2019 Climate Solutions Summit Program
We had a fantastic Zero Emissions Parade and Green Vendor Fair sponsored by New Paltz Climate Smart after the Summit. The fair included test drives of a variety of electric vehicles from local dealerships. More information about this Drive Electric Week event here.
2019 Speaker Bios
Presentation slides are under each speaker
Welcome:
Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan
Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan is a fifth-generation Ulster County resident. After graduating from Kingston High School, Pat attended West Point and served two combat tours in Iraq as an Army intelligence officer. After leaving the military, he founded a small technology company, which he grew to over 150 employees. Pat lives in Gardiner with his wife, Rebecca, and their two rescue cats.
Lisa Mitten, SUNY New Paltz
Lisa Mitten became the college’s first Campus Sustainability Coordinator in May of 2013. She strives to create a more sustainable campus and world by transforming ideas into action at SUNY New Paltz. She spearheads sustainability efforts within Facilities Management and also coordinates sustainability efforts across campus between students, faculty, and staff. As a member of the Strategic Planning Council, she is working with colleagues from across campus to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into the campus’ strategic planning process. She co-coordinates the Sustainability Faculty Learning Community and manages a team of student Sustainability Ambassadors. Other current projects include updating the campus sustainability plan and working with a consortium of New York State higher education institutions to meet the Chancellor of the SUNY System’s goal to procure large-scale, utility-grade renewable energy to become 100% carbon neutral for electricity as soon as possible.
Ananya Singh, Greening Forward
Ananya Singh is the CEO of Greening Forward, a youth-led environmental organization that provides the support for young people to create real change for issues they are passionate about. She also supports the New Jersey Student Sustainability Coalition, a student-driven network of environmental clubs and organizations, as their high school coordinator. Ananya is a passionate youth climate activist herself, and has worked with her high school’s environmental club, Sunrise Movement and the Sierra Student Coalition.
Zack Dufresne, ACE NY
Zack Dufresne is a Director at ACE NY, where he is involved in a number of activities from policy development to day-to-day office activities. Zack is in charge of developing weekly policy updates and other communications to the member companies of ACE NY and reviewing and responding to energy policy proposals from State agencies. Zack has accumulated a breadth of educational experience in math & science, policy, and environmental studies, with a focus on sustainability and clean energy. He has taught classes in political science and public policy, including “NY Power Dialogue” and “Current Controversies in American Politics.” Zack enjoys golf and skiing in his free time, and loves good pizza. He holds a BA in Political Science from the University at Albany and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy.
Gregory I. Simpson, Nauraushaun Presbyterian Church
Rev. Dr. Gregory I. Simpson, Pastor of Nauraushaun Presbyterian Church, in Pearl River NY, is a member-at-large of the Presbyterian Church USA’s Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI). In this capacity he serves on the Environmental and Climate Change Justice sub-committee, concentrating on fossil fuel divestment strategy, environmental justice and just-transition. Prior to ordained ministry, Rev. Simpson was a research scientist completing doctoral studies in Organic Chemistry from the University of the West Indies, and post-doctoral training in genomic physiology at UMass Medical School in Worcester MA. He completed seminary education at Union Theological Seminary in NYC with M.Div. and S. T. M. degrees focused on Biblical Ethics, Intellectual Property Rights, and Climate Justice. He enjoys playing tennis, hiking, and cooking with his Mom’s special brand of Jamaican Jerk Seasoning!
Opening Panel:
How to Accomplish New York’s Clean Energy & Climate Goals
Senator Jen Metzger
Senator Jen Metzger (42nd District) has been a leading voice in the State Legislature for moving aggressively to address the climate crisis. She serves on the State Senate’s Environmental Conservation Committee and Energy & Telecommunications Committee, and was an active member of the Senate’s working group on the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Her bill, the Freedom from Fossil Fuels Act, would prohibit new fossil fuel infrastructure in New York, and she has also introduced legislation to improve energy efficiency, accelerate adoption of electric vehicles, and incentivize carbon farming. Before joining the State Senate in 2019, she served for over a decade in local government in Rosendale, and co-founded and directed Citizens for Local Power, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping communities in the Mid-Hudson region shift to a locally-based clean energy economy. She holds a Ph.D. in political science with a specialization in environmental politics and policy.
Amanda Lefton
Amanda Lefton is the First Assistant Secretary for Energy and the Environment at the Governor’s Office. She previously served as Deputy Policy Director for the Nature Conservancy in New York. Prior, Ms. Lefton led the Albany District of the Rochester Regional Joint Board of Workers United and served as a Legislative Associate for the State Assembly and worked for the State Senate. She holds a B.A. from the University at Albany.
Stephan K. Roundtree
Stephan K. Roundtree, Jr. serves as Environmental Policy and Advocacy Coordinator at WE ACT for Environmental Justice, located in Harlem NYC. His work focuses on policy development and advocacy on issues of energy efficiency, climate resilience, and indoor toxic hazards. His responsibilities also include engaging Northern Manhattan community members with state policy initiatives, and growing the organization’s political power through strategic relationship building. Stephan is a Massachusetts native, and graduate of Boston College, Northeastern School of Law, and Vermont Law School. He is an avid hiker, birdwatcher, and sports fan.
WE ACT for Environmental Justice
Anne Reynolds
Since 2014, Anne Reynolds has been the Executive Director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY), an organization of renewable energy companies, energy efficiency companies, and environmental organizations in New York. Prior to joining ACE, Anne was at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for seven years, serving in several positions, the last which was Deputy Commissioner for Administration. Before DEC, Anne worked as the Air and Energy Policy Director at Environmental Advocates of New York, at the Tellus Institute for Energy and Environmental Strategies in Boston, MA, and at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Manna Jo Greene
Manna Jo Greene, Clearwater’s Environmental Action Director since 2000, was formerly the Recycling Coordinator/Educator for the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency for more than 10 years and a registered Critical Care Nurse for 22 years. She holds an AAS in Nursing, a BA in biology (pre-med) from SUNY/New Paltz, and completed course work toward a Masters in Environmental Sciences at Bard College. Working to promote sustainable agriculture and green building and landscaping practices, she teaches communities how to integrate environmental preservation, economic prosperity (based on quality of life indicators), and social equity using effective communication. Manna also serves as Ulster County Legislator from District 19, Towns of Rosendale and Marbletown, where she chairs the Energy & Environment and the Ulster County Climate Smart Committees and the Solid Waste Planning Commission.
Betta Broad, Moderator
Session 1
Climate Change 101 / Answering Denialists
Climate Change 101/Answering Denialists will provide some basics on the latest science around the Climate Crisis and its solutions and will address some of the most frequent claims made by those denying the science.
Tim Guinee
Tim Guinee has given climate presentations all over the United States and Canada, as well as in North Africa. He is the founder of Climate Actors and serves on the leadership council of Riverkeeper, the board of the Ashokan Center (New York’s oldest center for environmental education), and the board of Green Product Placement. He is the official Climate Change liaison for the town of Marbletown with the Climate Mayors, and is the co-chair (with the fabulous Alice Quinn) of the Climate Reality Project Hudson Valley/Catskills, New York Chapter. He is also the Legislative Action Coordinator for the New York Climate Reality Chapters Coalition.
Petition for Offshore Wind Transmission Line with winwithwind.org
Create Political Change & Take Action
Learn how to effectively advocate for strong climate policy in New York by sharing your climate story and meeting with your elected officials.
Nicole Crescimanno
Nicole Crescimanno is an organizer, connector, and artist who is deeply concerned about climate change. Nicole is working to build a strong and active group of young climate leaders from across New York State to enact bold state-level climate policy, while also developing and strengthening relationships with key partners.
Climate Solutions in the Town of Warwick: Leveraging Opportunities
How do we as NYS residents, elected officials, and organizations support or implement climate solutions that will help NYS meet its 80% greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal by 2050 and adapt to climate change? This panel will explore the climate solutions undertaken by Orange County’s Town of Warwick, Warwick Valley Central School District, and Sustainable Warwick.
Carla Castillo
Carla Castillo is Deputy Executive Director of the Hudson Valley Regional Council. Carla works closely with municipalities throughout the Hudson Valley on implementation of clean energy, energy efficiency, and sustainability actions through NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Communities Program and the DEC’s Climate Smart Communities Program. Carla is also working on an organics diversion analysis and plan for the City of Kingston. Carla chairs the Town of Cornwall Conservation Advisory Council, worked with administrators and parents to reinvigorate recycling at the Cornwall Elementary School, and served on the Town’s Comprehensive Plan Update Committee.
Michael Sweeton
Michael Sweeton was first elected Supervisor of the Town of Warwick in 2001. Michael serves as President of the Orange County Association of Towns, Villages, and Cities, is on the executive board of the Orange County Citizens Foundation, a member of the Orange County Planning Board, and is a voting representative of the Orange County Transportation Council. Supervisor Sweeton has supported and implemented many climate solutions while adhering to fiscally conservative policies. The Town has numerous boards and committees that facilitate the development and implementation of climate solutions: Agricultural Advisory Board / Agriculture and Open Space Preservation Board, Community Preservation Fund Advisory Board, and a Conservation Board. The Town is a designated NYSERDA Clean Energy Community and a US Department of Energy SolSmart Gold community.
Timothy Holmes
Timothy Holmes is the Assistant Superintendent for Business for the Warwick Valley Central School District. For the last ten years, Tim has succeeded in introducing new ways of reducing the school’s carbon footprint while being cost effective. The School District’s environmental initiatives include installation of LED lights and water bottle refilling stations, composting at two elementary schools plus installation of a digester, installation of high-efficiency boilers at the Middle School, installation of a 10-acre solar field – the largest district-owned solar field in NYS, institution of a single-stream recycling program and dishwashers that eliminated foam trays from all schools, and installation of a rain garden that filters parking runoff. All Warwick Valley Central schools are US Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools.
Michael Helme
Michael Helme is a member of the Sustainable Warwick Steering Committee. Sustainable Warwick, a 501(c)3 organization, was born from a former grassroots organization called Community 2000 that worked with the Town of Warwick to develop the Warwick Master Plan as well as on the Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) and Community Preservation Fund (CPF) campaigns. Sustainable Warwick pursues many sustainably minded actions that complement the Town’s efforts, such as Energize Warwick, Solarize Warwick, and Repair Cafés. The Community Composting Program was launched in 2013 in partnership with the Village of Warwick Department of Public Works.
Divestment / Investment
Financial investments fund companies that operate in the real economy. By directing investments away from fossil fuel companies and towards companies that do no harm (or even do good) for the environment, we can help make the economy more sustainable. This workshop will cover how to organize and influence large investors like endowments, as well as ideas about how to make your own portfolio more sustainable.
Katelyn Kriesel
Katelyn Kriesel is a Financial Advisor with Hansen’s Advisory Services, located in Fayetteville, NY, a firm that has specialized in Socially Responsible Investing for over 30 years. She is also Board President and founder of the Sustainable Economies Alliance (SEA), a not-for-profit organization that is raising community awareness regarding economic sustainability and empowerment. She has consulted with several higher education fossil fuel divestment campaigns across New York State with a focus on financial case and mechanics of divesting from fossil fuels. Through the SEA, and in collaboration with 350.org and Divest NY, she is helping to build a coalition of higher education divestment campaigns to join together and redirect their efforts in support of the New York State Fossil Fuel Divestment Act which would divest the state’s pension of billions of dollars of fossil fuel companies.
Tom Konrad
Tom Konrad, Ph.D. CFA is a freelance writer and stock portfolio manager specializing in clean energy investments. His recent writing can be found on AltEnergyStocks.com (where he is editor) and GreenTechMedia. Tom volunteers as the chair of the Marbletown Environmental Conservation Commission (ECC). Through the ECC’s efforts Marbletown has become widely recognized as a leader in the transition to 100% Renewable Energy in New York State.
Refuse, Reduce, Repair
Refuse, Reduce, Repair is about fixing stuff, creating community & repairing the world. We are fighting for the right to repair the things we own, for policies that require eco-design of all new products, and for the just transition to a circular economy. In this session, we will look at how to ditch the throwaway economy and build more resilient communities. To fix is to learn.
John Wackman
John organized the first Repair Café in the region in New Paltz in 2013. He is the coordinator of Repair Cafes in the Hudson Valley, now active in more than 30 communities in 10 counties in the Hudson Valley, Catskills and Capital region. His book Repair Revolution, co-authored with Elizabeth Knight, will be published in April 2020 by New World Library.
Tracey Bartels
Tracey Bartels is the Chairperson of the Ulster County Legislature. She was the author and co-sponsor of Ulster County Polystyrene Foam Ban, which regulated the use of polystyrene foam in food service countywide. Most recently, she authored and sponsored Ulster County’s Bring Your Own Bag Act, a law banning the distribution of thin film plastic bags and requiring a fee on recyclable alternatives. Along with her colleagues in the legislature, she is working to find sustainable, self-reliant solutions to solid waste management and reduction. Tracey is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Scaling Climate Solutions from the Community Up
To achieve the sharp reductions in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that New York has now committed to, good policy and programs are necessary, but not enough. Local initiatives are needed, from micro-grids to transit-oriented development to climate justice. Organized communities are critical. Join with regional organizers for a spirited discussion about communities as the key to successful implementation of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
Adam Flint
Adam Flint is Director of Clean Energy Programs at the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition, which he co-founded in 2008. From 2011-2013, he ran the Energy Leadership Program at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County, where he coordinated the Southern Tier Green Jobs Green New York program. He has worked as an educator in the Southern Tier for more than twenty years, including posts as Assistant Professor of Sociology at Hartwick College and as lecturer in Environmental Studies at Binghamton University. Adam co-founded the NY Energy Democracy Alliance, serves on the steering committee, and coordinates COSHARE, the Community Owned Shared Renewables Working Group.
Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition
Melissa Everett
Melissa Everett PhD. (Moderator) is co-founder and Executive Director of Sustainable Hudson Valley, a regional organization whose mission is to speed and scale up progress against climate change. SHV is helping to coordinate a regional strategic visioning process on implementing the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. She earned her PhD in the Erasmus University (Rotterdam) International Off-Campus Program in Sustainable Development with a focus on dynamics of community change. She offers trainings and consultation on community-based social marketing and community innovation strategies. A former career counselor, she is author of the award-winning Making a Living While Making a Difference: Conscious Careers for an Era of Interdependence (Third edition 2007, 4th edition forthcoming). She has counseled job seekers and entrepreneurs at all levels of experience, trained career center staff, and given workshops internationally.
Mark Lowery
A 31-year veteran of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Mark Lowery is the assistant director of DEC’s Office of Climate Change. He provides oversight to all Office of Climate Change programs but focuses on climate adaptation and leads the state’s Interagency Climate Adaptation and Resilience Work Group. He has led implementation of the Community Risk and Resiliency Act and is now helping to plan implementation of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa. and a master’s degree in environmental and forest biology from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, N.Y.
Session 2
Student Climate Coalition
Connect with passionate students, teachers, and activists from the area, build your personal network and gain access to resources and opportunities with the Student Climate Coalition! This interactive workshop will demonstrate the power of coalition-building and communicate the vision of the Student Climate Coalition.
studentclimatecoalition@gmail.com
Ananya Singh
Ananya Singh is the CEO of Greening Forward, a youth-led environmental organization that provides the support for young people to create real change for issues they are passionate about. She also supports the New Jersey Student Sustainability Coalition, a student-driven network of environmental clubs and organizations, as their high school coordinator. Ananya is a passionate youth climate activist herself, and has worked with her high school’s environmental club, Sunrise Movement and the Sierra Student Coalition.
Arpitha Abraham
Arpitha is a senior at suffern high school and is involved in her school’s environmental activism club and pushes to spread environmental awareness everywhere. She interns for New Yorkers for Clean Power, and is one of the organizers for the Youth Climate Summit and the Student Climate Coalition and plans to continue on this journey of environmental activism with utmost optimism.
Anara Katz
Anara is a leader at her high school Environmental Club and a Crew Leader for Suffern Earth Guardians. She has campaigned for safe energy sources, spread awareness and taken action on several environmental issues. She is a youth organizer for NYCP’s Annual Climate Summit and an organizer for the Student Climate Coalition. She is so grateful for all her wonderful opportunities and experiences and can’t wait to continue being a part of the environmental movement.
Alex Fitzgerald
Alex is a Junior at Horace Greeley High School, working as a part of her school’s environmental club to incorporate more sustainable practices into student and faculty life. Through work with organizations such as River Keeper and the Wild Center, Alex has campaigned towards progress in a multitude of environmental issues. As an organizer of the Student Climate Coalition, she is able to spread her passion for the environment to other youths in order to motivate a generation that will cultivate change.
Large Scale Renewable Energy Projects – Siting Opposition & Support
Achieving New York’s ambitious new climate goals will require the siting of large-scale renewable energy projects in Upstate NY and off our coast. Local opposition to these projects, often based on misconceptions or systematic falsehoods, is undercutting development and clean energy progress across the state. This workshop will discuss and identify some of the arguments being used against the siting of large-scale renewables, and present tools and ideas for how project supporters can respond.
Jeff Jones
Jeff Jones is an Albany-based political strategist and lobbyist for environmental organizations. He is a long-time climate activist, is the board president of John Brown Lives! and serves on the boards of WeAct for Environmental Justice and EcoViva. Jeff works with the Alliance for Clean Energy NY to support the siting of large scale renewable energy projects in Upstate New York.
Laura Cottingham
Laura Cottingham is an associate with the law firm of Arnold & Porter in the Environmental Practice Group. Laura is currently living in New York while on a part-time secondment to Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. At the Sabin Center, Laura is working to launch the Renewable Energy Legal Defense Initiative, whose mission is to provide pro bono legal assistance to groups and individuals that support renewable energy in their communities, but who face challenges in the form of local opposition to siting. Laura is a graduate of Colorado College and Tulane Law School.
Zack Dufresne
Zack Dufresne is a Director at ACE NY, where he is involved in a number of activities from policy development to day-to-day office activities. Zack is in charge of developing weekly policy updates and other communications to the member companies of ACE NY and reviewing and responding to energy policy proposals from State agencies. Zack has accumulated a breadth of educational experience in math & science, policy, and environmental studies, with a focus on sustainability and clean energy. He has taught classes in political science and public policy, including “NY Power Dialogue” and “Current Controversies in American Politics.” Zack enjoys golf and skiing in his free time, and loves good pizza. He holds a BA in Political Science from the University at Albany and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy.
Giuseppina Agovino
Giuseppina Agovino is a floral designer who lives in upstate New York with her husband and three children. She is a founding member of Friends of Flint Mine Solar. They are a group of unyielding farmers, landowners and town residents in Coxsackie and Athens that believe the Flint Mine Solar Project will have positive effects on their community, and would like to see the project come to fruition . Their aim is to offer information about the Flint Mine Project in particular but also solar farms in general and the zoning and regulatory processes through which projects like these come to be
Sustainable & Affordable Housing
Two zero-net energy, multi-family residential & commercial projects are currently in construction in Ulster County. Zer0 Place is a LEED-certified apartment building of 46 housing units plus 8,000 square feet of commercial space currently in construction on North Chestnut St. in the Village of New Paltz. RUPCO’s E2 Energy Square is a 57-unit building with 11,000 square-feet of commercial-civic space funded in part through a $1-million Cleaner Greener Communities Grant from NYSERDA on Cedar St, in the city of Kingston.
Pat Courtney Strong
Pat Courtney Strong serves as Director for Arch Street Communications (White Plains), leading marketing communication teams that promote the transition to a clean energy economy. Pat develops strategic partnerships among businesses, local governments and institutions to bring energy efficiency and renewable energy projects to fruition. She supports NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Communities and Heat Smart Capital Region programs as well as the ReCharge NY program of the New York Power Authority. A three-year NYSERDA campaign that Pat led, the Mid-Hudson Street Light Consortium, is wrapping up operations after moving two dozen communities from interest to action on converting to LED street lights. Pat previously worked for the U.S.
Guy Thomas Kempe
Guy Thomas Kempe is VP for Community Development at RUPCO, Inc., www.rupco.org a not-for-profit affordable housing and neighborhood reinvestment agency headquartered in Kingston, NY. RUPCO is a member of the US Green Building Council (USGBC), a chartered member of NeighborWorks America and a member agency of Rural LISC, the national Local Initiatives Support Corporation. Kempe is Chair of the Affordable Housing Board in the Village of New Paltz, and is a Future Fellow working on plans for the annual Hudson Valley Future Summit to be held in November at SUNY New Paltz. Kempe serves as Hudson Valley representative on the board of the New York State Rural Housing Coalition. Kempe is married to successful realtor/designer Erik Scott Forster and lives in New Paltz.
David Shepler
David Shepler is the founding member of the Zero Place project – a net-zero-energy, mixed-use, four-story apartment building in New Paltz, NY. He is also the Chief Operating Officer of Elemental Cognition, an artificial intelligence technology start-up with offices in New York City and Wilton, CT. Prior to Elemental Cognition, David served as the program director for the Smarter Energy Research Institute (SERI) at IBM. David received a B.S. in Political Science from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He went on to receive a Master’s in Public Management (MPM) from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Master’s in Policy Analysis with a distinction in quantitative methods from the RAND Graduate School. EE Times named David one of “Ten Visionaries to Watch” as part of its 40th year anniversary.
Heat Pumps Not Pipelines
We need to stop gas pipeline expansion in New York! Learn about the essential role heat pumps play in transitioning to high efficiency heating and cooling and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Jessica Azulay
Jessica Azulay is Executive Director of Alliance for a Green Economy, which is a Syracuse-based nonprofit working to advance a just transition to a 100% renewable energy system in all sectors. Jessica is a policy analyst, researcher, and activist, who puts her skills in the hands of the people all over New York fighting to eliminate dirty energy in all forms.
allianceforagreeneconomy.org/join-our-community
John Ciovacco
John Ciovacco is the President of Aztech Geothermal, LLC., an engineering driven, design-build contractor of innovative clean heating & cooling systems. While running Aztech Geothermal, he often serves as a resource to building owners, developers, construction companies, engineers, architects and investors regarding the latest renewable and energy efficiency technologies, government incentives and financing options. John is an IGSHPA Accredited Geothermal Installer, a Building Performance Institute (BPI) Certified Contractor, and a Certified Green Professional with the NAHB. He also serve on the Board of NY-GEO and a former board member of the Capital Region Builders and Remodelers Association (CRBRA). John received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Union College.
NY Geothermal Energy Organization
Low Carbon Diet
Curbing food waste is arguably the single most effective thing that can be done at an individual or household level to slow down climate change. If we couple food waste reduction with buying locally grown food, we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint. Join the discussion about the climate and environmental impacts of food waste farming animals in a globalized economy.
Rachel McCrystal
Rachel has been at Woodstock Sanctuary for five years, first as the Development Director and as the Executive Director since 2017. The Sanctuary has more visitors than any other single location sanctuary with strategic education focused on farmed animal advocacy and advancing animals rights and veganism. Rachel has volunteered for and worked at various animal rights, conservation, and sheltering organizations over the last 15 years with a focus on development, marketing, campaigns, and strategic planning. Rachel’s writing has been published dozens of publications including the NY Daily News, Veg News, Orion Magazine and she has appeared on Jane Velez Mitchell’s Jane Unchained network and WAMC.
Martha Elder
Martha Elder is the Executive Director of Second Chance Foods, a Putnam County based food rescue organization working to elevate the health of people and planet through food rescue. Martha is a passionate defender of the earth and in her work as a social worker also saw the impact of hunger on families. Her work with Second Chance Foods allows her to address both of these issues.
Maria Reidelbach
Maria Reidelbach is an author, artist and local food activist working for the past 15 years with farmers in the Hudson Valley. Innovative projects she has created include the Stick to Local Farms Adventure Map, an annual interactive artwork and contest that has inspired tens of thousands of farm visits, and Homegrown Mini-Golf, links hosted by a 200-year-old farm, landscaped entirely in edible plants and featuring a Guinness World Record-setting garden gnome. Books she has written include the Stick to Local Farms Cookbook, Miniature Golf, a social history, and Completely MAD: A History of the Comic Book and Magazine. She is a recent Fellow of the Good Work Institute, serves as Vice President of the Rondout Valley Growers Association, a grass-roots nonprofit group of farmers and community members, and is a past President of the New York Mycological Society. She lives and eats in the Hudson Valley.
Session 3
Greening Your School
School sustainability is critical in teaching the next generation about how we need to interact with our changing environment. Hear from ambitious student leaders who are working to change their school and community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Macy Stacher
Macy is Greening Forward’s Youth Development Strategist. Through his work with the program, he fosters youth leadership within the environmental advocacy community and creates content to facilitate the emergence of green trailblazers. Within New York City Schools Macy has worked with the Director of Sustainability to bring students into environmental advocacy and leaders of the Department of Education to explore the inequities within the NYC school system.
Shenequa Perry
Shenequa Perry is a college freshman at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, studying environmental biology. I have had the opportunity to participate and speak at Climate Summits across New York State for the past couple years. Through those experiences I have been able to work with the Wild Center, DEC, my village government, and the Student Climate Coalition.
Shane Mohammed
Shane Mohammed is Sophomore at Dream Charter High School. He has grown up in the Bronx, NY and currently attends school in East Harlem. As a Freshman with a deep interest in science, Shane joined the Climate Resilience Leadership Lab which was a program offered at his high school in conjunction with Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners. As part of this program, he has been able to deepen his understanding of the effect of climate change in New York City, meet with community leaders, and build a rain garden to mitigate the effects of flooding.
What Upstate Can Learn From Germany
Internationally known as the “Green City,” Freiburg has received numerous awards as Germany’s most sustainable city. From passive house building standards to car-free streets, socially-conscious citizens to cutting-edge sustainability policy, learn what has made this German city a shining model of sustainability. Internationally-recognized and award-winning organizer and social entrepreneur Dominic Frongillo, who made history by being the youngest person ever elected to serve on the Caroline Town Council at age 22, will present on the energy transition and sustainability initiatives of Freiburg, where he has lived and lectured at the University of Freiburg.
Dominic Frongillo
Dominic Frongillo is a former Town of Caroline Councilmember and Deputy Supervisor. A five-time delegate to the United Nations, Frongillo served on New York’s Climate Action Plan advisory panel under Governor Paterson and in 2012 co-founded Elected Officials to Protect New York, a bipartisan initiative of over 850 elected officials across the state that contributed to the historic statewide ban on fracking.
Fossil Fuel Free on a Budget
The fossil fuel free workshop will provide an overview of the deep energy retrofit currently underway at Energy Conservation Specialists’ new office as well as energy efficiency upgrades performed, on a budget, by two homeowners in Ulster County. The goal is to show the audience the dollars and cents associated with implementing energy upgrades that can decrease or eliminate the use of fossil fuels in a home or place of business.
Melinda McKnight
Since 2011, Melinda Terpening McKnight has served in a variety of capacities at Energy Conservation Specialists, a family-owned Building Science based Home Performance contracting company. As part of the leadership team, she has integrated a robust Indoor Air Quality program and internal quality assurance program into the current business model, helped develop innovative strategies to incorporate energy efficiency measures into historic preservation projects, deep energy retrofits, and guided the company toward fossil fuel free goals for all customers. Melinda achieved a Master’s Degree in Public History and currently serves as the Town of Esopus Historian. Her home and the new historic corporate headquarters for Energy Conservation Specialists are both fossil fuel free.
energyconservationspecialists.us
Hugo Jule–Quintanilla
Hugo Jule–Quintanilla coordinates energy efficiency projects with Energy Conservation Specialists, LLC in Port Ewen and is also part of the team currently renovating the building that will become Radio Kingston’s new station in Midtown Kingston. Hugo was also part of the Sustainable Hudson Valley team that brought the Drive Electric Hudson Valley campaign to the Mid-Hudson Region during 2016 and 2017 and the HeatSmart Ulster-Sullivan campaign for heat pumps during 2018 and 2019. His education and training include a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology, an associate degree in automotive engineering, training as a Photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal (ST) systems installer, energy management by the Association of Energy Engineers, Building Analyst and Envelope Professional by the Building Performance Institute (BPI) and training for passive house consulting with the Passive House Institute United States (PHIUS).
Tom Konrad
Tom Konrad, Ph.D. CFA is a freelance writer and stock portfolio manager specializing in clean energy investments. His recent writing can be found on AltEnergyStocks.com (where he is editor) and GreenTechMedia. Tom volunteers as the chair of the Marbletown Environmental Conservation Commission (ECC). Through the ECC’s efforts Marbletown has become widely recognized as a leader in the transition to 100% Renewable Energy in New York State.
Refrigerants
The #1 global climate solution is one of the most vexing. Far more potent greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide, refrigerants are everywhere. They are regulated in theory, but there are serious gaps in the effectiveness of the system. Learn the state of things from the Hudson Valley Refrigerants Working Group and special guests.
Melissa Everett
Melissa Everett PhD. (Moderator) is co-founder and Executive Director of Sustainable Hudson Valley, a regional organization whose mission is to speed and scale up progress against climate change. SHV is helping to coordinate a regional strategic visioning process on implementing the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. She earned her PhD in the Erasmus University (Rotterdam) International Off-Campus Program in Sustainable Development with a focus on dynamics of community change. She offers trainings and consultation on community-based social marketing and community innovation strategies. A former career counselor, she is author of the award-winning Making a Living While Making a Difference: Conscious Careers for an Era of Interdependence (Third edition 2007, 4th edition forthcoming). She has counseled job seekers and entrepreneurs at all levels of experience, trained career center staff, and given workshops internationally.
Michael Helme
Michael Helme is a member of the Sustainable Warwick Steering Committee. Sustainable Warwick, a 501(c)3 organization, was born from a former grassroots organization called Community 2000 that worked with the Town of Warwick to develop the Warwick Master Plan as well as on the Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) and Community Preservation Fund (CPF) campaigns. Sustainable Warwick pursues many sustainably minded actions that complement the Town’s efforts, such as Energize Warwick, Solarize Warwick, and Repair Cafés. The Community Composting Program was launched in 2013 in partnership with the Village of Warwick Department of Public Works.
Laura Petit
Laura Petit is a well known & respected environmental advocate who has worked in the solid waste and sustainable materials management field for nearly thirty years. Author of the New Paltz Zero Waste Action Plan, she has been recognized nationally by the EPA for New Paltz’s food recovery and textile collection programs after participating in the EPA 2012 zero waste initiative as one of thirteen municipal leaders representing their respective EPA districts. Laura was raised and educated in the Hudson Valley. She received her paralegal certificate from Marist College, is the mother of five and grandmother of seven. After volunteering to serve on several County committees including Climate Smart and Solid Waste Improvement. As an Ulster County Legislator she Chairs Public Works and Recycling Oversight.
Adam Foord Munderback
Adam Foord Munderback is a life-long Hudson Valley resident and is the current owner and operator of AFM Climate Works, LLC, a Millbrook, NY based HVAC contractor. Adam studied Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry for two years, then went on to earn a B.B.A. in Small Business and Entrepreneurial Management at Western Connecticut State University. He has been involved in the heating and air conditioning industry for over 10 years, and holds an EPA 608 Universal Refrigerant Technician License. Through significant industry experience, coursework, and dedication, Adam has gained years worth of knowledge on proper practices and techniques regarding the handling and use of refrigerants. Currently residing in Millbrook, Adam thoroughly appreciates living within the beauty of the Hudson Valley.
John Ciovacco
John Ciovacco is the President of Aztech Geothermal, LLC., an engineering driven, design-build contractor of innovative clean heating & cooling systems. While running Aztech Geothermal, he often serves as a resource to building owners, developers, construction companies, engineers, architects and investors regarding the latest renewable and energy efficiency technologies, government incentives and financing options. John is an IGSHPA Accredited Geothermal Installer, a Building Performance Institute (BPI) Certified Contractor, and a Certified Green Professional with the NAHB. He also serve on the Board of NY-GEO and a former board member of the Capital Region Builders and Remodelers Association (CRBRA). John received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Union College.
Opposing Gas Plants / Pipelines
New York, and the Hudson Valley especially, has been targeted for continued and expanded fossil fuel infrastructure. We will discuss why that is, the legal and grassroot strategies for fighting gas plants and pipelines, and outline some of the tactics used by highlighting case studies and current fights like the Danskammer fracked gas power plant in Newburgh!
Kim Fraczek
Kim Fraczek is the director of Sane Energy Project, based in New York City. She works statewide with a network of grassroots community organizations to end the buildout of fossil fuels through campaigning and direct action, and she concurrently works toward the build out of community-owned renewable policy to help rethink our economy from the bottom-up. Much of the outreach work from Sane Energy includes the use of art, music, film… and she is a big believer in circle meetings around shared food.
Audrey Friedrichsen
Audrey Friedrichsen, Esq., LL.M., Land Use & Environmental Advocacy Attorney, Scenic Hudson, Inc. Audrey has been at Scenic Hudson for 5 years, where she is a member of the Policy, Advocacy and Outreach Team, which works to safeguard the environmental and economic resources of the Hudson River Valley. She also provides legal support to other Scenic Hudson program teams, as well as the Scenic Hudson Land Trust. She holds a J.D. and an LL.M. from the Elizabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, and a B.S. from Cornell University. Prior to joining Scenic Hudson, she practiced municipal, land use, and environmental law at a private firm.
Andrew Pezzullo
Andrew Pezzullo is a former organic vegetable farm based in Kingston, NY who now focuses his professional and extracurricular time towards climate and energy policy through organizing communities to oppose new fossil fuel infrastructure projects and move to 100% renewable energy in NYS now! He is the Hudson Valley organizer for Food and Water Action and Food and Water Watch. Food and Water Action is a national environmental organization that runs hard hitting campaigns to protect our food, water and climate. We work with grassroots organizations and volunteers to move bold policy initiatives like banning fracking and factory farms, moving to 100% renewable energy now, and protecting our water from greedy corporations.
Session 4
Climate Solutions Careers
There are obvious ways to work for the planet, like installing solar panels, marketing electric cars or developing regenerative farms. There are less obvious ways too. This panel will identify many, and showcase the pathways of two very different green collar workers. We wrap with a presentation on creating your image and substance
Cal Trumann
Cal Trumann is a board member at the World Fellowship Center, a solar energy evangelist (read: community organizer) for SunCommon, a voting member of the Climate Smart Kingston Commission, the business liaison for the Ulster County Climate Smart Committee, a volunteer babysitter and ride-giver for Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, an advocate for gender-nonconforming youth, and a radical optimist for racial, (trans)gender, economic, and climate justice. They share Emma Goldman’s apocryphal opinion on dancing.
Ashley Knox
Ashley Knox, MPS a Kingston, NY native is the Founder/Director of Go Beyond Greatness Inc., a college and career readiness organization designed to support students to develop the skills and “greatness mindset” needed to succeed in the 21st century. Ashley is a public speaker and educator with over ten years experience developing educational leadership programs for high school and college students locally and across the globe. Her work’s mission is to empower young people to become great leaders of tomorrow with an emphasis in leadership development, effective communication, positive behavior, and resiliency. Ashley holds a Master’s degree from SUNY New Paltz in Humanistic and Multicultural Education. She has served as a college administrator of international programs and study abroad along with supporting international students to gain the college experience in the Hudson Valley. Under the NYS My Brother’s Keeper Initiative, her company has partnered with local school districts and the business community to deliver environmental education and pre-employment training in the field environmental green jobs, targeting youth from low to moderate income backgrounds. In addition to her educational involvement, she serves on the Leadership Council of United Way Raising Hope of Ulster County, a board member of the Hudson River Playback Theatre, Thought Partner for the Kingston Land Trust, committee member for the Community Foundation of the Hudson Valley, and affiliate of the Clinton Global Initiative Action Network on Post-Disaster Recovery. Ashley’s professional commitment to education and youth development gives her the high capacity to successfully carry out programs that inspire young people go beyond their greatness in academic achievement and life success.
Melissa Everett
Melissa Everett PhD. (Moderator) is co-founder and Executive Director of Sustainable Hudson Valley, a regional organization whose mission is to speed and scale up progress against climate change. SHV is helping to coordinate a regional strategic visioning process on implementing the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. She earned her PhD in the Erasmus University (Rotterdam) International Off-Campus Program in Sustainable Development with a focus on dynamics of community change. She offers trainings and consultation on community-based social marketing and community innovation strategies. A former career counselor, she is author of the award-winning Making a Living While Making a Difference: Conscious Careers for an Era of Interdependence (Third edition 2007, 4th edition forthcoming). She has counseled job seekers and entrepreneurs at all levels of experience, trained career center staff, and given workshops internationally.
Sarah Womer
Sarah is an entrepreneur from the Hudson Valley of NY, where she launched her career in all things revolving around waste by starting a company that provided a bike-powered compost program, a zero waste event service, and consulting for businesses looking to reduce their waste outputs. She’s been a dedicated community organizer for the past 10 years, both founding and serving on many committees and boards from the Plastic Free Waterways Partnership of NY/NJ, the Hudson Valley Materials Exchange (now New Paltz Reuse Center), the Green Beacon Coalition, Riverkeeper’s yearly river sweep, and other groups as well. She was recognized in 2016 as a US EPA Environmental Champion for her work with her own company Zero to Go, which she has recently sold. Her new role is Client Development Executive at Northstar Recycling in Massachusetts.
Environmental Justice & a Just Transition
Stephan K. Roundtree
Stephan K. Roundtree, Jr. serves as Environmental Policy and Advocacy Coordinator at WE ACT for Environmental Justice, located in Harlem NYC. His work focuses on policy development and advocacy on issues of energy efficiency, climate resilience, and indoor toxic hazards. His responsibilities also include engaging Northern Manhattan community members with state policy initiatives, and growing the organization’s political power through strategic relationship building. Stephan is a Massachusetts native, and graduate of Boston College, Northeastern School of Law, and Vermont Law School. He is an avid hiker, birdwatcher, and sports fan.
Gregory I. Simpson
Rev. Dr. Gregory I. Simpson, Pastor of Nauraushaun Presbyterian Church, in Pearl River NY, is a member-at-large of the Presbyterian Church USA’s Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI). In this capacity he serves on the Environmental and Climate Change Justice sub-committee, concentrating on fossil fuel divestment strategy, environmental justice and just-transition. Prior to ordained ministry, Rev. Simpson was a research scientist completing doctoral studies in Organic Chemistry from the University of the West Indies, and post-doctoral training in genomic physiology at UMass Medical School in Worcester MA. He completed seminary education at Union Theological Seminary in NYC with M.Div. and S. T. M. degrees focused on Biblical Ethics, Intellectual Property Rights, and Climate Justice. He enjoys playing tennis, hiking, and cooking with his Mom’s special brand of Jamaican Jerk Seasoning!
Regenerative Agriculture
The Next Climate Frontier
The Hudson Valley offers a bountiful harvest of local food each year. Many of our farmers and producers integrate sustainable principles into their business practice as part of a growing movement toward a regenerative agricultural system. Join us to hear about Chaseholm Farm, 100% grass-fed dairy and family farm, employing regenerative principles in milk and meat production, as well as from a regenerative entrepreneur who will detail efforts to develop state policy in establishing a carbon farming pilot program and how it would impact producers such as Chaseholm Farm and other climate bioneers.
Ethan is the Founder and Lead Designer at AppleSeed Permaculture which is based in the Hudson river valley. He studies and practices regenerative design in all corners of the world, from the wild apple forests of Kazakhstan to the tropical monsoon ecosystems of Thailand. He holds an M.S. in Eco-Social Design from Gaia University. Ethan is also co-author of the book Regenerative Enterprise, which puts forth a holistic framework for abundance: the 8 Forms of Capital. For more on the book and Ethan’s regenerative work visit regenterprise.com.
Bari Zeiger
Bari Zeiger is the Garden Manager and Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator at Frost Valley YMCA. During her time studying Philosophy and Environmental Studies at SUNY Geneseo, she interned on a local, certified organic family farm and engaged peers through organizing on-farm volunteer events and on-campus panel discussions related to sustainable food systems. Furthermore, in her final semester, she conducted a Directed Study on the role of structural violence in the US migrant farm labor system, participated in grassroots activism as an ally for migrant dairy workers in Western NY, and founded the Student Coalition for Migrant Workers. Subsequent to graduating in December 2016, Bari moved to the North Carolina Foothills to serve as an apprentice at A Way of Life Farm (AWOLF). At AWOLF— a certified organic, permaculture family farm— Bari was involved in all aspects of commercial, diversified vegetable, herb, nut and fruit production, as well as the silvopasture hog operation. Passionate about continuously cultivating her knowledge of innovations in sustainable agriculture and helping fellow farmers, Bari joined the Northeast SARE Technical Committee as a Farmer and Graduate Student Grant Reviewer. Additionally, Bari is currently acting as the President of the Greater Catskills Chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition, working on the Board of Directors of the Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute, volunteering with the Rural Migrant Ministry, serving on Congressman Antonio Delgado’s NY-19 Agricultural Advisory Committee, and participating on the CCE Sullivan Program Advisory Committee.
Patrick Knapp
Patrick Knapp is a co-owner Back Paddock Farm— a small grass-fed beef operation in Ghent, New York. A Dutchess County native, Patrick has managed grazing systems on multiple dairy and beef farms throughout the Hudson Valley starting in his late teenage years. Now with Back Paddock Farm he grazes to build soil and ecological function and breeds cattle to improve grass-efficiency and meat quality in the Red Devon breed.
Role of Storage
As we transition to a renewable energy economy, storage will have a major role. Renewables with storage and efficiency are the best way to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions related to energy generation, and will promote the maximum resilience in the face of rapidly exacerbating climate change. A panel of experts will address the current state of various storage systems, their cost, and their viability now and in the future.
Jeff Irish
Jeff Irish founded Hudson Solar in 2002, as a solar system engineering and installation company operating in New York’s Hudson Valley and Capital District. In 2008, the company’s head office in Rhinebeck became the first proven zero net energy commercial building in New York and the ten north-eastern states. In early 2018, Hudson Solar merged with SunCommon, Vermont’s leading solar installer and a Certified “B-Corp”, and Jeff is now the Vice President and General Manager of SunCommon’s growing business in New York State. He is a licensed professional engineer in New York State and the Province of Ontario, a NYSERDA Eligible PV Installer, and a NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional. Jeff has a degree in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto, and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Tom Kacandes
Tom Kacandes leads the work of Inside Track Solar as the head of our project development and inventor of our patented racking technology. A lifelong “practical environmentalist”, Tom has demonstrated an ability to transform raw ideas into new businesses and operating projects working on his own and with teams that created several new ways to sort and recycle waste materials, create biomass energy, add value to real estate, radically improve energy use and efficiency as well as the current develop / design / build work with solar power plants and energy storage. Tom earned his BA and later, MBA at the University At Albany and resides in the beautiful Mid-Hudson Valley.
Candace Rossi
Candace Rossi is currently a Project Manager for NY-Sun at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). At NYSERDA, Ms. Rossi manages the Commercial/Industrial Solar PV incentive program and works directly with local governments siting clean energy projects. Most recently, she was a major contributor to the Battery Energy Storage Guidebook, developing a Model Permit, Inspection Checklist, and a Model Local Law for local governments to adopt. Ms. Rossi is currently providing technical assistance to local governments on this guidebook and continue to create necessary resources in relation to battery energy storage. Prior to her role at NYSERDA, Ms. Rossi worked at solar developer firm and assisted on solar project development by being the bridge between operations, engineering, business development, and finance and she performed financial and energy analyses for solar projects. She has also worked at an energy management and sustainability consulting firm, working with large real estate groups and hospitals. This had expanded her clean energy knowledge from solar PV to different energy efficiency measures and technologies that customers can undertake to reduce their carbon footprint. Ms. Rossi received her bachelor’s degree from The Johns Hopkins University in Environmental Change and Sustainability Management and her master’s degree from The New School in Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management. She is currently an Association of Energy Engineer Energy Manager in Training.
Electrifying Transportation
Allison Considine
Allison Considine is a NY Campaign Representative for the Sierra Club, leading statewide Clean Transportation for All work. Along with her team of organizers, volunteers, and staff, she leads and coordinates the Sierra Club’s campaign work for a just and equitable transition to a decarbonized transportation system, focused on electrifying vehicles and securing greenhouse gas emissions reductions from the transportation sector in NY. Born and raised in Rochester, Allison received her B.S. degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University, where was active in student-labor solidarity organizing. Prior to joining the Sierra Club, she was an organizer with the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, supporting nurses across the country in their efforts to form a union at their workplace. Currently living in Brooklyn, she is passionate about cycling, public transit, and her union, Progressive Workers Union.
Ron Kamen
Ron Kamen works with municipalities, non-profits, businesses, and communities to achieve clean energy transformations that save money, while benefiting the environment. Ron has decades of expertise in catalyzing sustainable energy adoption through public-private partnerships on solar, wind, efficiency, and other clean energy technologies. Sustainable Westchester retains Ron and his company, EarthKind Energy, to build Clean Transportation Program policies, programs, and projects that exponentially increase the adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs). In addition to expanding EV aggregation and infrastructure, the program is also moving to electrify buses and other heavy-duty equipment.