Paul Goldman 

Board of Directors 1999 to 2023 

Paul Goldman was first introduced to O.A.R. while reading a newspaper ad for an Annual River Cleanup in 1999. He took part in the cleanup in Hudson that year, became a member, and soon after joined O.A.R.’s Technical Advisor Committee and water sampling program. The following year, he became a Board member. Holding a Ph.D. in metallurgy, with over 30 years of research and development work across industries before his retirement in 2015, Paul brought a robust science background to the organization.

Paul was the driving force behind the creation of OARS’ Water Wise Workshops, a program still running today, reaching around 600 students this past year alone. He tells us, “The idea for a youth education program came up as an action item in an O.A.R.’s Board Retreat around 2002. I volunteered to lead the project. I explored several options…[considering] hands-on projects that were not directly connected with schools since it was difficult to fit into their established curriculums. This got me thinking about summer workshops on local beaches for ages 6 to 10.” Paul launched this program close to home, saying, “As a Marlborough resident, I contacted our Conservation Officer, Priscilla Ryder, who was interested in the idea and offered her summer intern as a workshop teacher. [In] 2004, I came up with the name ‘Water Wise Workshops’ (WWW) and created a watershed workshop. It was offered for free on Memorial Beach in Marlborough to the Marlborough Recreation Department’s summer campers. It was a great start and inspired me to continue the program.” 

Following this pilot year, the program expanded. Paul “independently raised $5,000 from local businesses, recruited a volunteer Marlborough High School science teacher, Patt Koscinski, to oversee the workshops, and used the money to pay 2 high school summer interns to teach the workshops and purchase supplies.” Paul created six unique workshops on important watershed topics to be delivered to youth audiences. “For the next several years, the program continued with the volunteer science teacher and 2 paid interns each year. The workshops would set up on a beach and have kids participate without any sign up for free.” He continues, “As the program continued to grow, it was time to hire an OARS WWW teacher. We went through a couple of teachers until Bill Froberg was hired. He did a great job of working with the interns and connecting with the students for many years,” also developing impactful relationships with the local Boys & Girls Clubs, Paul notes.   

After Bill retired in 2020, Paul ran the WWW program from 2021 until 2023. He sums up the impact of the program saying, “Over the 20+ years of WWW, 100s of students, many from underserved communities, received engaging hands-on learning experiences about our rivers, lakes and streams in Marlborough at Memorial Beach and The Grove, in Hudson at Wood Park and South Street Riverwalk, in Stow at Lake Boon, and in Westborough at Lake Chauncy. Also, over 40 summer interns got valuable and rewarding work experience, inspiring some of them to pursue environmental and teaching careers.” Paul attributes the success of this program to the full OARS Education Committee, on which he served alongside Bill Froberg and Julia Khorana. 

Beyond WWW, Paul also helped “run the Intel-OARS Environmental Innovators Contest for High School Students, created and taught an OARS Junior Board Project to over 1,000 students that gave 5th graders the experience of being on a ‘Board of Directors,’ presented Earth Day workshops at Marlborough and Hudson Public Libraries, and oversaw the creation of river and lake educational sculptures built by students at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School for the Assabet River Rail Trails.”  

Today, Paul remains an active volunteer in his community, “primarily focused on education and the environment.”  He says, “My most recent endeavor is planting native pollinator gardens in the City of Marlborough for public education and ecological benefits. In collaboration with Marlborough’s Conservation Office, I designed and installed gardens in public parks, and advised on gardens at the Marlborough Public Library, City Hall renovations and other locations.” Paul also leads a pollinator garden project for Fort Meadow Association, working on the association’s two private beaches on Fort Meadow Reservoir. He tells us, “The project has already cleared invasive plants from both beaches with 15 volunteers, and I just presented a winter sow workshop to a dozen families who will be growing plants from seeds that I collected, for a springtime community planting.” 

When asked about his hope for the OARS’ next 40 years, Paul says, “I strongly believe OARS should expand its educational programs for youth and adults. If one does not understand and know our rivers, they will not care for them. And, the sooner we start, the better.”