Julie Jordin

Owner: The Garden Design Company

Julie Jordin has been designing landscapes and gardening on Nantucket since 1995. A graduate of Penn State with a BS in Landscape Design and Contracting, Julie is passionate about creating outdoor spaces that reflect the clients’ personalities and lifestyles. Her unique vision has earned her recognition in the industry, making her a sought-after expert in crafting lush, sustainable landscapes. Julie's commitment to environmental stewardship is reflected in her use of native plants and eco-friendly design practices.

Niles Parker

Executive Director: Nantucket Historical Assocation

Niles Parker is the Gosnell Executive Director of the Nantucket Historical Association. He previously held the position as the Robyn and John Davis Chief Curator at the NHA from 1999 to 2006, as well as acting Executive Director from 2005 to 2006. He played a leading role in the Whaling Museum’s major expansion and renovation project in 2005. In the intervening years between his positions at the NHA, Parker held the position of Executive Director at the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, Maine from 2006 to 2010; and Executive Director at the Maine Discovery Museum from 2010-2022, where he helped launch the statewide Maine Science Festival. Parker received his B.A. from Colby College and his M.A. in Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program.

Matt Herr

Owner: Grey Lady Oysters

Matt Herr has 40 years of commercial fishing experience on Nantucket Island. While in high school, Matt spent his summers on Nantucket working on a commercial cod fishing vessel. Upon graduating college with a degree in Political Science from Skidmore College, Matt moved to Nantucket and focused on his passion of commercial fishing working on a lobster boat before branching out on his own where he has been commercially bay scalloping (35 years), conching (30 years), and now farming oysters for the past 11 years. Matt has been actively involved in the community and has served on the Harbor Shellfish Advisory Board (6 years) and served as the chairman for the Shellfish Management Plan Committee. His oyster farm is called Grey Lady Oysters and has a family-focused model on providing a local, healthy, sustainable product that helps to improve water quality while growing seafood that stays on Nantucket.

Welcome our Panel Moderator:

Cecil Barron Jensen, Executive Director Remain

Cecil moved to Nantucket in 1996 and worked for a number of the island’s preeminent nonprofits before assuming the role of Remain’s executive director in 2018. Some of Remain’s signature initiatives launched during Cecil’s tenure include Nantucket Footprints, More Nantucket and the Envision Resilience Challenge. In addition, under her leadership the organization has focused on food systems, food insecurity, affordable housing, architectural salvage reuse and nature-based solutions to climate challenges. Cecil is a graduate of Middlebury College, with a bachelor's degree in English.