Our Board of Directors

MEET OUR DIRECTORS

Andrea Ricard

Andrea Ricard

PRESIDENT

After a career working indoors with adults, Andrea Ricard now enjoys working outdoors with children.  As a Guided School Program Instructor and Friends Greeter she believes that future generations must learn to love the outdoors, to protect our environment when they become working, voting adults.

 

Kathryn Simpson

Kathryn Simpson

VICE PRESIDENT

Kathryn Simpson is a Program Assistant with the New York State Office of Mental Health Adult Community Care Group.

As a Master of Public Health and Certified Health Education Specialist, Kathryn is passionate about improving community health through connection with nature. Kathryn is focused on policy, systems, and environmental change to address social determinants of health and improve health equity.

Alan Lewis

Alan Lewis

TREASURER AND FINANCE COMMITTEE CHAIR

Alan grew up in Delmar and is a graduate of Bethlehem Central schools. Five Rivers has been an important part of his life ever since childhood. Like many, his love for Five Rivers began with the beaver dam trail and has evolved with each and every visit. After leaving the Capital Region for school, Alan, his wife Trisha, and son Luke have returned and now reside in Slingerlands. Alan is a psychiatrist at Albany Medical Center. He looks forward to preserving and growing the impact of Five Rivers through his participation on the Friends board.

Cyndee Berlin

Cyndee Berlin

AD HOC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE CHAIR

Cyndee Berlin brings over 25 years of experience in government, communications and consumer advocacy to her role at Friends of Five Rivers.  She believes that nature provides the key to our physical, mental and emotional well-being.  Cultivating an appreciation for the importance of land preservation and inspiring people to expand our mind and senses through natural beauty has always been her passion.

 

Brian Andreson

Brian Andreson

BOARD MEMBER

Brian grew up in Bethlehem and is a Clarkson graduate. He has spent his professional engineering career in renewable energy.  His childhood learning experiences at Five Rivers is a large contributor to his passion for conservation and the environment.  Now residing in Delmar with his wife and fur babies, he is excited to participate on the board and to funnel this passion back into preserving and continuing the impact Fiver Rivers may have for generations to come.

 

Will Cote

Will Cote

BOARD MEMBER

Will is from the Capital Region and graduated from Guilderland High School.  Some of his first steps were at Five Rivers, which he has been visiting throughout his life and now that he is living in Slingerlands with his own family with young children, he is happily introducing them to the beauty of this natural treasure. After graduating from SUNY Oneonta and UAlbany, Will has spent over 20 years in nonprofit management, most recently as Senior Director of Public Lands for a statewide organization. In this role, he leads advocacy efforts with decision-makers and builds grassroots communities for our public lands that will lead to greater appreciation and stewardship of New York’s environment. Will looks forward to encouraging more folks, from all backgrounds, to experience Five Rivers and all it has to offer.

 

Miles Garfinkel

Miles Garfinkel

BOARD MEMBER AND LAND USE COMMITTEE CHAIR

It is essential for us to do more than educate people about the world that supports them.  People must experience nature and work to conserve their corner of the planet. Five Rivers is a unique treasure where children and adults can help to preserve our environment.

 

Ayal Kushner

Ayal Kushner

BOARD MEMBER

Ayal has always loved the outdoors and has been an avid supporter of environmental conservation. As well as being an amateur naturalist, he’s earned a Permaculture Design Certificate and continues to advocate for ecological sustainability and the healing of our home planet. He believes the earlier we teach our children the importance of being one with our natural world the stronger their commitment to the Earth will be. The more we immerse ourselves in nature’s beauty the more we can become in tune with it.
“If kids grow kale, kids eat kale!” – Ron Finley
Larry Naviasky

Larry Naviasky

BOARD MEMBER AND NOMINATING COMMITTEE CHAIR

Larry Naviasky resides in Delmar and is a local attorney. His concern for the environmental education dates back to his days at Union College where he chaired the Student Environmental Alliance and wrote his senior thesis about the 1970 Clean Air Act. His love for Five Rivers grew from numerous visits to the Center with his three, now grown boys, Jake, Gabe and Ethan. Larry believes the mission of Friends of Five Rivers is imperative: “Environmental education of our children is essential to their understanding of how humankind impacts our water, air and earth.

 

Carole Nemore

Carole Nemore

BOARD MEMBER AND ENDOWMENT FUND

Carole’s heartfelt interest in the environment has been lifelong. She worked as an environmental policy analyst for nearly 25 years, predominately for the NYS Senate and NYS Energy Research & Development Authority. Since retirement, she has been active in many volunteer organizations dedicated to environmental quality issues, including more recently, land preservation, climate change, pesticides and waste reduction. Attending Adult Talk and Trek programs at Five Rivers has been one of the most interesting and “grounding” experiences of her involvement with the environment. The benefits of learning about nature in a hands-on approach led her to get involved with the Guided School Program. The opportunity to experience nature along with joyful children is the best reward for a lifelong commitment to the environment.

Susan Novotny

Susan Novotny

BOARD MEMBER

I graduated from Bethlehem Central High School in 1970. Throughout my teen years I was a very regular visitor to the Delmar Game Farm. I entered SUNY Albany with the intention of becoming a veterinarian and taking care of injured wildlife as my vocation. Alas, calculus was not my forte but was a requirement for admission to Cornell Vet School.  I already had four years of Latin under my belt from the classicists at Bethlehem, so I switched my major to Classical Studies and was fortunate to receive an excellent education by some of the best classicists in the country at the time.

Alas (again), a degree in Classical Studies did not lend itself to easy employment and I ended up in the New York publishing industry on the bottom rung of the ladder. Ten years of experience in the NY commercial publishing industry ultimately led to my purchase of the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza in 1990, then the expansion to The Little Book House and in 2004 the opening of Market Block Books in beautiful downtown Troy.

During the past 38 years I’ve been on many boards within the publishing industry. My most recent local board commitment has been with WMHT but have now finished a nearly 9-year trusteeship. And since I have so much free time on my hands now, I thought it was time to step up to the plate for Five Rivers.

For 30 years I have owned a 22-acre home abutting Five Rivers and sharing the boundary with the Phillipin Kill. We are extremely fortunate to have a piece of the Garden of Eden in our backyard and I walk the property nightly enjoying the stars and always grateful the stewards of Five Rivers have made this beauty possible. It’s now time to show my gratitude to The Friends and offer my stewardship in all ways possible.

Andrew Pludrzynski

Andrew Pludrzynski

BOARD MEMBER

Andrew’s background is based in design, manufacturing and construction.  He helped write a lot of the early Integrated Pest Management pillars that are still part of their Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for golf courses.   He’s been enjoying Five Rivers since the ripe age of six and hopes to pair the Friends up with new partners and programs, especially within the architecture, design and construction community.

 

Monica Sharp

Monica Sharp

BOARD MEMBER

Monica believes that education is the best way to raise awareness of the importance in preserving and protecting the environment and wildlife.  Five Rivers gives children, youth and adults the outdoors opportunity to learn and experience nature and its importance to our lives.

Mary Louise Stanford

Mary Louise Stanford

BOARD MEMBER

Mary Louise Stanford is a native of the Beverwyck neighborhood of Albany, and a Delmar resident for more than 30 years. A chemist and attorney, she is the mother of two adult sons who have spent many happy hours hiking and skiing at Five Rivers.

CONTACT US

56 Game Farm Rd., Delmar, NY 12054
For Educational Program Information, email:  education@FriendsofFiveRivers.org
For General Information, email:  info@FriendsofFiveRivers.org
Phone:  (518) 475-0295

Charitable Tax ID# 23-7309978

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