreach component of the project fulfilling as they were able to use language skills to reach an audience that felt left out of the process. The wastewater internship included survey work and finding buried manholes.

The Arrakis Terrarium Project/Auto Terra Project was a special experience. After placing in two college competitions, Ariel’s team was one of the top 25 US Teams in the NASA Deep Space Food Challenge, a national competition to make the first Mars habitat food production system. Their team’s solution was an automated, closed system garden in a box. The project was exciting and fulfilling on many levels. The food grown included radishes, spinach, mustard seed, and potatoes.

When Ariel is not working, they enjoy listening to music in any language! Ariel is especially fond and nostalgic for Cantonese ballads as their mother played them when they were young. Ariel has a fondness for merengue and bachata music as their father’s family is from the Dominican Republic. Ariel loves cooking and can be found making stir fry dishes and dumplings with big groups of friends. Welcome to HW Ariel!

joseph weinstein

emergency response planner

The Horsley Witten Group is happy to share that Joe Weinstein, emergency response planner, has joined our training team. He will support our emergency response work with EPA, D.C. Water, and other clients.

Joe is a 2023 graduate from Massachusetts Maritime Academy and holds a Bachelor of Science in Emergency Management and a minor in Homeland Security. He has extensive experience with drone technology and procedures and presented at a FAA drone conference while in school. He has worked as a private investigator, a facilitator for cyber security and power outages, a small business owner, and has completed internships for two Massachusetts fire departments.

When Joe is not working on emergency planning, he enjoys playing basketball (a passion from high school) and also plays contemporary piano. Welcome to HW Joe!

logan troy

land surveying technician

The Horsley Witten Group is pleased to share that Logan Troy, part-time land surveying technician, has joined our survey team in Sandwich, MA. Logan is a current student at the MA Maritime Academy. He is working on his Bachelor’s Degree in International Maritime Business.

Logan has assisted students with tutoring and enjoyed being both a Petty Officer and a Squad Leader. He has acquired many technical skills and has experience as a survey technician and engineering draftsman. Other skills include survey and mapping, site design, and bid specifications development. He has completed several internships with MASSDOT, participating in lab work, testing products, and safety permit processes.

When he is not working Logan enjoys freshwater fishing, landscaping, and thinking up new businesses with his friends! He has a strong interest in car and motorcycle mechanics and frequents Vermont mountains during the snow season to ski and snowboard, depending on the conditions. Cannon mountain in New Hampshire is also a favorite. Welcome to HW, Logan! We appreciate your assistance with the survey work.

sarah simon

environmental planner

The Horsley Witten Group is pleased to announce that Sarah Simon, environmental planner, has joined our team. Raised in Wellesley, MA, Sarah grew up with a love of dance and books. She also enjoyed plants and gardens from an early age, and wondered what it would be like to have a deeper relationship with land and nature than what she experienced in the suburbs.

Sarah earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Comparative Literature with certificates in creative writing, dance, and urban studies from Princeton University. She has a Master of City Planning with a focus on environmental policy and planning from M.I.T.

As the manager of a student garden in college, she caught the “farming bug” and worked as an apprentice on a vegetable and dairy farm in Maine. A move to New York was in her future, so she found a rewarding opportunity leading the Common Ground Farm in Beacon, NY. Over her five years on the farm, she managed a team of farmers and five acres of vegetable production, as well as expanded the organization to run farmers’ markets and food access programs. The farm also sold fresh produce and offered cooking education in the public schools. Sarah worked to upgrade farm infrastructure by raising money for a new tractor, colorful delivery van, and metal deer fence.

Sarah continued her career by transitioning to supporting other farmers and the local food economy while moving back to Maine. She worked as a farm viability program director for the Maine Farmland Trust. She created a new climate resilience program at the land trust, which supports farmers in developing climate adaptation plans for their farms and provides grants to help farmers implement their adaptation projects, including agroforestry practices, improved water management, and renewable energy generation.

During graduate school, Sarah participated in internships with the National Park Service and the City of Portland, ME. She is happy to call Portland her home. When she is not working, Sarah enjoys playing with her young son and cat. She also dances with a local contemporary dance group and likes to spend time cooking and eating with family and friends. Welcome to HW, Sarah!

gabriella spitzer

they/them

environmental planner

The Horsley Witten Group is thrilled to announce that Gabriella Spitzer has joined our growing team at the Boston, MA office. Gabriella’s area of expertise and focus is climate change and resilience planning. We are excited to include them on a wide range of technical and community engagement projects.

Growing up in Sharon, MA, Gabriella learned about the connections between social justice, public health, and the environment from their experience working for an organization called The Food Project. The group focuses on youth development and racial justice through urban and suburban farming. These early experiences were formative: Gabriella’s environmental approach has always focused on how environmental issues—especially land use—relate to all other kinds of other social issues.

Gabriella earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Environmental Science at Barnard College/Columbia University in New York City and a Master of Science in Environmental Science with a concentration in planning and management at the University of Illinois in Springfield. While working for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets they developed a program to help farmers reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and become more resilient to the changing climate. New York’s Climate Resilient Farming program is still going strong! Gabriella then worked as a consultant for FEMA helping the agency assist communities with reducing risks and becoming more resilient to climate change. Gabriella is excited to bring their years of experience in climate change resilience, hazard mitigation, climate policy, and environmental planning to HW.

Gabriella is an artist and, when they are not busy with work, enjoys painting with acrylics on canvas,  silk paints on silk, watercolors on paper, and combining them in mixed media in a new basement studio space. They developed a Haggadah for Passover called Haggadah Min HaMeitzar, A Seder Journey to Liberation published by Ben Yehuda Press. It includes a traditional text along with several kinds of commentary, including an environmental commentary, that Gabriella developed. The Haggadah features their art as well. Their next project involves art and essays on Jewish text and climate change.  

Welcome to HW, Gabriella!

alex cedrone, e.i.t, esq.

Senior Engineer

The Horsley Witten Group is proud to announce that Alex Cedrone, Senior Engineer, has joined our engineering team in Exeter, NH.

A Groton, Massachusetts native, Alex grew up with an engineer parent who encouraged him to seek out career options in engineering. His love of history propelled him to a college experience centered around engineering and law with the environment  a close second. Alex loves green stormwater infrastructure and design and favors best practices for the site where possible. He has relevant experience with site work, remediation, and water treatment, along with research, zoning, site design, and soil evaluation.

Alex earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a Minor in Political Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and his J.D. from the Mass. School of Law. At HW, he has hit the ground running with peer reviews and school site design projects.

When he is not working Alex enjoys spending time with his wife and Milo a four-year-old Australian Shepherd  who lives for frequent long walks and hiking adventures. Alex likes to spend free time on Cape Cod, enjoys skiing, and basically spends as much time outside as possible. *Hint, he owns an Aussie! Alex is a sports fan and especially likes hockey, lacrosse, and football plus horror and comedy movies. We are glad you have joined our team. Welcome to HW, Alex!

gary hedman, lsp

Senior Associate

The Horsley Witten Group is excited to share that Gary Hedman has rejoined the company in the role of Senior Associate! Gary’s career spans 24 years, with experience in site assessment and remediation, contaminated materials management, sediment characterization in support of ecological restoration projects, and assisting clients in complying with local, state, and federal regulatory programs.

After 12+ years with Horsley Witten, Gary spent the last 7 years at a leading New England based engineering/consulting firm helping them to grow their Eastern MA site assessment and remediation team and contributing to their emergency response, contaminated soils management, and sites management practice. He has learned over the years that collaboration across parties and honest communication are key to building meaningful client relationships and ensuring successful project outcomes.

A life-long New Englander, Gary earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont. Encouraged from an early age to take a hands-on approach to problem solving, there’s nothing he loves more than figuring out a fix or finding a new hack. His roots in Vermont and on Cape Cod drive a strong sense of appreciation and love of the outdoors. Gary is excited to come back to Horsley Witten Group and to see so many familiar faces who are mission driven and committed to nature-based solutions. Gary is “off and running” on new projects and contributing to ongoing efforts. His passion for ecological restoration along with strong project management skills will benefit our clients and partners.

When Gary is not working, he’s most likely starting a new renovation or repair project around the house or lending a hand to friends and family, but his lifelong passion is skiing. He believes in “giving back” and is a dedicated member of the Magic Mountain Ski Patrol (his better half, Stacey, is also a Patroller). He volunteers with the Londonderry Vermont Conservation Commission and Village Wastewater Committee. Stacey (a 7^th generation Cape Cod native) and Gary are grateful to call both Vermont and Cape Cod home and share it with her 12-year-old yellow bellied mutt from Louisiana, Cajun! Welcome back to HW, Gary!

david alfred

staff scientist

The Horsley Witten Group is happy to announce that David Alfred has joined our wetlands and engineering team in Sandwich as a Staff Scientist. A Rochester New York native, David grew up learning about ecology in the Finger Lakes region raising crayfish and tadpoles and enjoying fishing with his family. In college he started out studying human biology and medicine but changed to biology and chemistry with a conservation focus soon after his first year.

David earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology with a Minor in Chemistry at the State University of New York College at Oneonta (SUNY) and his Master of Science in Conservation Biology at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont. David has experience with good laboratory practice (GLP) and has acquired many technical skills like hydrographic surveying, and trench and excavation competence to name a few.

David has completed several internships in New York and Florida. He was a Research Fellow at SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station in Cooperstown and a Biologist Technician for the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Hobe Sound, Florida. He has held positions as a Field Research Director, Turbidity Technician, and an Environmental Technician Survey Party Chief.

When he is not working in the field, David enjoys disc golf, exploring new places, hiking, fishing, drone work, and learning more about the Cape Cod environment as well as travelling both for work and personally. Welcome to HW, David!