Who We Are

With a background in environmental law, education, and consulting, Janet Williams brings a unique set of experiences and skills to the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative. She spent a dozen years as an environmental enforcement attorney with the EPA, five years providing legal counsel to commercial real estate developers and lenders, and several years building and teaching social science education programs at the secondary level. She discovered a passion for and commitment to fighting climate change while volunteering as a pro bono legal researcher with the Climate Justice Programme in London in 2005. She’s been in the fight ever since. And she’s not giving up.

Other: Chair, Chatham Conservation Commission; Coordinator, Chatham Climate Action Network; Secretary, Pleasant Bay Community Boating; Member: Conservation Law Foundation

Janet has a BA from Boston College, Teaching Certification from Northeastern University and JD from Villanova University School of Law and is a LEED Accredited Green Associate.

Ms. Downey is the Administrator for the Cape Light Compact. Prior to serving as the full-time Cape Light Compact Administrator, Maggie served as both the Assistant County Administrator and Compact Administrator for 17 years. The Cape Light Compact service territory consists of Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, approximately 205,000 year-round residents. The Cape Light Compact is the first municipal aggregator in Massachusetts. Ms. Downey is responsible for management and direction of the Cape Light Compact’s electric power supply aggregation program and energy efficiency programs. She has previously represented the Cape Light Compact on its sister organization, the Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative, which is has installed 49MW of distributed renewable energy projects. Ms. Downey has been working on energy related issues for over 20 years. Prior to joining Barnstable County in 1994, she served as the SEPA/Public Affairs Manager for the City of Issaquah, Washington. Maggie earned her Masters of Public Administration from the University of Washington at Seattle and holds a Graduate Certificate in Management from Harvard University Extension School.

Until recently Chair of 350 Cape Cod; currently working as co-coordinator of the newly formed Cape Cod Climate Action Network, a network within the Collaborative; also a painter creating images about the climate emergency; previously worked for many decades as a lawyer for Native American tribal governments; once was an organizer and lobbyist at the State House for a neighborhood based community organization.

After an early career in economic development, I joined Cape Cod 5 as a commercial lender over 25 years ago. Today, I am CEO and Chair of the Cape Cod Five Mutual Company, the sole shareholder of Cape Cod 5, which employs over 500 people at 27 locations and was recently once again named a Boston Globe Best Place to Work and one of American Banker’s Top Banks to Work for. I am the former chair of the Massachusetts Bankers Association, the American Bankers Association and the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce Board, and was appointed by the Federal Reserve Board to serve as the president of their Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC) for 2020, after having served on the council as a member in 2019. I also currently serve as Chair of the Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC) for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. I have served on the Boards of the Cape Cod Community College, the Cape Symphony Orchestra, Housing Assistance Corporation, Gosnold, Inc. and the Regional Employment Board. I was also elected as a member of the Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative Board of Directors in 2020. I hold an MBA from Suffolk University.

Other: My first professional position was as Executive Director of Little Miami, Inc., a river preservation organization in Ohio. Although I have spent the balance of my career in economic development and banking, I have always been focused on the environment and the care that needs to be exercised in balancing human activity with our natural world. My 27 years at Cape Cod 5 have deepened my understanding of the unique and delicate nature of the Cape Cod and Islands ecosystem, and the deep dependence our regional economy has on our natural environment. Working together with my Senior Leadership Team, I have designated Environmental Stewardship as one of Cape Cod 5’s key area of focus for our Community Commitment. Through each of our Five Ways of Engagement (Community Banking; Responsible Business Practices; Corporate Leadership & Volunteerism; Advancement of Financial Know-How; and Philanthropy), our 500+ employees work together to help protect our natural environment. We have committed ourselves to supporting several key organizations and events that bring together environmental thought leaders, with local and state officials and corporate citizens to move the needle in such things as sustainable infrastructure and corporate responsibility. We have developed programs to help make more affordable ecofriendly choices such as home solar panels, and have as an institution invested in community solar arrays. Finally, our new 80,000 square foot headquarters, “HQ5,” was carefully planned to be environmentally sensitive, which led to selection of a formerly developed site, design of the building to LEED Gold standards, use of renewable energy, a parking structure to minimize asphalt footprint, inclusion of energy efficient systems including smart window technology, incorporation of paperless systems and processes, among many other environmentally sound practices. This project also includes expansion of the sewer infrastructure for use both by this site and abutters.