The Heights Club, August 2025

John and Kris Salo get along with everyone. Maybe it’s their warm and affable nature, or perhaps it’s the result of a life spent working and traveling across the country, learning to listen, adapt, and contribute wherever they go. Both New England natives who met as students at Tufts University have built lives of meaningful service and adventure. In fact, they are often mistaken for locals wherever they go, thanks to their easy rapport and adaptability.  

John, once scouted by the New York Yankees, chose environmental and water resources engineering over professional baseball, but never lost his love of the game. He was recently honored on the field at Fenway Park for his decades as a Red Sox season ticket holder. His career spanned the country, from Atlanta to Sacramento, shaping water utility policies and environmental legislation, including work on the Boston Harbor cleanup. Now retired, John remains deeply involved with environmental issues as a water expert on Needham’s Stormwater Task Force, a board member of the Charles River Watershed Association, and a speaker on environmental issues at North Hill, their retirement community.

Kris, with degrees in education and library media, began as a teacher and later shaped human services planning for children and youth in Sacramento. As an elementary school librarian, she nurtured a love of learning in young minds. Today, she continues to educate at North Hill, serving on the Library Committee, North Hill Reads, and helping launch the North Hill Academy, which offers college-level courses to residents.

Together, John and Kris enjoy time at their home in Kennebunkport, where they continue an active life.  Formerly downhill skiers, they evolved to cross-country and eventually to snowshoeing. Their love for the sport may have something to do with their shared Finnish backgrounds.  Kris’s father served in the Finnish Ski Troops during the Winter War of 1939. She was on skis by the age of 3.  John is simply an all-around star athlete, so why not ski, too? 

Now, at North Hill, they’ve found yet another community to enrich, bringing their Nordic heritage, sharp intellects, and generous spirits to a retirement as vibrant as the lives they’ve always led.

Photo: Kulbako Photos