ADIRONDACK COUNCIL BOLSTERS PRESENCE AT NEW YORK STATE CAPITOL
Andrew Williams hired to lead Government Relations Program, Kevin Chlad
Promoted to Deputy Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, March 20, 2025
ALBANY, N.Y. – The Adirondack Council today said it has hired Andrew J. Williams of Wilton to be its new Director of Government Relations.
Williams is currently the Deputy Director for State Policy at the State Capitol in Albany for the New York League of Conservation Voters, a statewide environmental advocacy organization with offices in Albany and Manhattan. Williams will assume the role vacated by Kevin Chlad, when Chlad was promoted to the position of Deputy Director earlier this year. Chlad has served in that role for six years.
Williams will lead the Council’s government relations team in Albany and contribute to the Council’s advocacy in Washington, D.C. He has experience lobbying for clean water, clean fuels, renewable energy generation and waste reduction.
Prior to joining the New York League of Conservation Voters staff, Williams worked for a large labor union, Assemblymembers Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake) and Carrie Woerner (D- Round Lake), and U.S. Rep. Bill Owens (D-Plattsburgh).
“We are very excited to welcome Andrew to our team,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director Raul J. Aguirre. “He brings a wealth of experience with him, in areas that are very relevant to the work we do every day. Our team has been working alongside him and our partners at the League of Conservation Voters in Albany for years, and we have collaborated on some major wins for the environment. We expect him to fit in well at the Council and have an immediate impact on our work preserving clean water, air and wildlands in the Adirondacks.”
“I am equally excited to formally announce Kevin Chlad’s promotion to the post of Deputy Director,” said Aguirre. “He has done excellent work as Director of Government Relations since 2018 and has been an integral part of the organization for the past 14 years since starting out as a Clarence Petty Intern after graduating from SUNY Potsdam. Kevin is incredibly dedicated to the mission and work of the Council, and I am excited to see him partner with Andrew to further our Albany work.”
Chlad said he was grateful for the promotion and looked forward to working with Williams.
“Andrew has been a trusted colleague of ours and someone whose talents and opinions we valued before we had a place for him on our team,” said Chlad. “I am very happy we will have him leading our government relations efforts. I look forward to helping him build his team.”
“I am honored to step into the Director of Government Relations role with the Adirondack Council, and excited for the opportunities ahead. I was born and raised in the north country. I have dedicated my career to protecting New York’s environment and supporting vibrant Adirondack rural communities across the state,” said Andrew Williams. “I want to express my deepest gratitude to the New York League of Conservation Voters, a place that has been more than just a workplace but a community of inspiring colleagues and mentors. I look forward to this next chapter, and I’m honored to have the opportunity to advocate for the Adirondack Park.”
As a political advocacy organization, the Adirondack Council has 50 years of experience engaging Albany and Washington, D.C. decision makers and legislators to defend the Adirondack Park and its communities. Issues range from acid rain, air and water pollution, climate change, irresponsible land use, and other threats to the Park’s ecological health, wild character and sustainability.
The organization established a permanent government relations presence in Albany in 1990 and expanded the office to include media relations and graduate-student interns in 1992. The Council has had a full-time presence in Albany for more than 30 years, with an office just two blocks from the New York State Capitol.
The Adirondack Council lobbies state government for policy improvements and funding for the benefit of the Adirondack Park. The Council doesn’t solicit or accept government grants for itself. The Council doesn’t endorse candidates for public office. Each year, it publishes the State of the Park Report, detailing the major decisions and actions that helped or harmed the Adirondack Park, and the officials who made them.
Established in 1975, the Adirondack Council is a privately funded, not-for-profit environmental advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring the ecological integrity and wild character of the Adirondack Park. The 9,300-square-mile Adirondack Park is one of the largest intact temperate forest ecosystems left in the world. The Adirondacks are home to about 130,000 New York residents in 130 rural communities.
The Council carries out its mission through research, education, advocacy and legal action. The Council envisions a Park with clean water and clean air, core wilderness areas, farms and working forests, and vibrant, diverse, welcoming, safe communities.
For more information: John Sheehan, Director of Communications, 518-441-1340