2010 Board of Governors

Mission Statement | Bylaws | Long Range Plan | Board of Governors

OFFICERS

CHAIR

Melissa Toni
Federal Highway Administration

1ST VICE CHAIR

Frances Reese Phone: (585) 385-7417
Joseph C. Lu Engineering and Land Surveying, PC

2ND VICE-CHAIR

Michael Fishman
GHD, Inc.

TREASURER

Stephanie Wojtowicz
New York State Department of State, Division of Coastal Resources

SECRETARY

Kevin Bliss
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

BOARD MEMBERS AT LARGE

Kathleen M. Bennett
Bond, Schoeneck and King, PLLC

Kevin M. Bernstein
Bond, Schoeneck, and King LLP

Charlotte Brett
Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson, Inc.

Johanna Duffy
Barton & Loguidice, P.C.

Edward Frantz
NYS Department of Transportation

Peter B. Gibbs
Regional Biologist

Joseph McMullen
Terrestrial Environmental Specialists, Inc

Anne Secord
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Melissa Toni
Malcolm Pirnie, Inc.

Kurt Weiskotten
NYS Thruway Authority/Canal Corporation

Stephanie Wojtowicz
NYS Department of State, Division of Coastal Resources

ADMIN. ASSISTANT
Elizabeth A. Seme, Inc.
Administrative Assistant

---

BOARD BIOGRAPHIES

Bernstein, Kevin M.

Kevin M. Bernstein is a partner with Bond, Schoeneck & King, based in Syracuse. Mr. Bernstein concentrates his practice in matters relating to wetlands permitting and enforcement,  mining permitting, environmental impact review (SEQRA), zoning and land use matters, energy projects (including power generation facilities under Article X of the Public Service Law), landfill permitting,  petroleum contamination, wastewater treatment, hazardous substance and petroleum storage tanks, toxic tort litigation, defending criminal investigations, and the environmental aspects of business transactions, including environmental due diligence.
Mr. Bernstein is a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section, where he serves as Co-Chair of the Energy Committee.  He is also a member of the Coastal and Wetlands Resources Committees, the Section’s Hazardous Site Remediation and  Solid Waste.  He is also a member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, a member of the Environmental Law Committee of the Onondaga County Bar Association, and is a member of the District of Columbia and Maine Bar Associations. He is admitted to practice in New York, Maine and the District of Columbia.
Mr. Bernstein is also Vice-Chair of the New York State Wetlands Forum, a member of the New York Association for Solid Waste Management, the New York Construction Materials Association, the Air and Waste Management Association, the New York Water Environment Federation and the Independent Power Producers of New York. 

Bliss , Kevin R.

Kevin R. Bliss is a Senior Environmental Analyst with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. He functions as project manager in the review of permit applications for all Department jurisdictions, perhaps most frequently including those related to water and wetland impacts. Kevin is also an adjunct instructor at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry where he teaches Wetland Practicum, an evening graduate course related to wetland ecology and management. Past employment included private consulting with an environmental and civil engineering firm as well as environmental planning within local government. Kevin is a charter Board member of the Great Swamp Conservancy, a non-profit environmental education nature center. Kevin is a Ph. D. candidate studying water and wetland ecosystems at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry where he received his M.S. in Environmental Science, concentrating in Water Resources Management. Kevin's undergraduate degrees are in Hydrology, and in Fisheries and Wildlife Technology. Kevin's goals for the NYS Wetlands Forum are to expand student membership, update the web site, and continue to improve communication on and understanding of wetland issues pertinent to New York State.

Brett, Charlotte

Charlotte Brett has worked with Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson, Inc. as a consulting environmental planner since 2001. She has experience conducting wetland delineations, avoidance, minimization, and mitigation plans, and permitting for various public and private projects in the Upper Great Plains. She holds an MPS degree in Environmental and Community Land Planning from SUNY-ESF. Prior to her consulting experience, Charlotte worked with the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Valley City Wetland Management District on wetland education and assessment.

Duffy, Johanna

Johanna is a Project Environmental Scientist with Barton & Loguidice, P.C., a multi-discipline engineering firm headquartered in Syracuse, New York.  In addition to her 5+ years of experience in the consulting world, Johanna has also held positions as a Wetland Biology Technician with the Environmental Division at the Fort Drum military installation on and as a Research Associate, studying black bear population dynamics, with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CTDEP).  Johanna’s current duties encompass a variety of environmentally related activities including SEQRA and NEPA compliance, wetland assessments and delineations, hazard mitigation planning, ecological surveys, hazardous waste and contaminated materials screenings, and environmental permitting.  Johanna has a B.T. in Wildlife Management from the State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill (SUNY Cobleskill) and recently earned a M.P.S degree in Wetland and Water Resources from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF).  Through her service on the NYSWF Board, Johanna hopes to help promote the Forum as a platform for multiple generations of wetland and water resource professionals to interact and openly exchange ideas. 

Fishman , Michael S.

Michael Fishman is a certified Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS) and a Certified Wildlife Biologist (CWB) in charge of the Environmental Science sector of Stearns & Wheler, LLC, Environmental Engineers & Scientists, in Cazenovia, NY. Michael has 22 years of professional experience in the field of natural resources, including 17 years of wetlands-oriented work. He has worked on sites up to 25,000 acres in size in 25 states, and has worked in academia, state regulatory sector (NYSDEC), the non-profit sector, and in private consulting. His specialties include wetlands habitat restoration, creation, and management, environmental impact assessment, and rare, threatened & endangered species. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources (concentrations in wildlife and aquatic sciences) from Cornell University, and is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Conservation Biology at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, studying habitat use of the endangered Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis) in the Great Lakes Plain Ecoregion of New York State.

Frantz, Edward

Ed Frantz is the Adirondack Park and Forest Preserve Manager for NYSDOT.  He has worked for NYSDOT for the past 15 years including a position as a Regional Environmental Manager, prior to that Mr. Frantz worked 6 years for the NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation as a Wetlands Specialist.  Ed is a Graduate of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse, and SUNY Morrisville  He currently serves on the board for the NYS Wetlands Forum, former Chairman of the NYS Flora Association, is a member of the Abstract Review Team for the International Conference on Ecology and Transportation and is a former board member for the NYS Invasive Plant Council. 

McMullen, Joseph

Joseph M. McMullen is a Principal and one of the founders of the environmental consulting firm of Terrestrial Environmental Specialists, Inc.  Mr. McMullen holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in biology with a concentration in botany.  He is certified as a Professional Wetland Scientist by the Society of Wetland Scientists.  He has over 36 years’ experience in environmental consulting, with over 25 years active experience in wetland study.  His specific expertise in wetlands studies includes: aerial photograph interpretation; wetland delineations; wetland vegetation identification; state and federal permitting; wetland creation planning; wetland construction monitoring; post-construction monitoring of created and restored wetlands; and expert testimony.  Mr. McMullen has been involved in hundreds of wetland studies in New York, and has made numerous presentations on various aspects of wetland permitting and wetland delineation and descriptions.  He also specializes in habitat restoration, and has performed numerous vegetation surveys, including endangered and threatened plant surveys, vegetation/habitat cover mapping, and descriptions of plant communities.

Reese, Frances

Fran is a Senior Environmental Scientist/Planner with Lu Engineers, a civil and environmental engineering consulting firm in Rochester, New York. She holds a B.S. degree in Zoology and M.S. degrees in Water Resources Management and Soil Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Fran taught undergraduate and graduate classes in watershed management, soil science and geography in the Earth Sciences Department at SUNY-Brockport for over ten years. She has over 20 years’ experience in wetland delineation, mitigation, monitoring and permitting. She currently manages the wetland and natural resources business sector for Lu Engineers, providing expertise in environmental compliance, SEQRA and NEPA assessment, natural resource planning and assessment. She organized the Hydric Soils Workshop for the NYS Wetland Forum in 1999, and hopes to organize additional technical workshops in the future.

Secord, Anne

Anne has been serving as the Region 5 Branch Chief for Federal Activities, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since May of 1999. Previously she was a biologist for the USFWS and has managed the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. Anne has earned a M.S. in Wildlife Biology from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA and a B.S., Wildlife Biology from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. She has studied and published numerous articles on the effects of PCB contamination along the Hudson River.

Toni , Melissa

Melissa is an Environmental Protection Specialist for the Federal Highway Administration, in Albany, NY. She is responsible for ensuring that the projects that FHWA funds are designed and constructed in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. Her background is mostly related to wetland policy and includes positions with a private environmental engineering firm, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Army National Guard, and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.  Through her prior work experience, she has managed a state-level wetland regulatory program, managed the CT Army National Guard’s environmental program, worked as a federal wetland regulator, and was a consultant for private infrastructure projects. Melissa’s education is from the University of Connecticut, and SUNY Cobleskill. She is also active in local politics and serves as the Chairman of the Town of Nassau’s Planning Board. She is a Professional Wetland Scientist, certified by the Society of Wetland Scientists.

Ursitti, Virginia L.

Virginia is the Senior Environmental Scientist at Watts Architecture and Engineering, PC in Buffalo, and has been in the engineering consultant business for over 15 years. Virginia hopes to contribute to improvements in communication among those who are affected by wetlands from various points of view. Landowners, environmentalists, natural resource managers, and planners should have a common ground on which to air views and resolve conflicts, and the Forum is the platform for that purpose. Currently, her professional duties include two main areas: 1) Conducting environmental assessments for development projects in compliance with SEQRA and NEPA, evaluating all potential social, economic, and environmental impacts; and 2) Performing wetland assessments, delineations, and design of wetland mitigation projects. She has also worked in state and local environmental protection and planning agencies. Virginia earned a BA in Anthropology and Environmental Studies from SUNY Geneseo and has completed graduate work in environmental policy at the University at Buffalo. She has been nationally certified as a Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP) since 1995.

Wojtowicz, Stephanie

Ms. Wojtowicz is a Coastal Resource Specialist with the New York State Department of State, Division of Coastal Resources.  Working in the Watershed Management Unit, she assists communities with the preparation and implementation of watershed plans and water quality improvement projects.  Prior to joining the New York State Department of State, Ms. Wojtowicz was employed by Ducks Unlimited, Inc. where she worked with the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service on the Wetlands Reserve Program as a wetland restoration biologist.  Ms. Wojtowicz earned two baccalaureate degrees from Clarkson University in Environmental Science and Policy,  and Engineering and Management.  She also holds a Master of Science degree from Antioch New England University in Applied Land Ethics.  She hopes to bring her experience in land use and watershed planning to promote effective protection and restoration of New York’s vital wetlands.