Welcome to the Work
Photo courtesy Julie Noble, Kingston NY
The Local Champions program brings together a cohort of ten individuals who are leading their municipality’s work on NY State’s Climate Smart Communities program (CSC).
In reviewing applications, we look for municipalities that are fairly new to the CSC program and could most benefit from the opportunity we’ve designed. Each municipality puts forward their CSC Task Force Coordinator—the “local champion.” Elected officials and other stakeholders from each municipality also participate in an assessment process with our partners at Cornell Cooperative Extensions.
We expect our Local Champions to devote 10 hours/week on the program. Partners for Climate Action is committed to supporting equity in climate change work. If money is a barrier to the participation of selected applicants in this program, they are invited to apply for an $8000 fellowship.
Programming
We’ve organized our work together into three modules. Each module has specific deliverables that build on each other sequentially. Your ultimate goal is to develop your municipality’s climate roadmap. Our program helps you get up and running with CSC actions, many of which also garner points for the Clean Energy Communities program.
Module 1
Local Champions orientation will take place in early August 2022.
For Module 1, we work with the Climate Resilience Partnership, a collaboration between the Hudson River Estuary Program and Cornell Cooperative Extensions. Staff from Cornell Cooperative Extensions of Dutchess, Ulster and Columbia-Greene are assigned to Local Champions from their counties. Our partners at CCE will also give an introduction to the Certification Assessment process, the focus of Module 1. A Certification Assessment is a series of working sessions where the Local Champion, stakeholder municipal officials and staff work together to do a review of which actions the town has completed and which potential actions could be considered on your quest for bronze certification.
Stakeholder groups should meet independently with their CCE point person at least once before August 19th.
Then we return after Labor day, with Module 1 running through December 2022.
CCE partnership and stakeholder groups continue to develop their Certification Assessments, meeting independently every two weeks.
Certification Assessment report will be finalized and delivered by end of February if not earlier.
Additional Module 1 programming:
Local Champions co-director, Vanessa Bertozzi, will present Civics 101 (on Zoom).
Case study with a bronze-certified town (on Zoom).
Presentation on grants with a guest speaker (on Zoom).
Twice a month cohort check-ins for questions and discussion (on Zoom).
Quarterly mixer with the larger Partners for Climate Action network (in person).
Cohort dinner (in person)
Cohort fieldtrip (in person)
Module 2
Module 3
Tighe & Bond, an engineering and planning firm, provides two 1.5 hour consultations with each Local Champion and their municipal partners. These sessions provide expert feedback on which potential projects to pursue for CSC points.
During our pilot, we compiled useful worksheets and resources, and we recorded our sessions for anyone to watch.
Carolyn Klocker
Environment & Energy Program Leader at Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County
Carolyn Klocker is the Environment & Energy Program Leader with CCE Dutchess County, in Millbrook, NY, where she leads climate smart communities programming for the Hudson Valley.
Prior to her work at CCEDC, Carolyn was the NY Watershed Manager for the Housatonic Valley Association. She was a researcher and environmental educator at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. She holds an M.S. in Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Science from University of Maryland.
Kelsey West
Program Coordinator for the Climate Change and the Environment program area at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia and Greene Counties
Kelsey West works with Columbia and Greene Counties Local Champions on their Certification Assessments.
Kelsey West assists local communities in building resilience to climate change and coordinates woodland stewardship of the Siuslaw Model Forest. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Biology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. As a nearly lifelong resident of the Hudson Valley, Kelsey is all too aware of the climate hazards that locals face and is immensely proud to be working with communities to address those challenges. Kelsey spends her free time recreating outdoors, especially in and near the Hudson River, which originally piqued her interest in the natural sciences.
Michelle Gluck
Environmental and Energy Resource Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County
Michelle works with Dutchess County Local Champions on their Certification Assessments.
Michelle Gluck holds a M.S. in Urban Environmental Systems Management from Pratt Institute’s Graduate Program in Sustainable Planning and Design (PSPD) and a B.S in Environmental Policy, Planning and Law from SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry.
In her capacity at CCEDC, Michelle is dedicated to ensuring that valuable educational resources reach target audiences to bolster environmental improvements locally and regionally. Her areas of focus include supporting municipalities with the NYS CSC Program, providing technical assistance to local watershed groups, researching organics recycling potential, and coordinating a countywide single-use plastics pollution prevention Campaign (Dutchess S.U.P.P.P.).
Brent Gotsch
CFM, Resource Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County
Brent works with Ulster County Local Champions on their Certification Assessments.
Brent Gotsch, CFM, is a Resource Educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County, which is a partner agency in the Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program (AWSMP) along with the Ulster County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection. Since 2011 he has provided educational services and delivered programming in the Ashokan Watershed (a sub-basin of the greater NYC Watershed) for individuals and municipal officials on a diverse array of flood mitigation and management topics. Brent and his colleagues have spearheaded the AWSMP Flood Hazard Mitigation Working Group, and he has been assisting Climate Smart Communities in Ulster County complete Climate Smart Resiliency Planning Tools and assessments. He is also serves on the board of directors for the New York State Floodplain and Stormwater Managers Association. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Public Administration from Binghamton University, State University of New York and is a Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM).
Melinda Herzog
Healthy Communities Program Leader at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County
Melinda works with Ulster County Local Champions on their Certification Assessments.
Melinda Herzog she oversees Nutrition, Parenting and Health and Community Development programs. She is the current Coordinator of the Healthy Ulster Council, and past Coordinator of Live Well Kingston, and Creating Healthy Places to Live, Work & Play. She has an M.S. in Biology and Education from the University at Albany, and a B.S. in Natural Resources from Cornell University. She is the mother of two grown sons and lives with her husband in Saugerties, NY.
Brandee Nelson
Senior Project Manager at Tighe & Bond
Brandee collaborates on Module 3, providing 1:1 technical assistance.
Brandee works with a team built to address clients’ specific needs while engineering solutions for a wide array of projects and design challenges ranging from complex site development to better ADA access to improved waterfront resiliency. As a civil engineer, Brandee’s design practice is varied to include designing new recreational facilities, commercial developments, as well as municipal infrastructure such as roadways, drainage systems, and sidewalks. Brandee has worked on civil and environmental engineering projects for over 19 years and her work has ranged from helping small communities plan, fund, permit, and construct infrastructure improvements such as parks, municipal buildings, and infrastructure.
Additional Elements
Storytelling
Video: We are working with local filmmaker Sarah Carlson and independent editor Shane Hofeldt to document the pilot, so that we can show future applicants what to expect when they apply for the program and inspire them with the work Local Champions do. We appreciate the participation of the Local Champions in being filmed.
Website hosting: We’ve learned from successful Climate Smart Communities throughout the State that dedicated websites for local climate action are key to maintaining community engagement, yet we know that municipal budgets are tight. Local Champions will offer one year of free web hosting and domain registration ($165) to all cohort member communities with the agreement that the municipal government will continue to maintain stand-alone websites and domains in the future.
Continuing Support
Upon completion of the pilot program, we will cover the cost of a year-1 subscription to ICLEI, which is a highly regarded, subscription-based service that provides technical and planning support to municipalities working on climate change.
Sarah Carlson
Director of Photography
Sarah will be shooting a short film about the pilot and the work that participants and their towns accomplish during the six month program.
Sarah has been in the industry since 1998. She received her BA in English, BS in Radio-TV-Film at the University of Texas at Austin and an MFA in Film Directing from Northwestern University. Over the course of her career, she has worked in primary creative roles on independent docs, network television, political advertising, and commercials, and has continually created content for nonprofit and educational organizations. In addition to her professional portfolio, she has produced her own independent doc, Food Deserts in a Land of Plenty, as well as various pieces of narrative work written and directed by her. Sarah frequently shoots, edits, and produces work. Her award winning work as an editor has been shown in multiple national and international film festivals and has aired on PBS.
Shane Hofeldt
Digital Editor
Shane will be editing a short film about the pilot and the work that participants and their towns accomplish during the six month program.
Shane Hofeldt is a freelance editor and filmmaker working in non-fiction. He works in various forms including documentary features and shorts, podcasts, and media for non-profits. His most recent feature editing credit is for the Netflix film Crip Camp, which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Other feature film credits include This Changes Everything, directed by Avi Lewis based on the book by Naomi Klein and One Cut, One Life. Shane is currently working on a film documenting the impacts of climate change on indigenous communities in the Andes Mountains of Peru. He is a founding board member of The Baobab Home, a non-profit primary school and children’s home located on an organic farm in Tanzania.
Selection Committee
Vanessa Bertozzi and Paige Ruane, the team behind Local Champions, will lead the Selection Committee. (See their bios on our About page.)
Peter Iwanowicz
Executive Director of Environmental Advocates New York
Peter M. Iwanowicz has nearly 30 years of environmental and public health advocacy experience. He’s held several positions in state government in the environmental space—including commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation— and directed a nationwide campaign to defend the Clean Air Act for the American Lung Association. He is currently the Executive Director of Environmental Advocates NY, a position he has held since late 2013. Peter was one of the leaders that developed and launched the Climate Smart Communities program back in 2009.
He lives in the Albany, NY area with his wife and two college-age children.
Alanah Keddell-Tuckey
Public Outreach Specialist for DEC’s Office of Environmental Justice
In her position, Alanah focuses on crafting materials and messaging to improve communications between EJ communities and the agency, as well as analyzing policies related to climate justice, adaptation, and social resiliency. In addition to her work for the Office of Environmental Justice, Alanah has served as the Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs and worked on diversity, inclusion, education and public outreach with the Office of Communication Services.
Alanah came to state service after several years working as a Government Relations Associate with the Adirondack Council, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the Adirondack Park. Prior to this, she served as the Government Affairs Coordinator for the Empire State Pride Agenda.
Alanah holds a Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from SUNY Binghamton with a minor in Sociology. She is married with four children aged 5 to 16. In her limited free time, she enjoys hiking, nature walks with her children and kayaking.
Kale Roberts
Senior Program Officer at ICLEI
Kale joined the ICLEI USA team in 2016 to provide technical assistance to ICLEI members on greenhouse gas emission inventories, sustainability and climate action planning, and to develop climate vulnerability assessments. Since 2018, he has worked as network coordinator and communications lead while serving as a U.S. local government liaison to the United Nations.
Before joining ICLEI USA, Kale worked with the United Nations Development Programme’s Climate Change Adaptation Team from the Bangkok Regional Hub.
Bob Dandrew
Co-founder of Partners for Climate Action Hudson Valley
Bob is one of the founders of Partners for Climate Action. His work with The New World Foundation began by launching the Local Economies Project, which focuses on the intersection of economics, environmentalism and culture with an eye toward locally owned business, resilient agriculture, and democratic participation in decision making.
Before joining New World, Bob was executive director of the NoVo Foundation. Prior to that, Bob was Director of the Rudolf Steiner Foundation’s East Coast Office.
Bob serves as volunteer advisor to numerous nonprofit organizations, and he is currently vice president of the Lifebridge Foundation.