Meet the FCWC Board of Directors
Dedication. Expertise. Passion.
The Board of Directors helps not only the Federated Conservationists of Westchester County thrive, but the environment too! Learn more by interacting with the images.
Carol Durst-Wertheim
President
Carol G. Durst-Wertheim, Ph.D. lives in Millwood, has presented "Menus in the Movies" at the Chappaqua Library for many years, belongs to the Pleasantville Garden Club and consults for the James Beard Foundation.
She comes at environmental concerns from several directions, most notably the food industry, where Carol has worked in many capacities for over 30 years.
Sustainable food growing practices and protection of our soil are critical to her as she thinks from the perspective of seven generations down the line, and from Westchester County, seeing the Hudson Valley farmers at our Farm Markets, working so hard to survive.
Alicia Molloy
Secretary
Alicia Molloy became a board member with FCWC in January 2019. Previously, she worked as Program Director of the organization for five years before taking time off to raise her children. Alicia’s passion has always been the environment, since her days as a Girl Scout. She received her A.A. In Environmental Studies from Paul Smiths College, her B.S. in Environmental Studies Policy and Management from SUNY College of Environmental Studies, and her M.S. in Forestry and Natural Resources from Purdue University. She is also a member of the New Castle Sustainability Committee.
Robert Carroll
Board Member
Mr. Carroll was involved with organizing what evolved into the Park Slope Food Coop at its inception. After graduating from Pace Law, he worked in financial services within the Corporate Secretary’s Office at JPM Chase as a Vice President managing numerous subsidiary entities. He created and managed a relational database of relevant data distributed across staff areas. He was also licensed as a financial advisor before joining FCWC over 10 years ago. During that time, he has served as a Director, Secretary and Vice President for FCWC. He began birding in Westchester County in the late 1970's and continues to add to a life list.
Charles Lesnick
Board Member
Chuck has extensive experience in government, particularly in economic development and community building. He has also been an advocate for environmental standards and sustainability in his current position as Assistant Commissioner and Deputy Counsel of the NYS Homes & Community Renewal. As President Emeritus of the FCWC, he has worked to promote sustainability in the Westchester area. Chuck holds degrees from Yale, Princeton, and NYU, and is an Eagle Scout.
Anjali Sauthoff
Board Member
Anjali Sauthoff is an environmental health scientist who is focused on applying science to practice. Currently she is working with universities, local and state government, industry and the non-profit sector to develop integrated approaches that address regional climate adaptation, environmental justice, and social determinants of health. Previous research has focused on developing models to estimate exposure to air pollutants, and using computer models to analyze emission reduction strategies. She currently serves on the New York Medical College Community Advisory Board, the Pleasantville Planning Commission and Climate Smart Communities Task Force, and is a founding board member of Films on Purpose. She received her PhD in Environmental Health from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.
Carole Griffiths
Co-Vice President
Dr. Carole S. Griffiths is Professor Emerita - Biology at Long Island University and Research Associate in Ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History. She also is chair of two grant committees of the Raptor Research Foundation and elected Fellow of the American Ornithological Society. Lives in Tarrytown. Long- time member of the Tarrytown Environmental Advisory Council.
John Cotter
Treasurer
John Cotter had a long career in financial services, primarily at Chase Manhattan Bank and GE Capital Services. He focused on finance, derivatives trading, and market risk management, advising business units on hedging strategies related to currency and interest rate fluctuations. He also managed a large portfolio of derivative instruments and led a team in constructing a company-wide risk data warehouse. John is an avid runner and outdoors enthusiast who currently serves on Scarsdale's Technology Advisory Committee.
Jason Klein
Board Member
Jason is currently Director of Conservation for Westchester County, as well as a Rye Town Trustee. He is a previous curator at Trailside Museum, and a very active member of the environmental community!
Rand Manasse
Board Member
Rand Manasse is the Chief Operating Officer at Sunrise Solar Solutions and a managing partner at Green Lane Partners, a private equity firm focused on Clean Tech companies. He serves on the board of the Sustainability Advisory Board of New Castle, NY, and is active in his local community, holding or having held board memberships with many non-profit organizations. Rand also volunteers his spare time mentoring startup firms in the clean tech arena. He has an MBA in Finance from NYU and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire. Through his involvement with Sunrise Solar Solutions, Rand has helped develop clean energy solutions for residential and commercial facilities in the Hudson Valley, creating over 600 systems producing over 31 GWh of non-polluting energy.
Nortrud Spero
Board Member
Nortrud Spero currently works as a real estate broker focusing on historically preserved homes. She is on the Board of Untermeyer Gardens.
Steven Levy
Co-Vice President
Steven Levy is the Chair, Managing Director, Sprague Energy, leading Sprague’s clean fuels product and business development activities. Mr. Levy’s experience includes forming partnerships with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States Department of Energy, and environmental organizations. At the federal, state and local level, Mr. Levy works closely with legislators, policy makers, environmentalists, equipment manufacturers, aftermarket manufacturers, and, most critically, the end-user to introduce and further the use of clean products and technologies, and plays a very active role with multiple environmental organizations, including the National Biodiesel Board and Clean Cities, and is actively engaged in the air quality agenda for the Federated Conservationists of Westchester County (FCWC)
Jan Blaire
Board Member
Jan Blaire lives in Irvington and is involved in quite a few different Boards. A select few are League of Conservation Voters, Hudson River Watershed Alliance, Lyndhurst NTHP, Native Plant Center, Westchester County Soil and Water, Saw Mill River Basin Advisory Committee, Ag & Farmland Protection Board, and Resource, Conservation & Development Council.
Joan Kuhn
Board Member
Joan Kuhn is the Program Coordinator at the Chappaqua Library where she initiates, plans and helps present programs.
Previously, Joan was a biology teacher in Brooklyn and volunteered at the Bronx Zoo teaching animal conservation to students. She is excited to bring to FCWC her skills in creating programs, forums and events that will further our organization's mission.
Larry O'Connell
Board Member
Larry is an instructor of Business and Finance at a number of colleges and universities. He lives in Ossining and is a Member of Environmental Consortium of Colleges and Universities.