Board of Directors

  • Judith C. Mower, Chair
  • David Bronston, Vice Chair
  • A. Joseph Scott III, Vice Chair
  • John G. Hunter, Secretary
  • Edward Doherty, Treasurer
  • Kent L. Barwick
  • Edward Bergstraesser
  • John J. Bolebruch
  • Jane Clark Chermayeff
  • James C. Dawson
  • Charles E. Dorkey III
  • Robert J. Kafin
  • Seymour H. Knox IV
  • Kevin M. Lanahan
  • Douglas Logan
  • Richard P. Morse
  • Kristen Mucitelli-Heath
  • Richard Remmer
  • David F. Shaffer
  • Anthony Sherin
  • Elaine Vedette Tack
  • Michael Tannen
  • Alan N. Vincent
  • Stephanie H. Wacholder


Advisory Council

  • Edward A. Ames
  • Anne Perkins Cabot
  • Joan K. Davidson
  • Henry L. Diamond
  • Douglas Durst
  • John Hanna, Jr.
  • Barnabas McHenry
  • Lynden B. Miller
  • Fred Osborn
  • Peter L. Rhulen
  • Larry Rockefeller
  • Anne Sidamon-Eristoff
  • David Sive
  • Diana Taylor


  
  • PARKS & TRAILS NEW YORK
  • 29 ELK STRET
  • ALBANY, NY 12207
  • ph: 518-434-1583
  • fax: 518-427-0067
  • ptny@ptny.org
     

Staff

  
   


Robin Dropkin has been Executive Director of Parks & Trails New York since 2003.  Previous to that she was the organization’s Conservation Director for many years.  Robin knew early on that the environment was the field she wanted to work in, and she pursued both an undergraduate and graduate degree in environmental studies.  Her first professional job was with the Vermont Department of Forests and Parks, then Massachusetts State Parks, followed by a stint at a Berkshire County, Massachusetts land trust.  She is passionate and deeply committed to environmental issues, particularly those concerning land use.  After more than two decades of working in the environmental field, that commitment has only strengthened.  Most of her “fun” activities involve the outdoors: hiking, bicycling, cross country skiing, and gardening. 

martinProject Director Martin Daley has been with Parks & Trails New York since 2006. He works communities across New York develop, enhance, and promote multi-use trails.  He loves to visiting new communties and the champions behind each unique trail project and was the project manager of the Cycing the Hudson Valley guidebook. Martin was the Assistant Ride Director for Parks & Trails New York’s Cycling the Erie Canal and Great Hudson Valley Pedal bicycle tours in 2006 and 2007 and takes great pride in being able to "walk the talk" having bicycled the entire Canalway Trail in 2010. When not working he is an avid traveler; on a mission to visit every national park and major league baseball stadium in the US. Martin enjoys backpacking, riding his motorcycle, skiing, and basejumping.

laura dibettaLaura DiBetta joined the staff in September 2011. She brings nearly 15 years experience working for state, national and international environmental organizations. Prior to coming to PTNY, Laura was a founding staff member and Program Manager at the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance. At the Commission, Laura reviewed organizations for compliance with national standards for nonprofit management and land conservation, as well as managed all communications for the program. Laura previously worked as Communications Associate at Environmental Advocates of New York, working on nearly every major state environmental policy issue, from brownfields and smart growth, to climate change and renewable energy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in public policy and a Graduate Certificate in Urban Policy, both from the State University of New York at Albany.

marthaMartha Gershun, Director of Development, has been an advocate for and supporter of nonprofit organizations for more than 20 years.  Before joining Parks & Trails New York in 2005, she worked as a fundraising and communications consultant and served as Director of Policy and Communications at the ProChoice Resource Center.  She also worked as a program officer at the Rockefeller Family Fund, focusing on women’s economic development.  A native New Yorker, she has a law degree from New York University and a B.A. from Smith College.

franFrances Gotcsik, Director of Programs and Policy, has worked with non-profits, local governments, and community groups for more than 25 years.  She began her trails work in 1991 when she became the Local Coordinator for the newly launched 90-mile Genesee Valley Greenway in western New York.  In 1993, Fran helped form the non-profit Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway to work in partnership with the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, five counties, and 17 towns on the development and promotion of the Greenway trail.  In 1996, she became the organization’s Executive Director and served in that capacity until joining Parks & Trails New York in 2003.  Fran has also served as an environmental communications consultant and a local elected official.  She received a B.S. from Cornell University, an M.S. from the University of Rochester, and an M.B.A. from Rochester Institute of Technology.

 

Margaret McGivern is a graduate of Syracuse University with a Bachelor’s in Advertising, a minor is Psychology and an Associate’s in Business Administration. Margaret has been working in the non-profit sector for the last 17 years and enjoys being a part of a team whose underlying mission is to make a change for the better. As director of administrative services, Margaret oversees many of the functioning aspects of the organization including human resources, finances, and information systems. In addition, Margaret maintains our website and oversees the membership program. In her free time, Margaret enjoys singing in her church choir, being a mom, fitness and weight lifting, dancing, scrabble and word games, and spending time in the outdoors.

 


Jackie Special projects intern Jackie Mirandola Mullen is currently a PhD student in Environmental History at SUNY Albany. While completing her B.A. at the University of Notre Dame, Jackie got hooked on using history to figure out the best formula for establishing new parks in the future. She has explored this theme in her dissertation and in the marshes of Cape Cod National Seashore where she has worked as a park ranger. She hopes to apply her historical research to the present while here at Parks & Trails. When not working or writing, Jackie enjoys riding her bicycle, hiking, canoeing, and baking.

Rohan Rohan Parikh is excited to join Parks & Trails New York as Assistant Bike Tour Director. A grassroots organizer and community liaison for progressive candidates and elected officials, Rohan’s academic and professional interests lie in how we design our cities and communities, especially with regard to race, class, and sustainability. Rohan is happiest searching for great good places with a bicycle and a camera, around a campfire with a guitar and old friends, or at the movies with a bowl of popcorn.

EliProject Coordinator Elijah Yearick joined the staff in September 2011.  Growing up amidst the Appalachian Mountains in Central Pennsylvania, Elijah was lucky enough to have thousands of acres of forest land, literally, in his own backyard.  His passion for nature lead him to undergraduate and graduate school at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, where he earned a Master’s Degree in Geoenvironmental Studies. Before joining Parks and Trails, he spent four years working as a long-range/heritage planner at the Lancaster County Planning Commission in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In his spare time, Elijah enjoys caving, hiking, and cooking.

 

  
           
 

29 Elk Street w Albany, NY 12207 w (ph) 518-434-1583 w (fax) 518-427-0067 w ptny@ptny.org
Parks & Trails New York is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization as defined by the IRS.