Leadership

Brett Webber

President

Brett Webber, AIA, LEED AP, is principal of Brett Webber Architects, an award-winning architecture and design firm in New Hope, specializing in high-performance, sustainable design. Brett is active in a number of local organizations, and his firm is a business member of the Friends. A longtime champion of industrial and architectural heritage preservation and environmental conservation, Brett adds his professional design and construction expertise to current and future projects.

Laure Duval

Vice President

Laure grew up in Bucks County, and the Delaware Canal was always a feature in her life. In the summer, she walked and canoed the towpath; in winter, with luck, she ice skated. Her parents, Bucks County natives and dedicated conservationists, taught her the Canal’s history. Her father was a founding member the Solebury Historical Society and of what is now the Heritage Conservancy. Laure hopes to carry on this family legacy of preserving beautiful Bucks County by doing what she can to get and keep the Canal in working order for future generations.

Professionally, Laure attended the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and then began to practice psychiatry in New York. In 1986, she realized that she was a country girl at heart and moved back to Bucks County. She has resided in Tinicum Township for 30 years while practicing professionally in facilities in Flemington and Clinton, NJ. Laure retired from medical practice in 2016 and is ready to take on some new and not-so-new challenges.

Jack Torres

Secretary

Jack’s earliest memories of the Canal are of family day trips to New Hope, when he was fortunate enough to be able to experience the mule barge rides. After moving to Bucks County, he learned that the Canal was, indeed, more than just an attraction in New Hope.

Jack resides in Erwinna, just above the Canal, and enjoys walking and biking on the towpath in what he considers to be one of the most scenic areas along the waterway’s entire length. He became involved with the Friends when he was asked to help out with Canal Clean-Up Days. Since then, he has served on the Fundraising Committee, as well as the Advocacy, Restoration and Maintenance committees. A real estate agent, licensed in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Jack is a business member of the Friends. He enjoys telling his clients about the Canal, the Friends, and all of the many activities that make this area a special place to live. Jack values having the Canal as part of his community and is committed to preserving it for future generations to enjoy as well.

Matt Emanuel

Treasurer

Matt and his wife Maria purchased a renovated Locktender’s House in 2023, and they were eager to become engaged with the community. The canal and the Friends seemed a logical place to start. So, after becoming members and attending a few events, Matt accepted the challenge of joining our Board and assuming the role of Treasurer.

Matt is a likely choice for the position. He has a strong background in finance, understands the markets, and will be able to steward our investments toward the long-term security of our organization.

Here are some comments from Matt on his nomination to the Board.

“I would like to introduce myself. I am Matthew Emanuel, and I have been a financial/Investment advisor for 32 years. I started my career on Wall St. in 1992. I have spent the last 28 years at Herold & Lantern Investments. I have been married for almost 25 years to my wonderful wife, Maria. We have one son, Alexander, who attends Lafayette College.

“In May of last year, we bought a Locktender’s House at Lock No. 14. It was intended to be a weekend retreat, but I fell in love with it and now call Bucks County my home. My dog Jake and I walk the towpath every day.

“I joined the Friends because I support their mission. My wife Maria and I look forward to meeting new friends, attending events and helping preserve and improve the beautiful Delaware Canal.”

Michele Becci

Michele Becci grew up in Phillipsburg, NJ, and frequently visited New Hope for ice cream and walks on the canal with her grandfather as a child. Her childhood dream was to ‘live in New Hope and own a Monte Carlo.’ While she never got the Monte Carlo (thankfully), she now lives in New Hope, in the historic Locktender’s House at what was Lock 10.  Since 2016, Jay (her partner) and Michele have been lovingly restoring the home, and both are passionate about preserving the history and legacy of the Delaware Canal and New Hope.

Professionally, Michele worked in the science and technology sector for over 35 years, leading global strategy and sales teams in the clinical trials software industry. She spent most of her career at Oracle Corporation, followed by Medidata (now part of Dassault Systemes) in NYC.

Michele left corporate America in 2022 to follow her passion for all things Italian. Today, she focuses on cooking, food and travel writing, and photography in support of her Italian website, Our Italian Table. She is fortunate to call Montalcino, Tuscany, her second home, where she has an apartment just steps from the main piazza. In addition, Michele serves as a councilwoman on New Hope Borough Council.

Jeff Connell

There probably has been no one more determined to walk the full 58.9-mile length of the Delaware Canal than Jeff Connell. On Jeff’s first try at the Friends’ annual Canal Walk in 2009, the group had to turn around and head back to Easton because the Delaware River was flowing over the towpath. He persisted in 2010 and participated in four of the five Canal Walks. In 2011 and 2012, he prevailed and walked on each of the Saturdays, detouring around damage and climbing over fallen trees with his fellow Canal walkers. He now knows the route and routine so well that he has served as a tour leader for the Lunch and Walk.

Jeff and his wife Robin live in Lanoka Harbor, NJ. A graduate of Rider University, Jeff majored in finance and accounting. He has been a licensed real estate broker in New Jersey since 1978, and was President of the Ocean County Board of Realtors in 2001. Jeff has served on the Board of Directors and Executive Board of the Jersey Shore Council of the Boy Scouts of America since 1992. Both he and Robin are very involved in their communities and have participated in a variety of Friends’ activities and events since they became members in 2010. Jeff is ready and willing to move the Friends’ mission forward.

Joan Fullerton

For more than 20 years, Joan Fullerton has traveled to Upper Black Eddy on weekends to enjoy life Bucks County-style. The Delaware Canal has played an important role in those weekends, especially since it runs along Joan’s backyard. She enjoys the towpath in every season, especially hiking or biking it, and appreciates its diverse animal, bird and plant life as well as its beauty and tranquility. Along with her appreciation of the Canal’s pleasures came the understanding that the waterway and towpath need more help than the state park can provide. Thus, Joan became a member of the Friends early in her Upper Black Eddy residency. In recent years, she has been serving on the Friends’ Fundraising Committee taking a key role in the production of Faces & Places. Now she is pleased to expand her role as a member of the board of directors.

When not in Upper Black Eddy, Joan lives in Westfield, NJ. She has worked in the international relocation industry for 33 years and is currently director of global business development for Holman United. She also serves as treasurer for the International Friends Club.

Bob Margadonna

Since 2018, Bob Margadonna has resided in the Borough of New Hope, PA with his wife, two sons and dog. Most recently, he served four years on the New Hope Borough Shade Tree Commission where he actively pursued grants and partnerships with the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society (PHS) and the Riverwoods Homeowners Association resulting in the planting of dozens of new trees acquired from PHS to help offset the devastation caused by the emerald ash borer.

Bob has a longstanding interest in conservation and is committed to the preservation and enhancement of the natural areas that enrich our communities along the Delaware River. Bob currently serves a Canal Locktender and notably, has been an active member and strong advocate for New Hope for Our Canal, which seeks to ensure funding is in place for full-year operation of the pump at Centre Bridge that supplies water from the Delaware River, ensuring the canal is fully watered from Solebury through New Hope Borough.

Professionally, for the last 15 years Bob has been employed at Merck as Commercial Lead for Scientific Strategy and Engagement on the Hospital Antibacterial Marketing Team.

In his spare time, Bob can frequently be found bicycling with friends on the towpath and visiting the many communities along the Delaware River. In his new role as Board Member, Bob’s primary focus will be the Fundraising and Membership Committees.

Peter Rosswaag

Pete Rosswaag has been a resident of Upper Black Eddy for 31 years, and feels privileged to have the Canal as his family’s backyard playground. Pete and his wife, Joyce, raised their two daughters in a house (rebuilt after two floods) located between the Delaware Canal and Delaware River.

The Rosswaags thoroughly enjoy the benefits of the towpath — walking, jogging, running, biking, cross-country skiing, and snow-shoeing. They enjoy the waterway by canoeing, kayaking, paddle boating, and ice skating. Their five grandchildren love visiting “paradise” to share in these activities, including frequent trips to the Homestead Store for ice cream.

Pete displays his love of the Canal by encouraging his grandchildren to assist in his favorite Canal Tender activities of scum busting, vine eradication, and trash collecting via canoe. What fun! He is hoping to make a difference in any way he can, so that future generations can continue to enjoy this unique and wonderful 58.9-mile waterway.

Pete worked for the state of New Jersey for 31 years in the Department of Human Services. Currently, he is the tax collector for Bridgeton Township.