Next Gen Council

Next Gen Council

The Adirondack Council invites folks in their early- to mid-career (typically 20s and 30s) to serve as members of the Next Gen Council. This group is intended for people who are dedicated to preserving the water, air, and wildlands of the Adirondack Park for future generations and consists of 10 – 15 individuals who represent a diverse set of identities.

At least 20% of members must be full-time residents of the Park. Members will uphold the mission and vision of the Adirondack Council through their ambassador role. Once elected, members will serve a term of three years and are eligible for no more than two consecutive full terms. 

Applications for 2024 have closed, thank you to everyone that applied!

Members of the Next Gen Advisory Council will serve as advocates for the work being done to protect and preserve the Adirondacks for future generations. Through high-quality interactions with the staff, board, and friends of The Adirondack Council, members will gain knowledge of the challenges facing the Park and valuable experience volunteering in the nonprofit world. The group will aim to enhance outreach and education, using tools such as social media, within their peer group to bolster support for and expand and diversify the constituency that advocates for preservation of the Adirondack Park’s clean water, clean air, ecological integrity and wild character.  

Fall foliage reflected in Church Pond near Paul Smiths in the Adirondacks

Meetings and Procedures

General meetings will be held quarterly with virtual options for those who are unable to attend in-person. Members must attend at least three of these meetings to remain in good standing. There will be a number of other events members will be invited to which are voluntary.   

A little girl walks on a boardwalk in a wetland in the Adirondacks

Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of Next Gen Advisory Council members shall include, but not be limited to: 

  • Foster education surrounding the importance of the Park and the challenges it faces in their networks, both within and outside the region/be advocates for the Council through social media.
  • Orchestrate a signature event aimed at the next generation (but open to all) to raise awareness of the importance of the Council’s work in preservation of the Adirondacks and to bolster support. 
  • Serve as an ambassador for the Adirondacks, the Adirondack Council and the NextGen Council and support recruitment and retention of young Adirondack Council donors.
  • Provide input and generational perspectives to Council staff.
  • All members are expected to financially contribute in a manner that is appropriate for them. 

Meet the Next Gen Council!

Wynn Abrahamson

Wynn Abrahamson

Wynn Abrahamson has grown up spending her summers with her family in Schroon Lake, NY. She currently lives in New York City and tries to spend as much time in the Adirondack Park as possible. As a strong advocate for the environment, Wynn is excited to begin her position on the Next Gen Council and join the team!

 

Giulia Casella

Giulia Casella

Giulia Casella is based in Glens Falls and works for the Lake George Land Conservancy as Fundraising & Events Manager. She is currently the Secretary of the Next Gen Council. Growing up in the area, she spent her childhood hiking, swimming, and exploring the Adirondacks. She graduated from SUNY Binghamton with degrees in Economic Policy Analysis and Environmental Studies. Her work and studies have fostered her civic responsibility and a passion for her local community. She is excited to further her involvement in advocacy and efforts to protect Adirondack Park. She enjoys gardening, biking, listening to music, running, and spending time outdoors whatever the season may be.

 

Caroline Dodd

Caroline Dodd

Caroline Dodd (she/her) is an avid runner, skier, and paddler originally from Saranac Lake. She is currently the Vice-Chair of the Next Gen Council. She earned a B.S. in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences and Music from Cornell University in 2019. She has since worked as an environmental advocate for the Adirondack Council’s Albany office, as a Research Assistant in the Council's Elizabethtown office, and as an Event Manager for the Olympic Regional Development Authority. Caroline is passionate about equitable policy development and implementation to address climate change and its impacts. She is a master’s student in environmental policy at the Institute for a Sustainable Environment at Clarkson University. She represented Clarkson at last year’s COP27 UN Climate Negotiations in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt. Caroline works on the LEED for Communities recertification efforts in the New York Olympic Region, intending to help the region achieve recertification for Spring 2024. Her thesis research focuses on how sustainable holistic planning systems (SHPS) and regionally implemented climate policy impact community-scale resilience to climate change. She is advised by Professors Erik Backus and Stephen Bird. Caroline is also the Assistant Coach for Clarkson University’s cross-country and Nordic ski teams and a youth advisory board member for the Adirondack Youth Climate Program. Caroline is honored to join the Adirondack Council’s inaugural Next Generation Council.

 

Ian King

Ian King

Ian R. King, P.E., who was raised on Long Island, grew up spending summers with his family exploring and falling in love with the Adirondacks. Now a resident of Brooklyn, Ian continues his family's tradition by making annual pilgrimages to the park with friends and loved ones to enjoy the mountain air and earn more of those coveted mountain-summiting accomplishment patches. Ian - a New York State-licensed professional structural engineer currently employed as a building code and zoning official in the City of New York - has professional experience in the fields of structural design, forensic engineering, building code and zoning interpretation and implementation, and government administration and management.

 

Anthony Kordziel

Anthony Kordziel

Anthony Kordziel grew up in the Adirondacks in Wilmington, NY. He was introduced to hunting and fishing by his father as a child, which sparked his passion for the outdoors and the Adirondacks. He is an alumnus of Lake Placid Central School District and earned a bachelor’s degree in Forest Ecology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. He is a Certified Forester recognized by the Society of American Foresters.

Anthony represents the hunters, anglers, and trappers throughout the state as the New York State Conservation Council’s representative on the New York State Conservation Fund Advisory Board.

Anthony has worked as a forester, natural resource manager, and mapping specialist for non-profit organizations, as a private consultant, and for local government agencies. He knows the proper methods to manage natural resources and wildlife to improve property values, maintain biodiversity of ecosystems, improve water quality, and allow for recreational activities.

Anthony is honored to be an inaugural member of the NextGen Council and is excited to collaborate with and educate people about proper management of our natural resources and the tradition of hunting, fishing, and trapping in the Adirondacks and New York State.

 

Charlotte Staats

Charlotte Staats

Charlotte is the Trails Manager for the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK), where she is responsible for the operation and long-term development of ADK’s professional and volunteer trail crew programs. She has her bachelor’s degree in environmental science and policy from Clarkson University. You can find Charlotte enjoying the Adirondacks while hiking, biking, paddling, or skiing.

 

Natalee Wrege

Natalee Wrege

Natalee is the current Chair of the Next Gen Council. She grew up in a small town in Central New York. She received her bachelor's degree in environmental biology from the SUNY ESF in 2018. This is where her love of science and environmental education and was ignited. Natalee moved to Saranac Lake in the Spring of 2022 and joined the Paul Smith’s College Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC) as the Environmental Educator. She is currently a graduate student at Paul Smith’s College studying Natural Resources Conservation with a focus in Sustainable Communities where she applies problem solving and concepts of human interaction with the environment to identify long-term and realistic solutions for preserving ecological integrity. She is a New York State Licensed Guide, Certified Interpretive Guide, a Leave No Trace Master Educator and uses these skills regularly teaching about the Adirondack Park. In her free time, she enjoys paddling, mountain biking, skiing and art.

 

Allison Stefanelli

Allison Stefanelli

As a founding member of the Adirondack Council's NextGen Council, Allison is continuing to show her commitment to the protection and preservation of the Adirondack Park for current and future generations. Allison worked as a Clarence Petty Legislative Intern in 2021 and Legislative Research Assistant in 2022 for the Adirondack Council where she tracked legislation, managed legislative correspondence, and researched conservation and environmental policy issues on which the Council engages. She grew up in Albany, NY with a family who enjoys camping and fishing in the Adirondack Park, and she graduated from the University of New Hampshire studying Wildlife and Conservation Biology. Now, Allison lives in Washington D.C. working for the Government Relations department at Defenders of Wildlife, helping to advance their policy agenda of establishing a National Biodiversity Strategy and upholding the integrity of the Endangered Species Act as attacks from Congress continue to be introduced.

 

Aaron Thomas

Aaron Thomas

Aaron Thomas has lived in the Champlain Valley since 2011 when he first attended SUNY Plattsburgh and earned his bachelor's degree in environmental science. He has since worked for the Vermont Association of Conservation Districts and the Natural Resource Conservation Service in St. Albans, Vermont. He currently is the Farmland and Stewardship Specialist with the Adirondack Land Trust working to protect farmland throughout the Adirondacks through conservation easements. He is passionate about an equitable and accessible local food system, land access, and preserving family farms throughout the region.

 

Tim Yeskoo

Tim Yeskoo

Tim Yeskoo’s love for The Adirondack Park has been lifelong. Witnessing the effects of climate change in the Park firsthand motivated him to devote his career to mitigating the effects of climate change with a focus on sizable and immediate impact solutions. For his full time job, Tim works on Strategy and Business Development at Intersect Power, a developer, owner, and operator of clean energy assets at the gigawatt scale. Tim holds a BA in Physics and Geography from Colgate University. He also holds a MS and PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University, where he specialized in optimization techniques to enable higher levels of renewable energy on the electricity grid. Tim lives with his wife Christa and dog Maple in Saranac Lake. If he’s not shreddin’ the slopes of Whiteface on a snowy morning or sailing an Adirondack lake on a windy afternoon, you might find Tim exploring the endless depths of the Park both on and off the beaten track.

 

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