Elizabeth Ryan

Owner/Operator of Breezy Hill Orchard

Elizabeth Ryan studied cider making in England and has a degree in Pomology from Cornell University. She bought Breezy Hill Orchard in Dutchess County in 1984 and has since expanded to operate two more orchards, including Stone Ridge Orchard in Ulster County. She is one of the founding GrowNYC Greenmarket farmers, received the Cornucopia award from Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture and was a Smithsonian Fellow.

Andy Bicking

Director of Public Policy and Special Projects at Scenic Hudson

Andy Bicking oversees the Scenic Hudson’s engagement with local, state and federal government officials, and directs grass-roots and legislative lobbying campaigns. He is the recipient of the Land Trust Alliance’s national Ambassadors Award for advocacy, and has successfully advocated for passage of legislation critical to the Hudson Valley’s way of life, including the Community Preservation Act, Petroleum Bearing Vessel Avoidance Zone Act, New York’s Bottle Redemption Law, and the federal Farm Bill and Highlands Conservation Act.

Andy advises multiple state and federal coalitions working to achieve conservation outcomes and fight climate change, and is a member of the New York State’s Hudson River Estuary Program Management Advisory Committee and Hudson River Valley Greenway Advisory Committee. He previously served as Scenic Hudson’s Director of Education and Volunteers, where he forged relationships with school districts and community groups, oversaw volunteer stewardship projects in Scenic Hudson’s parks, and created and directed the award-winning Great River Sweep litter clean up, at the time the largest volunteer litter cleanup of a waterway in New York State. He lives in the mid-Hudson Valley with his wife and two children.

Michael Sweeton

Town Supervisor of Warwick NY

Michael Sweeton has been involved in local government since the mid 1990s. He's been a leader in Warwick's innovative transfer tax, which has successfully preserved local farmlands in his Orange County town. He's a proponent of Smart Growth principles and this has successfully shaped the character of Warwick.