Charlie is currently Associate Vice President for State Relations and Special Assistant to the Vice Provost for Research at Cornell University. Previously he held positions with the New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee, analyzing and negotiating state budgets and significant legislation in the areas of energy and utilities, banking and consumer protection, state employee pensions and health insurance, agriculture, low-level nuclear waste disposal, and the New York State Lottery. He is on the Board of the NYS Environmental Finance Corp. Charlie holds a B.A. in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He is currently serving as MHLC Vice Chair and also chairs the Finance committee. Charlie moved to Voorheesville for the open space, the views of the Helderbergs, and so he can commute to Albany on his bicycle.

Bill is an attorney who retired from the Office of General Counsel at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation after over thirty years of service. The focus of his work was environmental law and policy relevant to the agency’s plethora of natural resource and environmental quality initiatives. In addition, he has long been active in land protection efforts and is a trail steward for The Nature Conservancy at the Hannacroix and Christman Preserves. Bill’s passion for preserving natural places stems from spending time during his childhood and adult years enjoying the mountains and waters of the Champlain Valley and the Green Mountains, as well as the magnificent landscapes of New York State. Bill received a B.A. from St. Lawrence University and a J.D. from Syracuse University, E.I. White College of Law. He serves as Board Secretary and also chairs the Land Stewardship Committee.

Mike is a CPA and an experienced financial executive with extensive operational, logistics, and sales experience in the manufacturing, printing services, construction, and industrial distribution industries. He is currently the CFO of a company with locations in several northeastern states that focuses on industrial parts distribution, electro mechanical repair, steel fabrication, and industrial rubber sales and service. Mike graduated from the University of Vermont with a B.A. in Business Administration, then moved to the Albany area to begin his career, which has spanned 40 years. 

Growing up in rural northern Vermont, Mike experienced everything that is associated with that lifestyle; fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, farming, gardening, canoeing, swimming, logging, cutting firewood, and hiking around the hills. Living in an area without neighbors, he learned respect for the land and to love the solitude of the forest.

Mike and his wife Sheila have three adult children and two grandchildren (with one more due in August, 2022), all of whom live in the Capital District. Mike and Sheila are members of Saint Thomas the Apostle Church in Delmar. When his children were young, Mike volunteered with community youth and coaching programs. He also served on the Board of St. Anne’s Institute for 18 years, including terms as President, Vice President, and Treasurer. 

Lise has a strong professional background in journalism, public policy, and media relations. As a child of the New York City suburbs, she watched bulldozers destroy farms, wetlands, and historic buildings, replacing them with housing developments and corporate "parks". As a journalist for the Knickerbocker News and the statewide Public TV program Inside Albany, she explored environmental issues involving the Adirondack Park as well as Hudson River and wetland pollution, energy policy, challenges facing farmland, and environmental justice.

A graduate of Skidmore College with a master’s degree in communication arts from Cornell University, Lise is former president of the Legislative Correspondents Association at the state Capitol. She lives in an 1896 brownstone in downtown Albany (part of an historic district so it should be safe from bulldozers). Lise chairs the MHLC Communications Committee.

Joel is Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education at Albany Medical College. He has a B.S. in Chemistry from Trinity College (Hartford, CT) and an MD from University of Massachusetts. Joel is Board-certified in Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine. He is active in numerous professional organizations, serves on hospital/college committees, has held editorial positions (reviewing for medical journals), serves as an oral examiner for the American Board of Emergency Medicine, and has received several awards as Attending/Physician of the year. Joel has advocated for many years for preserving land, limiting housing and industrial development, and protecting our natural resources. He seeks to apply his expertise in administration to his work on the MHLC Board. Joel serves as chair of the Nominating Committee.

Alyson works as an underwriter in commercial lending and has been with Bank of America for the past 15 years. She was graduated from University of Mary Washington and obtained an MBA from George Mason University. At Bank of America, Alyson is involved with the employee environmental program. She has been instrumental in the preparation of educational newsletters and webinars on various environmental topics.

Alyson’s appreciation of nature began when she was a child, spending hours outdoors and often in the woods. As an adult, she enjoys flower and vegetable gardening, finding it to be a wonderful connection with the land. In the last decade, after seeing hundreds of acres of fields and trees cleared to build more shopping centers and housing developments, her interest in nature developed into a passion for preserving land. She believes it is important that the natural beauty of the outdoors be available to everyone to enjoy. She is very pleased to have the opportunity to work with MHLC staff and other Board members to preserve land in our villages and towns.

Christine grew up in Delmar, NY and moved back to the Albany area in 2017, after living in other parts of the Northeast.  She has long enjoyed outdoor recreation and has a deep concern for habitat conservation. Christine is excited to be involved in preserving natural spaces through workwith MHLC.  

Christine completed her undergraduate education at the State University of New York at Geneseo and holds a J.D. from Boston University School of Law.  She is currently practicing environmental law with the Environmental Protection Bureau of the New York State Office of the Attorney General.  

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Cliff is the Medical Director at Integrated Health Model at Anthem, Inc. He is responsible for case management, utilization management, benefit design, and ongoing assessment for member interactions. In addition, he is a Clinical Instructor in Emergency Medicine at Albany Medical College. He previously served as Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Evansville, IN and then at Albany Memorial Hospital. Cliff has a B.S. in Biology from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.D. from Albany Medical College. He is a member of the Voorheesville Public Library Board of Directors, Alumni Association of Albany Medical College, the Credentials Committee and the Physician Quality Committee at Albany Memorial Hospital. Cliff enjoys fishing, golf, and gardening.

Originally from Ohio, Margaret settled in the South End of Albany in the late 1970’s. Inspired by others who were fixing up nearby buildings, she purchased a small row house and spent years rehabbing it on a very tight budget. It involved lots of scrounging for materials, bartering for help, and the occasional dumpster dive.

Gardening was a passion since childhood, and in the mid 1980’s she earned a degree in Ornamental Horticulture from SUNY, with a focus on perennial flowers. She worked in propagation, design and maintenance around the Capital District and Berkshires. She also volunteered with Cornell Cooperative Extension as a Master Gardener and was a guest lecturer for Garden Shows and Clubs.

That earlier experience of struggle to own and maintain a home later inspired her to work with Habitat for Humanity and to develop the Albany ReStore.  It was a deeply satisfying project that kept tons of materials out of landfills and made them available to people at a minimal cost.

Since 1985, Dan has been involved in the family business, Bearing Distributors, Inc. in Troy, NY, a wholesale distribution business. After graduating from Tufts with a degree in Russian language and literature, Dan worked with emotionally disturbed adolescents at a school in Massachusetts for those with special needs. He taught workshop, music, math, sports, and led camping trips. Dan has been very active in the local community and has served on the Friends of Five Rivers Board for nine years, including serving as President for three years. He has been involved in the Bethlehem Town Comprehensive Planning Process and serves on the Paths4Bethlehem, a town committee working to improve connectivity in the community. Dan has also been instrumental in the Friends of the Rail Trail (FORT) Committee. Dan served nine years on the MHLC Board, took a two-year hiatus, and is now serving once again on our Board. He is the At-Large member of the Executive committee and also chairs the FORT/ART committee.

Dan has two grown daughters and one granddaughter. He is passionate about protecting our lands and waters for future generations.

Allie is a creative facilitator, leadership development and team-learning coach & consultant who emphasizes ecological activism and innovative aesthetics. Preservation and conservation efforts have been at the heart of her life and work for a long time. A former wilderness trainer, she maintains a private practice coaching high impact leaders, including emerging indigenous leaders, employing awareness-based change practices from the Presencing Institute.

Allie has two published works: A Wayfinder’s Wanderings: A First Collection of Poems (2020) and Yoga Radicals: A Curated Set of Inspiring Stories from Pioneers in the Field (2021). A long-term meditator and yoga educator, Allie has led yoga sessions on MHLC preserves in past years. Allie enjoyed a long career in museums and library retail and licensing start-up programs in NYC before migrating up the Hudson River, where she lived rurally and renovated a barn on an old dairy farm in eastern Dutchess County. After pursuing further graduate work and adjunct teaching at SUNY School of Social Welfare in Albany, she developed and implemented innovative behavioral health and wellness programs for government and not-for-profit organizations. She regularly presents workshops and training sessions abroad and virtually on creativity and mind-body integration practices.

Allie received a B.A. from Bowdoin College, a J.D. from Yeshiva University, and holds a M.A. in Social Work (ABD) from SUNY Albany. In addition, she has studied at the University of Paris, University of Marburg, and Harvard.

Heather is an environmental attorney with significant experience in environmental policy, litigation, and nonprofit governance and management. As General Counsel for the Charles River Watershed Association, Heather oversees the organization’s legal advocacy around clean water and climate resilience, as well as all aspects of the organization's internal operations. Heather's legal career includes roles at the Conservation Law Foundation, Southern Environmental Law Center, and Defenders of Wildlife. Heather received her undergraduate degree in political science from Clemson University and law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Heather served on several town boards in Massachusetts, and has dedicated volunteer time with animal rescue organizations. Originally from the Hudson Valley, Heather grew up spending time outdoors in the 'Gunks, which drives her lifelong commitment to conservation and environmental protection.

Dave’s law career spanned 35 years and focused primarily on the fields of environmental litigation (with the New York Attorney General’s Office) and energy law (with NYSERDA). He was also a Clinical Adjunct Professor at Albany Law School for 22 years. Retired from full-time law since 2012, Dave now engages part-time in estate planning, drafting wills, powers of attorney, and health care proxies, on both a pro bono basis for low-income clients, through The Legal Project, and on a fee basis for others.  He holds a B.A. from Harpur College at SUNY Binghamton and a J.D. from SUNY Buffalo School of Law.
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Dave has been on the boards of Friends of Five Rivers (chairing the Land Protection Committee), the Empire Justice Center (which has a mission to make the law work for all New Yorkers, especially those who most need its protection), the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany (later serving as Vice President and then President of the congregation), and the St. Lawrence District of Unitarian Universalist Association (where he served as Board President for two years). Dave is an ordained interfaith/interspiritual minister, officiating at life event ceremonies and also serving as a volunteer chaplain at Albany Medical Center. Additionally, he is a hospice volunteer and spiritual director.  
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Dave has two grown children and four grandsons. He enjoys cycling, paddling, traveling, reading, and music.  Dave is especially excited about paddling his new 19 lb. Hornbeck canoe, which enables him to explore remote lakes and ponds in the Adirondacks.

Elliott’s background in is government affairs and health care policy. He retired in 2020 from his job as Vice President of Government Affairs for Wellcare of New York, where he was responsible for assessing the impact of regulatory changes in the health care field. He previously worked for the Business Council of New York State as Director of Government Affairs. Elliott has served on the boards of the Albany International Airport Authority and SUNY Albany School of Public Health Prevention Research Center. Elliott holds a B.A. in Accounting from Siena College and was recognized with a Distinguished Alumni Award at Ticonderoga High School.

Elliott’s passion for the outdoors and land preservation can be traced to growing up in the Adirondacks. His boyhood home was contiguous to hundreds of acres of farmland, woods, and apple orchards. He hiked his first Adirondack High Peak (Mt. Marcy) with his father in the late 1970s and became an Adirondack 46er (Mt. Colden) with his son on September 1, 2020. He has also hiked the trails on all 20 MHLC preserves.