Meet Larissa

Larissa Read is a skilled ecologist, planner, facilitator, and project manager with 20 years of experience effectively leading and facilitating complex local, state, and national planning projects. She is the founder of Common Ground Consulting, LLC, a certified NY State Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE). Larissa provides planning, facilitation, and project management services to environmental, non-profit, and government organizations who are eager to tackle tough questions and make sound, thoughtful decisions. Larissa has a particular aptitude for managing challenging conversations with diverse stakeholders searching for common ground and solutions.

Based in Albany, NY, Larissa works with nonprofit and government organizations in New York, New England, and across the country. She currently serves as the Secretary and the Governance lead for the Board of Directors of the Hudson River Watershed Alliance. While living in the central mountains of Colorado, Larissa served as President of the Board of Directors for the Eagle River Watershed Council (now Eagle River Coalition), and an elected member of the Board of Directors for Holy Cross Energy. In 2022, she successfully completed the Public Leadership Credential at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Larissa previously served as a volunteer on the City of Boulder's Environmental Advisory Board, analyzing critical issues such as climate change mitigation and energy efficiency, bear activity in the city, and effects of the 2013 flood, providing input to Boulder City Council and other advisory boards. 

Larissa has extensive practice guiding communities and organizations through complex decisions about their natural resources while balancing the needs of the human environment. She facilitates challenging planning processes in areas such as sustainability planning, transportation, visitor use planning, climate action, and energy efficiency.

Larissa has a B.A. in Biology and an M.S. in Environmental Science (through a Presidential Fellowship) from the University of Virginia, and a Public Leadership Credential from the Harvard Kennedy School.