Meet Carol Rosa Sabia, 7 Lakes Alliance Acting President & CEO

We are pleased to welcome Carol Rosa Sabia as 7 Lakes Alliance’s Acting President & CEO. Drawing on her experience in executive leadership, talent management, and senior leadership coaching, she brings a strong understanding of organizational leadership and a deep commitment to helping people and organizations thrive. In the following Q&A, Carol shares her perspective on 7 Lakes Alliance and the work ahead during this time of transition.

Q: Could you tell us a little about your background?

I grew up in a small town in Connecticut, the oldest of 5 children, the daughter of a small business owner/builder father and very organized mother who modeled strong work and moral values in all of us. I moved to Massachusetts after college, where I’ve lived ever since. I had a 30-year career in high tech leadership. At Honeywell I was Manufacturing Plant Manager of a $70 million business, and at BBN Technologies I was Director of Operations for software development and Vice President of Talent Management. As VP of Talent, I was responsible for recruiting, retention, and leadership and technical development of 700 staff. I continue to work part time as an Executive Coach.

Q: What is your connection to Belgrade Lakes watershed and 7 Lakes Alliance?

I have been vacationing on Lower Long Pond (LLP) for over 50 years. I came as a kid with my family, and I later bought a cottage in the same cove where I first vacationed. My husband Russ and I spend June through September at the lake, and our 24-year-old daughter Emily grew up coming to the lake and joins us now for long weekends.

Russ, Carol, and daughter Emily on Blueberry Hill above Upper Long Pond.

I’ve followed the work of the 7 Lakes Alliance since its founding in 2018. Two years ago, we decided to donate 80 acres of forested land that had been in my family since the 1970s. Working closely with 7 Lakes, we named the property RoSabia Preserve to honor my family name of Rosa and our family name of Sabia.

During that process, we gained a much fuller understanding of what 7 Lakes does. I was amazed at the deep commitment and expertise of the staff and board. When 7 Lakes evaluated our property, about a dozen staff and board members came to walk around the land. They pointed out cedar stands, vernal pools, and unique plants – all things I had never noticed before. Through that evaluation, we learned that the brook on our property acts as a critical filter for Lower Long Pond, feeding into the lake at two separate points: Little Lost Pond in the north and Ingham Stream in the south.

That experience in 2024 transformed how Russ and I thought about 7 Lakes, and we realized the value of having full-time, year-round staff preserving our lakes and land. From then on, instead of writing a check occasionally to a 7 Lakes project that interested us, we made a multi-year commitment to more significantly and sustainably support 7 Lakes’ work and its 14 permanent staff.

The following year, Laurie Raleigh asked me if I would be interested in serving on the board and the rest is history. I became Vice Chair in November 2025 and Chair in September 2026.

Q: What are you hearing from the communities 7 Lakes Alliance serves right now?

Everywhere I go, I hear community members express their appreciation for our amazing team and the work they are doing. I’ve gone to town, lake, and road association meetings this summer where our staff presented the work they do monitoring lake conditions, preventing and remediating invasives, minimizing erosion, and conserving land. Community members are so appreciative of their work – our team members are very knowledgeable and provide such important information and service to our community.

This summer, the big 7 Lakes news has been about the Bomazeen Conservation Project, a Scout camp with 280 acres of uplands and bog and 900 feet of waterfront on Great Pond. Our land management and stewardship teams evaluated and conducted due diligence on the property, in accordance with our land trust accreditation requirements. Our advancement, communications, and outreach team members worked tirelessly to keep the community informed and to tap into the generosity of individuals and organizations who have stepped up to support this major purchase.

Q: What are your immediate priorities as you step into this role?

My top three priorities are our team members, sustainable funding, and future leadership.

Thanks to strong foundational and community support, 7 Lakes has been able to build significant capacity to meet the growing challenges facing Belgrade Lakes watershed. We are an accredited land trust with a year-round team of 14 scientists, conservationists and educators, dedicated to combatting severe threats to our lakes. Those threats include algal blooms, shoreline runoff, and invasive variable-leaf milfoil and curly-leaf pondweed. Combined with the accelerating impacts of a warming climate, these challenges underscore the urgent need for 7 Lakes to sustain and support our team.

Carol Rosa Sabia enjoying conversation with Leadership Circle members.

My first priority is to retain and develop our team members whose commitment and expertise make all the vital work to conserve our watershed possible. 7 Lakes Alliance is evolving as an organization, and this is a great time to match our expanding needs with career growth opportunities for our team members.

This leads to my second priority which is to establish sustainable funding for 7 Lakes. Investing in our team and everyday operations is what transforms our shared goal – a healthy watershed – into year-round land and lake protection. Our work is most visible during the summer months, but it goes on all throughout the year. It’s October and our team is still diving, taking water samples, analyzing data, completing projects to reduce runoff from camp roads and driveways, conducting LakeSmart evaluations, finalizing our financial audit, fundraising for our annual campaign, doing conservation education, and communicating with our community – we can only do this year-round work if we have consistent funding. We know that by engaging our community, we foster a powerful sense of shared ownership in conserving Belgrade Lakes watershed.

My third priority is to better understand what the organization, team members, and community need for 7 Lakes Alliance leadership into the future.

Q: What is the process for selecting the next permanent President & CEO?

Whenever there’s a transition like this, it’s an opportunity to pause and reflect. Organizations grow and change over time and need different kinds of leaders at different times. This is a time to evaluate what the organization needs for future leadership and it’s important to understand what we need before looking for that new leader.

This is one of those initiatives that “takes a village.” I’m starting with the team because they are such an important consideration in what type of leader they need to do their best work and to grow. Our board members have been very engaged in the work of 7 Lakes, and they have much visibility into our growing organization’s challenges and opportunities – I am tapping into their insights into what’s needed at this time. And our community of year-round and summer residents, lake association leaders and members, donors, business owners, and everyone who loves these lakes and lands have a vested interest in the leadership of 7 Lakes, and I want to hear from them too.

There’s a saying, “We must go slowly, there isn’t much time” that I often think about when I’m in this type of situation. Taking time to slow down before acting can lead to better insights and decisions. I like to get things done, so “slowing down” doesn’t come naturally for me, but I’ve learned over the years that it is the better path in a time like this.

Q: What message would you like to share with our supporters and subscribers as the organization enters this next chapter?

Russ and Carol aboard their electric boat on Lower Long Pond.

Like me, many of our 7 Lakes community members have fallen in love with the lakes and lands of the Belgrade Lakes watershed and think of it as our “happy place.” Whether we arrived 50 years ago or last year, we all recognize the precious and delicate nature of this area.

Our lakes and lands are treasures we need to protect from the growing threats facing us. At 7 Lakes, we have an expert team that partners with community members, lake associations, vacationers, residents, and volunteers. Together we can ensure our watershed provides joy and recreation for generations to come.

I’m having a lot of fun learning more about this great organization, and the people – inside and outside – who support 7 Lakes!