The Team

  • Crescencia Maurer

    CO-FOUNDER

  • Sharon Squassoni

    CO-FOUNDER

  • Michele Boyd

    Board Member & Senior Advisor

  • David Kaufmann

    Board Member

  • Elise Stromayer

    Board Member

Team Bios

Crescencia Maurer

Co-founder and Co-president of CSI, is an environmental economist and policy analyst with experience, working internationally and at the community level in the United States, Latin America and Asia.  Her areas of expertise include: the implications of trade and development finance for climate change; public participation in decision-making related to urban environmental infrastructure; and how to increase public scrutiny of regulation and management of electricity distribution, drinking water and urban wastewater management systems.  Ms. Maurer holds a Master of Environmental Management (MEM) from Duke University, and Bachelor of Arts (BA) in International Relations and Asian Studies from Pomona College.  She currently works for the Scarborough Land Trust as their Marsh Program Coordinator, is leading a small business start-up in Alagoas, Brazil and serves  on the board of the non-profit, Vila Maria Beneficiary Association (ABEVILA) in Paripueira, Alagoas, Brazil.    

E-mail: cmaurer.csi@gmail.com

Sharon Squassoni

Co-founder and Co-president of CSI, has decades of experience in national security, nuclear weapons, and nuclear energy in the US government (Arms Control & Disarmament Agency, State Department, Congressional Research Service), in non-governmental organizations, and in academia. Her journey to the nexus of national security and climate began two decades ago researching nuclear energy’s potential contribution to climate change mitigation.  She frequently testifies before Congress, provides commentary for national and international media and advises national and international organizations (Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Wisconsin Project, and PIR Center). 

E-mail: ssquassoni.csi@gmail.com

Michele Boyd

Michele has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of renewable energy, nuclear energy, and nuclear weapons, spanning the government, nonprofit, and private sectors. Most recently, she served on the leadership team at the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office, where she focused on reducing barriers to equitable solar energy deployment. Her non-profit experience ranges from working with grassroots groups in post-Soviet Russia on nuclear weapons issues to spearheading successful advocacy campaigns on energy and national security policies. She has published articles on both climate solutions and security topics and has been quoted in major U.S. and international media outlets. Michele has a Master of Science in environmental policy from the University of Michigan and two Bachelor of Science degrees in biology and environmental science from Purdue University.  She serves as a senior advisor in addition to being a Board member. 

E-mail: mboyd.csi@gmail.com

David Kaufmann

David is a literature professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA.  His intellectual interests include contemporary poetry, critical theory, visual art, and art history.  He attended Princeton and Yale Universities and has been a member of the English Department at George Mason since 1989.  Dr. Kaufmann is the author of The Business of Common Life (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995), Telling Stories: Philip Guston's Later Works (University of California Press, 2010), Reading Uncreative Writing (Palgrave, 2017) and Money is the Muse of Contrition (Dos Madres Press, 2026).  He serves as Secretary of the Board

E-mail: dkaufmann.csi@gmail.com

Elise Stromayer

Elise studies international relations at Boston University with a focus on environment and development in Latin America.  She is a passionate Mainer with a commitment to community service. She is interested in non-profit management and brings hands-on experience in basic accounting to the CSI board. She serves as Treasurer of the Board. 

E-mail: elisestromaye@gmail.com