Like

Meet Your Board of Directors

 

 Greetings fellow environmentalists! My name is Kathryn Vellone, and this past October I was elected as the new Secretary for NYSACC. I reside in Elbridge, NY, where I’m an active member of the town’s Environmental Commission. I am a 2017 graduate of Paul Smith’s College (Natural Resources/Sustainability and Geographic Information Systems), and work in Cayuga County as a GIS Specialist. In my spare time, I enjoy lots of outdoor adventures, horseback riding, playing musical instruments, and cooking.

My involvement with the Town of Elbridge Environmental Commission started nearly ten years ago, when a member began recruiting local students to assist with water quality sampling at nearby streams. After participating in several of these outings and exemplifying my interest in conservation and the outdoors, I was invited to join the Elbridge Environmental Commission as a Student Member. During this time, I realized the importance of local government in decision-making, and was able to form important relationships with neighbors working toward the common goal of protecting local resources.

After I graduated from college, I returned home and continued my involvement with the Environmental Commission, willing to apply my education and experience toward making my hometown a more sustainable place to live and work. As part of my mission, I decided to attend the 2017 NYSACC conference in Kingston, NY to gather information and ideas from both professionals and conservation councils across the state. Between presentations, I had the pleasure of getting to know several NYSACC board members, most notably Joy Squires. She discussed her vision on having more young people to drive the organization into the future, and offered me a position on the Board of Directors. I gladly accepted, and came away from the conference with an incredible experience and opportunity I’ll never forget.

I’m excited to continue my leadership with NYSACC, and be part of a great organization committed to building more environmentally-resilient communities across New York State. Whether you’re an individual or an organization anywhere in New York looking to make your village/town/city/state a better place, let me remind you that NYSACC is always there for you. We welcome your questions, stories, and ideas, and are more than happy to share them through our newsletters, memberships, and conferences. Every bit of active participation helps when it comes to achieving our goals and reaching a wider audience, so keep the conversation going (or if you haven’t yet, join it!).

 

 

Related Posts