Board of Directors

R. Martin Arthur: Martin holds a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Rice University and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He has been engaged in research and teaching at Washington University since 1970, where he is now the Newton R. and Sarah Louisa Glasgow Wilson Professor of Engineering. He is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Professor Arthur's research focuses on electrocardiographic analysis for detection of risk for cardiac dysfunction and on development of medical ultrasonic imaging for use in monitoring temperature during hyperthermia treatment for cancer.

Harvey Citerman: Harvey, a CPA, is a partner in the St. Louis office of the regional accounting firm of Larson, Allen, Weishair & Co., LLP. He has over thirty years of experience working and consulting with privately-owned and family-operated companies in the St. Louis area, advising on financial and tax matters. He has been a board member and officer of several not-for-profit and social-service organizations such as Life Skills Foundation, Jewish Community Centers, Arts & Education Council, and Young Audiences, among others.

David Garin: David recently retired from the University of Missouri-St. Louis where he was Associate Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Center for Science and Technology. He coauthored the textbook, Chemistry: Its Role in Society and continues to write. He served as the first chairperson of Missouri 's Hazardous Waste Management Commission and worked at the EPA in Washington , D.C. David was a Congressional Science Fellow in 1980-81 working in Congressman Al Gore's office on environmental issues. He has served on the Coalition Board for more than 20 years in various roles.

Gerald Greiman: Gerry is a partner in the law firm Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP (St. Louis office), where he serves on the Executive Committee and is Chair of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Practice Group. Gerry concentrates his practice in the area of complex civil litigation, at both the trial and appellate levels. He has handled a broad range of cases in various federal and state courts around the country, including the United States Supreme Court. After receiving his law degree from Washington University in 1975, Gerry served as a Law Clerk to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit for two years and then was engaged in private practice in Washington, D.C. for nine years. He returned to St. Louis in 1986. Among his many civic activities, Gerry currently serves as Chair of the Missouri State Park Advisory Board and as Vice-President and Chair of the Church-State Committee of the St. Louis Jewish Community Relations Council. He is a past Chairperson of the Missouri Commission on Human Rights. Gerry is married to M. Susan Carlson, and they have two children, David and Nora.

David Lobbig: David is a graduate of Washington University, has worked in museum production and education for the last 24 years, and is currently the Chief Exhibits Preparator at the Missouri Historical Society. He joined the board in 2001 and has served on the Policy and Board Building Committees and the Smart Growth Action Team.

Scott Merritt: Scott joined MCE in 2002 and has served on the Environmental Policy Committee and Board since 2003. He is involved with protection of natural areas in the Ozarks, is a volunteer with the Department of Conservation, Friends of Ozark Riverways, and Missouri Stream Teams, and is a Board member of Ozark Trail Association. He promotes preservation and low-impact recreation through ozarkbackpacking.com and is the fifth-generation caretaker of family property in Dent County . He has a Music degree from Webster University and is a programmer for SBC Communications.

Arlene Sandler: Arlene joined the Board in 1979. She was initially drawn to the organization to help the "construction work in progress" referendum relating to the Callaway nuclear power plant. Since then, she has worked on other nuclear campaigns as well as petition drives about land use and rivers. The Coalition attracted Arlene because it was the only activist organization around in the seventies. She still sees it as the best place for her volunteer energy. The rest of her time is taken up with her job as librarian at Crossroads School, where she now works after 24 years with the St. Louis Public Library.

William Sitzer:  Bill graduated in 1968 from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he was employed on the House of Representatives side of the U.S. Congress while a college student. He's a long time member of the Sierra Club, active in the St. Louis Jewish Environmental Initiative, and a Board Member of MCE since 2002. He has a law degree, cum laude, from St. Louis University School of Law, where he was Editor in Chief of the Law Journal, and an LLM from Washington University School of Law. He has an active law practice in state and federal courts, and practices in the areas of taxation, trusts, estates and asset protection planning and fiduciary litigation, business law and commercial litigation, and real estate law and appeals. He's President of the Board of St. Louis Hillel at Washington University and is past president of Central Reform Congregation in St. Louis.

Jo Ellen Thelen: Jo Ellen graduated from Creighton University in 1980 and now lives in University City. She is a Director of Client Relationships for Aon Risk Services of MO (www.Aon.com), a global insurance brokerage operation headquartered in Chicago, IL. Jo Ellen joined the Board in October 2003. She has served on Boards within the insurance industry and has been active in politics since the 1970's. Jo Ellen is a current Board member of Food Outreach, a local non-profit agency.

Al Van Amburg: Al graduated from Washington University in 1968 and medical school in 1972. He started the first cancer clinic at St. Luke's East Clinic, which became the first cancer clinic for Regional Hospital. He graduated from the Leadership St. Louis program (now Focus St. Louis) in 1987. He served as a member of the University City Education Foundation Board and as co-chairman of the Coalition's Campaign 2000 fundraising initiative with Pat Waterston. Al joined the Board in 2001 and has been President for the past 2 years.

Ralph Wafer: Ralph is an architect and president of his own firm. His practice focuses on energy-conscious renovation/rehabilitation and design of residential, institutional, and small commercial buildings. He has been a Board member of Landmarks Association of St. Louis and is very active in Scouting and church organizations. His principal interests are in maintaining and revitalizing urban neighborhoods and institutions. He has been an active Coalition Board member for several years and served as Secretary and Vice President. He is a veteran signature-gatherer of many petition drives, speaker at hearings on Forest Park and Metrolink issues, and environmental activist.

Rebecca Wright: Rebecca has been a Board member since 1995 and secretary since 2001. She has served on the Environmental Policy, Operations, and Annual Dinner committees. She has worked on petition drives and public hearings on the Art Museum expansion in Forest Park, the construction of the Page Avenue extension through Creve Coeur Lake Park, the Hazelwood Mall in the Missouri River floodplain, and the Army Chemical School at Fort Leonard Wood. Rebecca has a Masters degree in Library Science and is a librarian in Kay Drey's nuclear hazards library. She also organized and manages the Coalition's library.