Board Members

David Dell, Ph.D. (Chairman) has a unique background combining research, management consulting, executive leadership, and investment banking. Through publications, conference presentations and news citations, he has been recognized as a thought leader in Sustainability, Outsourcing, M&A integration, HR, Corporate IT strategy, and other areas, currently as CEO / co-founder of Sustainable Profitability Group.

Dr Dell is active in developing new energy investments and as chairman of HRTechTeam he provides guidance for best practices in HR technology. Previously he was Research Director for the Conference Board for the Concours Group and Diebold Group. He has served companies in transition and turnarounds as interim CEO, Chief Technology Officer as well as Chief Talent Officer and been an officer and director of 2 NASD National listed companies.

In addition to SHV, he is active on the boards of Luminary Publishing, the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, and the Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York. David has a Ph.D. from Columbia University in the languages and culture of India.

Lucy Johnson received her PhD from Columbia University in 1973, and started teaching at Vassar College, where she is now a Professor Emerita. She has taught numerous courses in Anthropology as well as Environmental Studies, Latin American Studies and Technology and Society. For over 40 years, Prof. Johnson has worked in archaeological field studies, including survey and excavations in Alaska, Egypt, Chile, Peru, Idaho, Arizona and many locations in New York State.

Prof. Johnson has authored many book chapters, articles and reviews, including her edited book, ‘Paleoshorelines and Prehistory‘, CRC Press, 1991. She has participated in over 50 professional events and has written numerous research and contract reports, including many archeological and cultural resource evaluations for Town of Poughkeepsie improvement projects.

Lucy has been active in the governance of Vassar College and has served on the boards of a number of local not-for-profit organizations. She is currently secretary of the Board of Directors of the Hudson River Environmental Society, secretary of the Board of Directors of the LaGrange Library and member of the Hudson River Estuary Management Advisory Committee.

Michael Sheridan, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the School of Management at SUNY New Paltz. With a focus on business strategy, organizational behavior and environmental sustainability, Michael engages students in important research in enterprises and the community. His professional honors include the Pontikes Center Research Award and membership in the National Scholars Honor Society.

Victor-Pierre Melendez is an experienced community outreach professional with a broad background in environmental sustainability and the development of corporate accountability policies and procedures. Victor has facilitated seamless interfacing with nonprofits and community organizations during project implementation. He brings to SHV added understanding of the interconnections between different industries within for-profit, nonprofit, and government sectors. Currently he is Municipal Relations Director at Joule Community Power where he manages communications with municipal clientele and develops sales and marketing strategies for Community Choice Aggregations (CCA) and the community distributed solar power generation (CDG) programs throughout New York State.

He received his BSc in Environmental Science & Marine Biology from the University of Tampa, an MSc from the Bard Center for Environmental Policy, and a Master’s in Public Administration from the College of New Rochelle in 2017. In 2017, Victor founded V-Structuring Concepts, a strategic consulting group that provides guidance to everyone from the environmental community activists to driven entrepreneurs.

Michael Greenhouse is an award-winning writer, editor and communications consultant focused on issues driving today’s economy, especially sustainability and ESG, the future of work, and technology.

In recent years, he has worked with Bloomberg’s sustainable business practice, writing white papers on sustainability and the future of work. With Big-Four firm PWC, he produced a study on purpose and fulfillment at work. For technology services leader Cognizant, he wrote “Being Digital,” a study of how companies are using digital technology to drive innovation.

Previously, he held senior communications roles at leading global organizations including KPMG, Ernst & Young (EY), Accenture, and Hill & Knowlton. He has written speeches on ESG topics for numerous chairmen and CEOs, scripted major multi-media events that educate and inspire audiences, created award-winning publications that advance business objectives, and managed innovative communications programs that pioneered the use of digital channels.

He was introduced to sustainability by environmental pioneer Ernest “Chick” Callenbach, author of the seminal book Ecotopia. Now residing in the Hudson Valley, he is committed to carrying on Callenbach’s thinking as an environmental advocate.

He received a B.A. in English from Occidental College in Los Angeles.

Mary Ann Cunningham, Ph.D. is a Professor of Geography at Vassar College, where she teaches and advises students on topics including sustainability, agricultural geographies, GIS, and renewable energy in New York and in northern Europe. She has written extensively on topics in environmental science and geography: she is lead author on two textbooks in environmental science, and she has published on topics ranging from biodiversity in agricultural landscapes to climate impacts on biodiversity and water quality. The urgency of climate mitigation has led her recent work to focus on renewable energy, including publications on greenhouse gas accounting and the economic potential of solar for rural communities.

Dr. Cunningham has served on sustainability and planning committees at Vassar College, and she has been a member of the Dutchess County Climate Smart Taskforce, as well as a board member of the Biogeography Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers. She has been at Vassar since 2001, after she completed her Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota. She also holds an M.A. in Geography from the University of Oregon and a B.A. from Carleton College.