Staff and Consultants
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Vivian Beatrice
Vivian Beatrice, Webmaster for Sustainable Hudson Valley. Graduated from Antioch College as an independent major in Social Ecology. Vivian has been active in the founding of many local environmental groups: Frack Free Catskills, Sustainable Saugerties, Indivisible Saugerties, Coalition against Pilgrim Pipelines and Climate Smart Saugerties.
Vivian is self-taught in html, web design and the graphic arts. She is putting her artistic skills and social media skills to use by spreading the word and working to save our ‘common home’ on earth.
Melissa Everett, Ph.D.
Melissa Everett, Ph.D., Executive Director is an outreach and communications strategist working at the intersection of climate action, green industry and community development. Since 2004, she has helped to build a movement of local innovators who are reducing their communities’ carbon footprints and building the market for clean energy industries. Her accomplishments with SHV include convening eight influential regional summits and conferences and bringing the Solarize model for community education and solar group purchasing to the Hudson Valley on a three-year funding award from NYSERDA. Trained in counseling and group facilitation through the Concord Institute in Massachusetts, Melissa has taught innovative courses in leadership and community service at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and in sustainability at SUNY Dutchess. She received her Ph.D. in 2006 from the International, Off-Campus Program of Erasmus University’s Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Development in the Netherlands, a pioneering program for mid-career professionals worldwide. Her thesis research focuses on the dynamics of community turnarounds and the role of social networks. She was one of the original 1,000 prominent citizens trained by The Climate Project. The author of three books and many articles, Melissa has given lectures and workshops on three continents. Her Making a Living While Making a Difference was honored with the Bronze medal for Best Book in Foreword Magazine’s annual rankings. She was named one of nine “People to Watch in 2012” by Hudson Valley Magazine.
Julia Farawell
Julia Farawell, Administrative Assistant and Communications Coordinator, graduated in 2018 from SUNY New Paltz with a B.A. in English Literature and Political Science. As a resident of the Hudson Valley for several years, she has dedicated her time to local nonprofit organizations and campaigns centered around issues of sustainability, consumer advocacy, civic engagement, and voter mobility. Julia served on the Board of Directors for the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) from 2017-2018, after having volunteered with the organization in years prior. Additionally, she has contributed to the outreach and communications efforts of local political campaigns, drawn most to those explicitly dedicated to environmental justice.
Scott Lang
Scott Lang, Accountant is a Certified Public Accountant with Kimball and O’Brien in Kingston who has managed SHV’s finances for six years. He lives in Saugerties with his wife and three children, and finds time to act in community theatre.
Seth Leitman
Seth Leitman (“The Green Living Guy”) is a leading online media presence for green living and electric transportation. PR Newswire considered his website the #2 worldwide for Green Living. https://greenlivingguy.com
Seth’s experience in electric vehicle programs is extensive and relevant. He worked for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) on marketing and managing alternative-fueled vehicle (AFV) and electric vehicle (EV) programs throughout the State of New York. At NYSERDA, Seth was the Project Manager for the Clean Fuel Bus Program that funded over $100 million to the incremental cost of alternative fueled vehicle buses. Seth also worked on the Green Building Tax Credit, green buildings and indoor air quality in schools (how mold and poorly managed schools affect children and asthma rates, an environmental justice issue). This demonstration program led to the EPA Green Schools program of which one of the schools reported is a top green school today.
In 2000, Seth worked for the New York Power Authority (NYPA) where he created the NYPA/TH!NK Clean Commute Program which leased 100 electric vehicles in the New York Metropolitan Area in October 2001. This program became one of the largest Public / Private partnerships of it kind. More importantly, it allowed for the expansion of the demand for electric transportation in the Northeast.
In addition, Leitman managed, developed and worked directly on the construction and implementation of 100 public charging station points in Five New York Counties (Suffolk, Nassau, Queens, Westchester, Putnam) in 2001. These charging ports are now used in the 100 charging station program that was recently implemented with the New York Power Authority. In addition, this included the installation of 100 home chargers in those 5 Counties.
Hugo Jule-Quintanilla
Hugo Jule–Quinntanilla is an experienced promoter of energy savings with a special focus on the Hudson Valley. He has an B.S. in mechanical engineering with an Associate’s degree in automotive engineering, with additional certificates in energy management and solar technology. After beginning his career in the automotive arena, he has worked for nearly a decade in sustainability and energy savings, including supervising nearly 100 solar installations.
Currently Hugo is serving as Outreach Coordinator for Putnam and Westchester Counties at RUPCO’s NYSERDA funded Green Jobs/ Green New York Program for residential customers. He also works with NYSERDA outreach coordinator Courtney-Strong Inc. on commercial and communitywide outreach in Ulster County, a role that has brought him into close collaboration with the Solarize Hudson Valley initiative.
Hugo is a BPI Certified Building Analyst and has been a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
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