Events

Abigail (Abbe) Wertz is the Trauma Program Manager at MerrimackHealth in Lawrence, a role she has held since 2020 after more than two decades of service as an Emergency Room nurse. With 23 years of frontline ER experience and 13 years as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Abbe’ career centers on trauma informed patient care and community safety.

In the role of Trauma Program Manager Abbe is active in the Merrimack Valley in injury prevention and education: teaching Stop the Bleed classes in schools and community groups to help the layperson identify and take steps to control severe bleeding while waiting for 911, organizing and supporting town Bike Rodeos to promote safe riding and helmet use, and sponsoring a biannual car seat safety check in Lawrence where Car Seat Patient Safety Technicians check the installation and appropriate size and condition of car seats.

A resident of Haverhill for the past 27 years, Abbe is active in the community primarily in the area of food insecurity. Abbe is also the mother of four adult sons and one granddaughter. She spends her free time happily working in her flower and veggie gardens and walking her dogs.

Aqueous Consultants is a Professional Engineering firm that specializes in providing our clients with irrigation, water resources, rainwater harvesting, alternative water design, and water feature design solutions. Founded by Michael Igo, PE in 2014 in Andover, and joined full-time by his spouse and partner Andrea Igo, PE in 2016, the firm’s passion and desire to provide efficient water systems for architects, engineers, and end-users has made Aqueous a trusted partner for our clients.

By engineering systems that promote water conservation and efficiency, we lessen the dependence on drinking water, preserve ecological balance, and watch the economic bottom line. We are fortunate to have worked on some of the most prominent institutional, commercial, and residential construction projects around the United States working for the most sought-after architects, developers, and engineers. Reaching as many as 8 employees in 2025, Aqueous always seeks continued growth and forecasts a bright future with a talented staff and expanding satisfied customer base for our engineering and consulting services.

Andrea and Mike have lived in Andover (Ballardvale) for 19 years and have two sons at Andover High School.

The Rotary Club of Andover annually welcomes the Town Manager to address members and provide a Town Meeting preview. 

Dr. Lane A. Glenn is president of Northern Essex Community College (NECC), the first Hispanic Serving Institution in New England, which has campuses in both Haverhill and Lawrence, Massachusetts.

With more than three decades of experience in higher education, Dr. Glenn is passionate about helping all students achieve their educational goals and is a strong advocate for closing equity gaps, and for colleges and universities as engines of economic and workforce development, particularly in Gateway Cities.

As president of NECC, Dr. Glenn has led the significant expansion of the college’s Lawrence campus, including construction of the $27 million Ibrahim El Hefni Health and Technology Center, the creation of the Haffner Fournier Education Center, and the development of “The Hub” with university partnerships and the award-winning Revolving Test Kitchen.  He is also the founding board chair of the Lawrence Partnership, a private-public collaboration of business leaders, community leaders, and elected officials devoted to economic development and improving the quality of life for residents of Lawrence, Massachusetts.

A highly collaborative, energetic leader, Dr. Glenn encourages experimentation and organizational innovation.  Recently, NECC became the first college in the country to offer a competency-based associate degree in Early Childhood Education, and its police academy, one of the largest in the state, was the first to be accepted into the National Active Bystander for Law Enforcement (ABLE) Training Program, designed to prepare police officers to successfully intervene to prevent harm and to create a law enforcement culture that supports peer intervention, leading to safer communities.

Dr. Glenn has been described as an “optimistic thought leader” who actively promotes higher education in a number of publications, on social media, and through his blog, “Running the Campus.”  He has been nationally recognized for his advocacy with the Eduardo J. Padron Award for Presidential Leadership from Campus Compact; the Pacesetter of the Year Award from the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations; and the SUCCESS Higher Education Leadership Award from the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration.

Dr. Glenn holds a PhD from Michigan State University, a master’s degree from Oklahoma State University and a bachelor’s from Northeastern State University—and he is proud to say that he started his education at Rose State College, a community college in Midwest City, Oklahoma.

Dr. Julie Riley has served as the Assistant Superintendent of Andover Public Schools (APS) since August 2021, bringing more than 27 years of experience in education, including fifteen years in district and central office leadership. 

During her time in Andover, Dr. Riley has developed districtwide opportunities for teacher leadership and collaboration, and has spearheaded the development of the district’s Vision of the Graduate. Dr. Riley has also been a leading force in the districtwide equity initiative, piloted cooperative education opportunities through a partnership with Greater Lawrence Technical School, and has overseen the implementation of a new middle school scheduling model.

In addition to her district role, Dr. Riley co-leads the Curriculum and Staff Development Network (CSDN), a statewide professional learning community for school and district leaders. CSDN provides high-quality professional development, including sessions with DESE, MASS, NEASC, and leading researchers in youth development, school finance and law, and educational change.

Project Insulin is a nonprofit drug company fixing a broken system. We’re not researching a novel drug; we’re removing the barriers that make an old one inaccessible by developing & manufacturing insulin ourselves and selling it at cost.

Before founding Project Insulin, Eric led major fundraising efforts at Brandeis University, helping raise over $2 million during Giving Tuesday campaigns. He also serves on the board of the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association and delivered a TEDx talk in 2020 on allyship in chronic illness communities. 

Bruce directs the Life Giving Water International (LGWI) ministry helping rural Ecuadorian communities build reliable water systems. LGWI enables communities to improve spiritual and physical health through life giving water. LGWI aspires to initiate community development water ministry in several other Latin American countries.

Bruce worked for engineering consulting firms in the Boston area for 10 years. In 1980, Bruce and his wife Cherith, volunteered to serve with a Christian ministry in Ecuador, South America. They lived in Ecuador from 1981 to 2019, except for 16 months in 1985-86, when they helped a rural Kenyan mission hospital build a hydroelectric power plan on the Nyangores River. As a missions volunteer, Bruce has done engineering for hydroelectric power plants, clinics, hospitals, and rural water systems.

Bruce is from Schenectady, NY. As a civil engineering graduate of Clarkson University and Northeastern University, he holds engineering credentials in Massachusetts and in Ecuador. Bruce & Cherith have been married since 1973, and have three children, and four grandchildren. They currently reside in southwest Florida and make frequent trips to Latin America.

Paul Materazzo, Andover's Director of Planning and Land Use, a seasoned and experienced urban planner will update attendees on upcoming town wide projects. 

Established in 2009, the Andover Robotics Club is a student-run organization in Andover, Massachusetts, that specializes in the construction of robots for FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC). The club has about 75 active members and is led by a student board of officers that keeps it running behind-the-scenes. The club has three co-ed teams, 5273 ARC Thunder, 24256 ARC Sandstorm and 4410 ARC Lightning, as well as one all-girls team, 10331 ARC Hailstorm. During the FTC season, members build, code, and CAD a robot and complete community outreach with the goal of making STEM more accessible in the community. 

Learn about their championship work and witness a live demonstration!

The purpose of the Design Review Board is to advise applicants for projects involving new construction, exterior alterations and large signage in the General Business and Mixed Use Districts, and to review all new municipal structures and signage. And, at the discretion of the Planning Board, the DRB shall also review applications for special permits in the ID2 district as well as major non-residential projects in LS, OP, and IG districts.

But how does it work?  Who is the DRB? What are they working on now?  Come to the meeting and find out! 

Jonathan Fournier, Chair of the DRB, is an architect with over 24 years of local and international experience in practice, and is the Principal and Founder of Studio Re-Built. An architectural practice that aspires to serve the underserved, and focuses on the renovation and reuse of commercial, community, and multi-family residential buildings. The studio sees a world where our built environment is responsible, respectful, and humane. They are problem solvers who believe that architecture is about engaging people, and advocating for the right of every community to have an affordable place to find ‘joy’, to ‘live’, and consider ‘home’.

Operation Delta Dog is a 501(c)3 organization with a mission to rescue and train shelter dogs as specialized service companions for veterans experiencing PTSD, TBI and MST.