2007-2008 Board of Directors
| Suzanne Wheatcraft, President |
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Educated as a geologist, Suzanne has a love for all the natural
sciences and their practical application. Suzanne has worked
in the Health, Safety and Environmental Sciences field in the
Rochester area since the 1980s, and also serves on the board
of the Genesee Valley Organic Community Supported Agriculture,
one of the founding CSAs in the nation. Suzanne joined the Trust
board in 1998 and is a member of the Steering committee, and
Ad Hoc Policies Update Committee. |
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| Connie Ehindero, Vice President |
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An active Trust volunteer since the 1990s, Connie has helped
to coordinate direct mailings and has steered events like the
Backyard Habitat Tour, . A Brighton resident, she owns Parallel
Print, serving national direct mail clients. Prior to beginning
her own company, Connie served as vice president of Saatchi
and Saatchi. At the Trust, Connie chairs the Membership Committee
and serves on the Steering and Special Events Committees and
coordinates the Ad Hoc Strategic Land Conservation Committee.
Her other volunteer interests include: Friends of Sandy Pond
Beach, Calvary St. Andrews, and board member of the Greater
Rochester Postal Customer Council. Connie is both a visual artist
and environmentalist. |
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| Merri-Lou McKeever, Secretary |
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Merri-Lou grew up on a farm in the open spaces of Chautauqua
County, NY, learning to treasure that environment from an early
age. Currently a city-dweller, and is retired from management
of the worldwide presentation technologies group at Eastman
Kodak Company. Concern over the expansion of urban sprawl has
brought her to the Genesee Land Trust. Merri-Lou is also an
active volunteer at the Humane Society at Lollypop Farm and
the Rochester Animal Services, believing strongly that “all
things are connected.” She is also a Habitat For Humanity
volunteer, Member of the Rochester Audio-Visual Association
and VP/Board member of the Alfred Alumni Concert Choir. For
the Trust, she serves on the Steering, Legislative, and Special
Events Committees. |
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| Mike Kehoe, Treasurer |
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A Mobil Chemical Company employee for 21 years,
Mike's accounting and financial management positions took him
to New York, Houston as well as the Rochester area. He served
as director of finance for Nixon Peabody for 14 years until
his retirement in 2001. President of the Rochester Chapter of
The Financial Exectives International, Mike has done volunteer
work for LifeSpan and the Pittsford Trails Project. Mike is
also a member of the finance counsel of his church. For the
Trust, mike will serve on the Finance and Steering Committees. |
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| Lee Caine |
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An artist and gardener, Lee resides in Brighton
with her husband, Eric, both long-time supporters of the Genesee
Land Trust. A background in biological sciences, Lee earned
a Master Degree studying animal behavior. Her love for nature
is expressed in her art portraits of organic forms such as seed
pods, berries and shells. A GLT volunteer for the past four
years as artist, and special events, Lee also serves on the
Backyard Habitat Tour committee. A board member of the Genesee
Valley Organic Community Supported Agriculture and Rochester
Roots, Lee is a member of the Rochester Art Club and the Genesee
Region Orchid Society. |
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| Diane Cass, Co-Chairperson Land Protection
Committee |
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Working on the family farm in Vermont and participating
in 4-H helped Diane realize the value of good stewardship of
land. As development pressures mounted in Vermont in the 1960's,
she supported efforts to preserve agricultural and forest land
and to improve natural science education. A resident of Rochester
since 1978, Diane became concerned as fields and woods disappeared
under shopping malls and housing tracts. Joining Genesee Land
Trust as a member of the Land Protection Committee in 1991 and
the Board in 1992, she also serves on the Land Management Committee.
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| Roger Cass, Co-Chairperson Land Protection
Committee |
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Roger is a physician in private practice of Internal
Medicine, clinical professor of medicine at U of R. He is a
co-founder of several environmental organizations, such as Save
Our Space, Federation of Monroe County Environmentalists, and
Genesee Land Trust. Honored by the Monroe County Legislature
for outstanding dedication to the environment, Roger is a dedicated
conservationist and a musician and photographer. Roger also
serves on the Land Management and Nominating Committees. |
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| Thomas Frey |
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When Tom decided to retire from Harris, Beach LLP in 1996,
he committed his newly freed time and energy to several volunteer
interests, including land conservation with Genesee Land Trust.
In additon to his legal career, Tom has been active in local
politics from the ciity school board in 1969 to County Executive
form 1987 to 1991. Tom is a former president of Genesee Land
Trust and an active member of the Steering, Development and
Land Protection Committees. |
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| Vivian Cook- Johnson |
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An Admissions Advisor for BOCES 2, Center for Work Development,
with degrees in Business Administration and Education, Vivian
Cook Johnson joins the board with great enthusiasm for its mission
and will work on the Special Events and Fundraising Committees.
Other professionial affiliations include: Women United Executive
Committee, United Way, Women Work, National Women Employment
Organization, Hillside Work Scholarship Connecting Program as
trainer/facilitator, Common Good Planning Center, Advisory Leadership
Coun RCSD Curriculum Advisor, MLK Jr. Commissioner/Building
Bridges of Harmony, Chairperson. |
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| Robert Kraus |
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A native New Yorker, Robert Kraus has lived for
more than 25 years in Rush with his family and various animals.
In that town, he has been active in farmland preservation discussions
and served for a long period of time on the library board. Robert
recently retired as Associate Vice President at the University
of Rochester. Robert joined the board in 1992, is currently
active on the Steering, Nominating, Public Information, Land
Management and Development committees. |
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| Rick Marx |
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Rick joined the Trust in 1992, conducting pre-acquisition
environmental assessments and due diligence for potential GLT
properties in conjunction with the Land Protection Committee.
Rick is an active conservationist and has played a key role
in both the Rochester Peregrine Falcon Project and the New York
River Otter Project, Inc., both of which are focused on re-establishing
these species in Central and Western New York State. He is currently
involved in establishing Purple Martin Colonies on Keuka, Canandaigua
and Hemlock Lakes, as well as maintaining an active colony on
Lake Ontario. Rick is a Senior Environmental Engineer with the
law firm of Nixon Peabody LLP. and active on the Land Protection
committee. |
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| Jean H. McCreary |
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A Certified Professional Environmental Auditor for
Nixon Peabody, Jean has coordinated audits in 40 states and
in about 20 countries internationally. She served as president
of The Auditing Roundtable and is a charter member of the Board
of Environmental Auditor Certifications. She chaired the Work
Group developing the U.S. position on General Auditing Principles
to the International Standardization Organization serving as
the U.S. expert on this subject meeting in Oslo, Norway (1995).
Jean was the team leader that initiated a ISO-14000-based environmental
management system constructing a natural gas pipeline spanning
two countries, using a multi-lingual approach. |
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| Randi Minetor |
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Randi Minetor is president of Minetor & Company, Inc.,
a firm specializing in public relations and marketing communications
for non-profit organizations as well as for small high-tech
businesses. Among her many professional pursuits, Minetor serves
as executive director of the High Falls Film Festival. She is
the author of Breadwinner Wives and The Men They Marry (New
Horizons Press, 2002), and she has recently completed the text
for the 20th Anniversary Passport To Your National Parks Explorer
Edition, on behalf of Eastern National. Presently, she is at
work on a companion guide to the Passport program. Because of
her great love of nature, Minetor, an avid birder serves as
editor of the Trust's newsletter, and will work with the Public
Information Committee as a member of the Trust's Board of Directors.
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| Thomas Tette |
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Tom is a Partner in the accounting firm of Daly,
Sirianni & Co., CPAs, LLP. Formerly treasurer of the Genesee
Land Trust, Inc., he has been associated with the organization
for 5+ years. Tom is married to Maria and they have three children,
Tommy, Anthony and Lizzie. Tom's major interest with the Genesee
Land Trust is to help prevent unnecessary development of land.
Tom also serves on the Steering and Finance Committees. |
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| George Parker |
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George,
a non-profit community development attorney with a long history
of interest in preserving open spaces and in construction of
affordable housing, joined the Trust board with great enthusiasm.
George has served for six years on the wetlands committee of
the local chapter of the Sierra Club, and he is a nine year
member of the Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development
Law of the American Bar Association. At the Trust, he serves
on the Land Protection Committee. |
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| Bill Steimer |
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Bill is
a live-long resident of Scottsville and graduate of Alfred State
College, was employed by Eastman Kodak for 28 years. A farmer,
with 130 acres, he and his family produce alfalfa-timothy hay
and winter wheat. Steimer serves on the Town of Chili Conservation
Board, the Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Farm Bureau, the
Monroe Co., Soil & Water Conservation District and the American
Farmland Trust. At the Trust, Bill serves on the farmland subcommittee. |
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| Nancy Goodman Torpey |
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Nancy grew up on Long Island but has lived in the Rochester
area for 23 years with her husband, Peter, and children, Allison
and Brian. She joined Genesee Land Trust to preserve open space
here and to help this area to avoid becoming "full" like her
home town. She is a retired Xerox Corporation physicist. Nancy
enjoys the outdoors, including jogging, walking, gardening,
bicycling and hiking. She joined the Board in 2005 and chairs
the Land Management Committee. |
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