Charlie is currently Associate Vice President for State Relations and Special Assistant to the Vice Provost for Research at Cornell University. Previously he held positions with the New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee, analyzing and negotiating state budgets and significant legislation in the areas of energy and utilities, banking and consumer protection, state employee pensions and health insurance, agriculture, low-level nuclear waste disposal, and the New York State Lottery. He is on the Board of the NYS Environmental Finance Corp. Charlie holds a B.A. in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He is currently serving as MHLC Chair and also chairs the Finance committee. Charlie moved to Voorheesville for the open space, the views of the Helderbergs, and so he can commute to Albany on his bicycle.

Bill is an attorney who retired from the Office of General Counsel at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation after over thirty years of service. The focus of his work was environmental law and policy relevant to the agency’s plethora of natural resource and environmental quality initiatives. In addition, he has long been active in land protection efforts and is a trail steward for The Nature Conservancy at the Hannacroix and Christman Preserves. Bill’s passion for preserving natural places stems from spending time during his childhood and adult years enjoying the mountains and waters of the Champlain Valley and the Green Mountains, as well as the magnificent landscapes of New York State. Bill received a B.A. from St. Lawrence University and a J.D. from Syracuse University, E.I. White College of Law. He serves as Board Secretary and also chairs the Land Stewardship Committee.

Mike is a CPA and an experienced financial executive with extensive operational, logistics, and sales experience in the manufacturing, printing services, construction, and industrial distribution industries. He is currently the CFO of a company with locations in several northeastern states that focuses on industrial parts distribution, electro mechanical repair, steel fabrication, and industrial rubber sales and service. Mike graduated from the University of Vermont with a B.A. in Business Administration, then moved to the Albany area to begin his career, which has spanned 40 years. 

Growing up in rural northern Vermont, Mike experienced everything that is associated with that lifestyle; fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, farming, gardening, canoeing, swimming, logging, cutting firewood, and hiking around the hills. Living in an area without neighbors, he learned respect for the land and to love the solitude of the forest.

Mike and his wife Sheila have three adult children and three grandchildren, all of whom live in the Capital District. Mike and Sheila are members of Saint Thomas the Apostle Church in Delmar. When his children were young, Mike volunteered with community youth and coaching programs. He also served on the Board of St. Anne’s Institute for 18 years, including terms as President, Vice President, and Treasurer. 

Originally from Ohio, Margaret settled in the South End of Albany in the late 1970’s. Inspired by others who were fixing up nearby buildings, she purchased a small row house and spent years rehabbing it on a very tight budget. It involved lots of scrounging for materials, bartering for help, and the occasional dumpster dive.

Gardening was a passion since childhood, and in the mid 1980’s she earned a degree in Ornamental Horticulture from SUNY, with a focus on perennial flowers. She worked in propagation, design, and maintenance around the Capital District and Berkshires. She also volunteered with Cornell Cooperative Extension as a Master Gardener and was a guest lecturer for Garden Shows and Clubs.

That earlier experience of struggle to own and maintain a home later inspired her to work with Habitat for Humanity and to develop the Albany ReStore.  It was a deeply satisfying project that kept tons of materials out of landfills and made them available to people at a minimal cost.

Joel is Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education at Albany Medical College. He has a B.S. in Chemistry from Trinity College (Hartford, CT) and an MD from University of Massachusetts. Joel is Board-certified in Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine. He is active in numerous professional organizations, serves on hospital/college committees, has held editorial positions (reviewing for medical journals), serves as an oral examiner for the American Board of Emergency Medicine, and has received several awards as Attending/Physician of the year. Joel has advocated for many years for preserving land, limiting housing and industrial development, and protecting our natural resources. He seeks to apply his expertise in administration to his work on the MHLC Board. Joel serves as chair of the Nominating Committee.

Barb Casey retired from Skidmore College in September 2023 with a 30-year record of accomplishment in higher education development.  She most recently was the Director of Donor Engagement and Stewardship at Skidmore College, where she led the team that demonstrated donor impact and cultivated a college-wide appreciation for the power of philanthropy. She now volunteers to benefit causes she cares about in her community. She is passionate about initiatives that support land conservation and education, and that help local residents and the environment in which they live. Barb joined the board of the Mohawk-Hudson Land Conservancy in April 2024 and is chair of the development committee.  She  joined the SUNY Schenectady Foundation Board in September 2025 and serves on the college's Food for Thought Gala steering committee, most recently as co-chair. Other volunteer positions include the Alplaus Residents Association board,  the Skidmore College Retirees Initiative Planning Group, and the Saratoga Springs Rotary Scholarship Foundation committee. Barb is a magna cum laude graduate of Hartwick College, where she majored in both Political Science and English. When she’s not volunteering, you can find her out hiking local nature trails, not missing a day since December 2021.  She and husband Charlie, a trail steward at the Alplaus Kill Preserve, have two adult children: Sarah (married in October 2025) and Andy (who will be married in May 2026).  Barb and Charlie have lived in Alplaus since 1991.

Leo received a B.A. in Biology from Tufts University and received his Ph.D. from the department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University. He spent three years as postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas, Austin. In 1989 he joined the faculty of Union College and served there for 36 years until his retirement in 2025. His main scientific interest is in animal communication. He has studied visual communication in reptiles, exploring the relationship between their perception of color and motion and the physical properties of their communication signals. He also studied electrical signaling and perception in South American weakly electric fish. Much of his work was carried out in the field, and his studies have taken place in South America (Venezuela), Central America (Panama), and the Caribbean (Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Cuba). At Union, he taught courses in human and animal physiology, animal behavior, animal communication, vision, and introductory biology. He has also led field courses in Australia and Panama. He served as the chair of Department of Biology for ten years, and as a faculty trustee for the college for three years. His house in Niskayuna borders a nature preserve and he has a long-standing passion for the preservation and exploration of natural habitats.

Andrew grew up hiking across New England, exploring the outdoors through the Bowdoin Outing Club, and later founding an outdoor adventure group for the LGBTQ+ community—experiences that shaped his belief that nature has the power to connect both individuals and communities. His professional career has spanned leadership roles including Chief Marketing Officer of Mint Mobile, CMO of Walmart’s direct-to-consumer division and its Allswell Home brand, and founder of Spark Growth, a digital agency focused on purposeful growth.

Now living in Slingerlands, Andrew and his husband spend much of their free time exploring Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy preserves with their two children—walking trails, observing wildlife, and watching the seasons change across the region’s conserved lands. Whether close to home or across the Capital Region, these protected spaces are a central part of their family life.

Andrew is honored to serve on the MHLC board and support its mission to conserve and steward the lands and waters of the Mohawk and Hudson Valleys, ensuring that people of all ages and backgrounds can connect with nature, learn about local ecosystems, and build a lasting sense of community through the outdoors.

Everett currently serves as Legislative Director for Brown & Weinraub where he tracks and updates clients on all NYS Legislation. He previously worked in the NYS Assembly assisting in the passage of seminal legislation like New York's Green Amendment, the Environmental Bond Act, and the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Having grown up in Voorheesville, he joins MHLC with deep appreciation for the preservation of open space and key habitats that Mohawk Hudson has been doing for decades. Everett holds a B.A. in Political Science from Saint Rose and an M.P.A concentrating in Environmental Policy from Rockefeller College at SUNY Albany.

Betsy Henry is a Principal Scientist at Anchor QEA, Inc. where she works on assessment, remediation, and restoration of contaminated sites. She also helped found Schenectady Greenmarket in 2008 and currently leads ReTree Schenectady, a not-for-profit organization that has facilitated the planting of over 3,000 trees in Schenectady since 1990. Betsy has been a life-long naturalist. After decades of working on contaminated sites, she considers natural land preservation to be of ultimate importance for the planet. Restored sites, while essential for improving the health of local human and ecological communities, will never fully replace the biodiversity and ecological functions of natural areas. Betsy holds a BS in Agronomy from Colorado State University and a PhD in Engineering Science from Harvard University.

Heather is an environmental attorney with significant experience in environmental policy, litigation, and nonprofit governance and management. As General Counsel for the Charles River Watershed Association, Heather oversees the organization’s legal advocacy around clean water and climate resilience, as well as all aspects of the organization's internal operations. Heather's legal career includes roles at the Conservation Law Foundation, Southern Environmental Law Center, and Defenders of Wildlife. Heather received her undergraduate degree in political science from Clemson University and law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Heather served on several town boards in Massachusetts, and has dedicated volunteer time with animal rescue organizations. Originally from the Hudson Valley, Heather grew up spending time outdoors in the 'Gunks, which drives her lifelong commitment to conservation and environmental protection.

Dave’s law career spanned 35 years and focused primarily on the fields of environmental litigation (with the New York Attorney General’s Office) and energy law (with NYSERDA). He was also a Clinical Adjunct Professor at Albany Law School for 22 years. Retired from full-time law since 2012, Dave now engages part-time in estate planning, drafting wills, powers of attorney, and health care proxies, on both a pro bono basis for low-income clients, through The Legal Project, and on a fee basis for others.  He holds a B.A. from Harpur College at SUNY Binghamton and a J.D. from SUNY Buffalo School of Law.
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Dave has been on the boards of Friends of Five Rivers (chairing the Land Protection Committee), the Empire Justice Center (which has a mission to make the law work for all New Yorkers, especially those who most need its protection), the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany (later serving as Vice President and then President of the congregation), and the St. Lawrence District of Unitarian Universalist Association (where he served as Board President for two years). Dave is an ordained interfaith/interspiritual minister, officiating at life event ceremonies and also serving as a volunteer chaplain at Albany Medical Center. Additionally, he is a hospice volunteer and spiritual director.  
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Dave has two grown children and four grandsons. He enjoys cycling, paddling, traveling, reading, and music.  Dave is especially excited about paddling his new 19 lb. Hornbeck canoe, which enables him to explore remote lakes and ponds in the Adirondacks.

Deborah is an attorney retired from the New York State Comptroller’s office where she worked as Assistant Comptroller for Diversity Management. She spent many years as the Director of Hearing Administration for the New York State and Local Retirement System. She moved to the Comptroller’s office after working in a general practice Albany law firm and after employment with the New York State Legislature.

Deborah graduated from Albany Law School and raised her children here. She was involved with many local nonprofits, including the Appalachian Mountain Club and was President of the board of the Refugee and Immigrant Support Services of Emmaus (RISSE).

She enjoys hiking, biking, travel, and playing tennis.