Our Team
Meet the people behind Tick Free MV.
Staff
Virginia Barbatti serves as Executive Director of Tick Free MV, leading the organization's efforts to reduce tick-borne disease and allergy on Martha's Vineyard through coordinated, community-driven action. A lifelong seasonal resident of Martha's Vineyard, Virginia moved to the Island full-time in 2020 with her family. She spent 15 years in senior corporate strategy roles at companies including Stanley Black & Decker and Wayfair. She went on to build nonprofit leadership experience on the Island, most recently as Development Director at Island Grown Initiative. She came to this work out of a deep commitment to this community and a belief that the Island has what it takes to meet this challenge. Virginia holds a B.S. in Business Management from Penn State University and grew up in Washington, D.C. She lives in Chilmark with her husband and their three young children.
Mary is a communications specialist who led those efforts in government (Human Services & Attorney General), in academia (Northeastern University and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government), and on Island (COVID test site and public health). During the dozen years when marriage equality was on state ballots or in the courts, she led or assisted with the public face of those efforts, including two Supreme Court victories in 2013 and 2015. Mary got her start in news at WVOI and as a reporter and managing editor of the Vineyard Gazette. She lives in Chilmark with her wife, Rebecca Haag.
Grace is Tick Free MV’s Program Coordinator, working to support community-driven efforts to reduce tick-borne disease. She is a year-round Island resident who has been part of the Martha’s Vineyard community since elementary school and is a graduate of the regional high school. She earned a BA from Bennington College, where she studied public advocacy, sustainability, and food studies. She returned to the Island after graduating, driven by a deep commitment to building a life rooted in equity, creative collaboration, community problem-solving, and resiliency. She has since worked with local nonprofits and mission-driven businesses focused on sustainable agriculture and aquaculture, strengthening her connection to the land, waters, and people of Martha’s Vineyard. She also serves as Martha’s Vineyard Liaison for Representative Moakley, helping elevate Island voices at the state level. Additionally find her on the water in the winters commercial bay scallopping. Grace lives in Edgartown with her fiancé and their dog.
Board of Directors
Bret Stearns is a longtime public servant and environmental leader on Martha’s Vineyard, currently serving as a full-time police officer with the Chilmark Police Department. He previously spent more than 30 years as Director of Natural Resources for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), leading environmental management and conservation efforts. Stearns brings extensive experience in public safety, natural resource management, and community engagement, and continues to support tribal environmental programs as a consultant.
After a career in communications as a television producer/journalist in documentary films for Public Television and the ABC Network, Carol joined the board of New York City’s largest child welfare agency, Leake and Watts, now known as Rising Ground. Thus began a lifelong commitment to the well-being of children who are caught up in the Foster Care and Probation or Juvenile Justice systems. Carol served on the Children’s Defense Fund Board for over 25 years, and many other organizations serving these populations. In California she has been appointed by every elected Governor since 2006 to the State Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice and served on the LA County Commission for Children and Families from 1999 until 2020. Carol, her late husband Frank Biondi and their two daughters Anne and Jane first vacationed on Martha’s Vineyard in the summer of 1983. After spending summers in Chilmark for several years, they moved into a new home they built in Edgartown in 1997, the same year they moved to Los Angeles. Carol continues to divide her time between LA and Martha’s Vineyard. Glorious summers are now spent in Katama with Anne and Jane, their husbands, five granddaughters and one grandson. The Biondis served on the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital Board and were among the original supporters of MVYouth. In addition to Tick Free MV, Carol is a current board member of the Martha’s Vineyard Community Foundation and has a deep passion for protecting her cherished island home. “The Vineyard is our favorite place to be and has provided our family with our best memories.”
Richard Johnson is an environmental consultant and field biologist known for his leadership of the Martha’s Vineyard Tick-Borne Illness Reduction Initiative. From 2011 through 2022, he directed the Island-wide program, working with local boards of health to study tick populations and reduce the incidence of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses through research, education, and community outreach. A 2017 fellow of the Martha’s Vineyard Vision Fellowship, Johnson focused his work on developing comprehensive, Island-wide strategies to address tick-borne disease as a critical public health issue. Earlier in his career, he served for 18 years as Executive Director of Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, where he advanced land conservation efforts across Martha’s Vineyard. Johnson continues to contribute his expertise in environmental science and public health through consulting, research, and community education initiatives.
The Honorable Eugene A. Ludwig is a business and civic leader with deep expertise in banking, regulation, and economic policy. He is managing partner of Canapi Ventures, a fintech-focused venture capital firm; founder and CEO of Cari Network, a tokenized deposit network connecting chartered banks with decentralized finance; and CEO of Ludwig Advisors, which counsels financial institutions on critical strategic and regulatory matters. He is also the founder and chairman of the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP), a nonprofit dedicated to improving economic outcomes for middle- and lower-income Americans, and cofounder of the Carol and Gene Ludwig Family Foundation.Mr. Ludwig served as U.S. Comptroller of the Currency from 1993 to 1998, where he worked to expand access to financial services and promote a balanced regulatory framework. He later founded the Promontory family of companies, including Promontory Financial Group and Promontory Interfinancial Network (now IntraFi). He is the author of The Mismeasurement of America and The Vanishing American Dream, which examine the economic challenges facing working Americans.Mr. Ludwig and his family have owned a home on Martha’s Vineyard for many years and have a deep appreciation for the island and its community. He is committed to supporting efforts that protect and strengthen the health and well-being of those who live on and visit the Vineyard.
Isabelle Lew is partner at the law firm Reynolds, Rappaport, Kaplan and Hackney, LLC, where her practice focuses on real estate and municipal law. Isabelle was born and raised in Oak Bluffs and attended the MV High School. She holds a BA from Wesleyan University. After college, Isabelle worked at John Snow, Inc. an international public health consulting firm, where she served as a project coordinator for projects in Mexico and Ethiopia. Thereafter, she attended Northeastern University School of Law. After law school, Isabelle clerked at the MA Supreme Judicial Court with the honorable Margot Botsford. Isabelle moved back to the island in 2016, when she joined RRKH law firm. Isabelle also serves on the board of the Vineyard Gazette and the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. She is a member of the Board of Trustee of the Martha’s Vineyard Bank, and a former long-time board member of the Martha’s Vineyard Community Foundation, where she served as Chair. Isabelle now lives in Chilmark with her husband and two daughters.
Megan Chernin is a Los Angeles based philanthropist and dedicated advocate for children and public education reform. In partnership with the Mayor of Los Angeles and the Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, she co-founded the Los Angeles Fund for Public Education, where she served as Chief Executive Officer, helping to advance innovative initiatives to support students and schools across the city. She currently serves on the boards of LA’s Promise, Building College Success, and the J. Paul Getty Trust, contributing her leadership and commitment to expanding educational opportunity and cultural access. Earning her J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law and holds a B.A. in English from Manhattanville College. She and her husband, Peter, have been summer residents of Martha’s Vineyard since 1977, where they have maintained a longstanding connection to the community.