ADMINISTRATION
Rebecca Martin, Executive Director
Rebecca Martin hails from the state of Maine but now resides and raises her family in the city of Kingston since 2002. A professional musician, Rebecca has made eight critically acclaimed albums (currently signed to Sunnyside Records out of New York City) and has performed internationally and in the states in notable venues that include Carnegie Hall and The Village Vanguard. As a coordinator, Rebecca worked at MTV Networks for many years prior to starting her own production company. As a community leader, she is founder of KingstonCitizens.org, an initiative that encourages civic responsibility and government transparency and accountability. Her recent endeavor ‘The Kingston Victory Garden Project” launched an organic garden at Kingston City Hall on Earth Day, 2009. Rebecca was the former Chair of the Garden Committee through the Kingston Land Trust.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Steven T. Noble, Chair
Steve Noble is an Environmental Educator for the City of Kingston. Steve attended the College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, NY and has a Bachelors of Science in Environmental Studies. Steve works with youth and adults in the Kingston community to teach about the natural world. Steve also serves as the Chair of the Kingston Land Trust. In this role, Steve facilitates monthly board meetings, helps develop strategic plans and supports the land trusts various committees. Steve was born and raised in Kingston, NY and is married to co-worker Julie Noble.
Kevin McEvoy, Vice Chair & Treasurer and Chair of Finance, Land Use Aquisition/Management/Planning Committees.
Kevin McEvoy has been since 1985 the director of his family owned real estate investment firm in New York City which formerly had a supporting law practice for which he served as paralegal and tax preparer. He has been engaged in all phases of operation of the business. From 1984 to date, he has served as treasurer and managing agent of a housing co-operative in New York City and as volunteer outreach and advocacy coordinator for the First St. Garden, a NYC Dept. of Parks Green Thumb Program community garden which he co-founded. Prior to that time, he worked with non profits and arts organizations including serving from 1977 to 1979 as treasurer and co-founder of Hudson Valley Federation, a co-operatively owned natural foods distribution network and warehouse then based in New Paltz NY which served food co-operatives and buying clubs in throughout New York and adjoining states and later ran a bookkeeping and tax preparation service serving the NYC arts and not for profit communities including non profit audit work associated with Accountants for the Public Interest. He has nominated and prepared two successful National Historic Register nominations in Kingston NY, has worked on historic preservation issues in Kingston, the Hudson Valley and elsewhere in New York including research for NHR & Landmarks nominations in NYC, has served as a volunteer for Friends of Historic Kingston in Kingston NY from whom he received their annual Historic Preservation Award for 2008 and has served from 2005 to date with the Friends of Kingston Waterfront coalition participating in the environmental review and planning process for Hudson River waterfront sections of Kingston NY. New York University Real Estate Institute in NYC awarded him a certificate of completion in Real Estate Studies in 1988. He attended classes in art theory, technique and design at the Art Student’s League and Cooper Union both in NYC and has traveled extensively throughout the US and worldwide including living in several countries in Europe and studying various aspects of Asian culture which began with an extended stay in the Indian subcontinent and Himalayan region.
Scarlet Duba, Director
Scarlet graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design from SUNY New Paltz and Scuola Lorenzo De’Medici. Soon there after she interned at Pentagram Design in New York City. Her internship led to a senior designer position at Pirtle Design, and artists’ assistant to Woody Pirtle for a number of years. Currently, Scarlet lives and works and plays in Kingston, NY as a designer and artist.
Matt Gillis, Director
Matt Gillis was born and raised in the shadows of the Catskill Mountains in New York’s famed Mid-Hudson Valley. It was there that he developed a love of the outdoors and an observant eye for nature. Matt’s appreciation for the natural world and his exceptional skill as a documentary photographer come together in his masterful images, making him one of the most highly sought-after photographers for weddings and events. Trained as a photojournalist Matt cut his teeth in photography at action packed events and high-pressure settings. When you’re sent to photograph Presidents and Premiers, you have to get it right the first time and there’s no margin for error. Having acquired the skill at documenting important political and corporate events, Matt turned to the natural world to develop the artistic side of his craft. Matt’s artistry lets him capture the spirit of each occasion he photographs, while he remains an unobtrusive observer. Whether the setting is indoors or out, traditional or contemporary, Matt adjusts to meet the needs of the event planners, brides, grooms and families in order to deliver a unique photographic record. His flexibility forms the foundation of his work; his sense of style adds the flourishes. Matt’s talent for capturing the very heart of every event has been cultivated by his experience as a documentary photographer. While Matt’s primary work is in event photography, he has also amassed a prestigious portfolio as a documentary photographer; a portfolio that includes photographs of famous political figures such as, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, England’s Prince Andrew, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, Henry Kissinger, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, to name a few. He now travels the world photographing weddings and events, working with some of industry’s top coordinators and planners.
Cherie is a native of the area and is a graduate of Kingston High School. She returned to Kingston in 2009 after living many years in south Florida, Delaware and Atlanta. She is presently the Vice President of Operations of Nistel, Inc. Cherie has over 15 years of experience in health care administration in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities in Florida and New York. She has also served five years in non-profit Executive and Development Director positions outside of Philadelphia and in northern Atlanta.
Cherie holds degrees in Human Resource Administration and Healthcare Administration. She is currently on the Board of Directors of The Kingston Hospital Foundation and is a Wish Granter with The Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Hudson Valley. Cherie resides in Kingston with her husband, Angel, their teenage son, Alex, and a small menagerie of furry family members. In addition, Cherie and her family are hosts to full year exchange students and greatly enjoy sharing Kingston, the beautiful Hudson Valley and surrounding areas with foreign students while bringing their global perspectives to Kingston. Living away from the area for many years along with extensive global travel throughout Europe, Asia and South America has given Cherie a deeper appreciation of Kingston and the Hudson River, surrounding mountains and beautiful valley that enclose the city and she is excited to join the Board of Directors at KLT and working to protect and preserve the natural assets of Kingston and helping to enhance the quality of life and experiences for both residents and visitors to the city.
Beth Roessler is the Stream Buffer Coordinator for the Hudson River Estuary Program. She works with non-profits, municipalities, private landowners and volunteers on streamside tree planting projects and other efforts aimed at protecting the water quality in the streams in the Hudson Valley. Beth has a master’s degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Clark University in Massachusetts. Beth has lived and worked in Ulster County for five years and is a recent, but enthusiastic, resident of Kingston.
Gregg Swanzey, Director and Chair, KLT Rail Trail Committee
Gregg lives in the Rondout, serves on the Kingston Conservation Advisory Council and is Associate Director of Grants and Corporate Relations for Mohonk Preserve. Gregg spent years at sea aboard sailing research and education ships including a Humpback whale research vessel in Arctic waters off Greenland and as captain for a Soviet-American cultural exchange transAtlantic from Leningrad to New York via Iceland and Newfoundland. He has extensive background in maritime preservation, education, and nonprofit management. He holds an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and an MBA from UMASS Dartmouth. Gregg is an avid kayaker, runner and often pedals his bike uptown to the Kingston Farmers Market on Saturdays.
Andi Turco-Levin, Director
A native of Kingston, Andi has proven to be an active member of the community. She has served on the City’s Planning Board, and recently completed a term as the 1st Ward Alderman and Minority Leader of the Common Council. She has also been an advocate for Kingston’s City Parks organizing a citizen’s group known as Project Forsyth and was instrumental in a major clean-up effort at Forsyth Park. In addition to her community involvement, Andi is an Associate Real Estate Broker with Prudential Nutshell Realty and recently served as President to the Ulster County Board of Realtors. She also is the 2012 Chairperson for the New York State Assn. of Realtors’ Grievance Committee. She and her husband, bassist Tony Levin live with their two Westies Lilly and Kirby in their ‘ongoing project’ 1890’s Victorian in Uptown Kingston.
Tim Weidemann, Director
Tim Weidemann has lived in the Hudson Valley for most of the past 18 years, attending the Storm King School in Cornwall-on-Hudson and SUNY New Paltz, where he received a Bachelor’s in Philosophy and Religious Studies. While in New Paltz, Tim began working as a consultant to local governments and nonprofits, which spurred him to pursue a graduate degree in Public Policy and Management. In 2004, Tim received his Master’s from the Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University and went to work for Deloitte Consulting’s Public Sector practice. While at Deloitte, Tim supported and managed several large-scale change management efforts for state-wide human services departments and conducted new research on human capital challenges facing the public sector.
In 2006, Tim left Deloitte to return to the Hudson Valley. Living in Kingston, with his wife Cheryl, Tim led an expansion of the Strategic Change practice at Fairweather Consulting into municipal restructuring services. Tim led several projects with Fairweather Consulting, including a police consolidation study in Saugerties, NY; a nonprofit merger in Orange County, NY; several village dissolution studies; and many others. Tim has also developed a highly-successful approach to capacity building for small nonprofits, and in early 2011 he established a new consultancy. Based in Kingston, NY, Rondout Consulting provides strategic planning and organizational design services to mission-driven organizations throughout the Northeast. The firm’s purpose is to build management capacity in order to help organizations maximize their effectiveness.
Tim is a co-founder of Livingston Street Early Childhood Community, a licensed non-profit early childhood education center. Tim serves as a council member for the Immanuel Lutheran Church and is a member of the Ulster County Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee.
Brad Will, Director
A.I.A., LEED AP – Principal ArchitectBrad is the principal in charge of AAP, having co-founded the firm in January 2002. His design experience ranges from custom homes to healthcare, public transit, schools, retail & office, senior living centers and multi-family units. Brad has been involved with award-winning residential projects, two major senior living centers, public design competitions, a new office high- rise, and pro bono assistance for non-profit organizations. He graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Architecture in 1984, and became a LEED Accredited Professional in 2004 with the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Brad currently serves as secretary on the board of directors, AIA Westchester + Hudson Valley chapter.
ADVISORY BOARD
Barbara Epstein is a Registered Dietitian and nutritionist with a Masters Degree from Hunter College School of Health Sciences in New York City in private practice with over 15 years of experience in clinical nutrition, nutrition education including the WIC program and individual nutrition counseling specializing in diabetes, cardiovascular, weight loss and obstetrics. Barbara is an active member in the nutrition community and belongs to the American Dietetic Association, New York Dietetic Association, and The Greater New York Dietetic Association. She works with her husband Kevin McEvoy operating their family real estate portfolio in Manhattan, is a co-founder of the First St. Garden in Manhattan, the long time secretary and board member of a housing co-operative in NYC and an advisor to Kingston Land Trust on the KLT finance and land committees. She is also available as an advisor to the KLT garden program as a nutritionist and registered dietitian.
A former tugboat captain in NY Harbor, Ann Loeding now works from shore as a grant writer and cultural program developer for historic vessels including the fireboat John J. Harvey, Pennsy Barge 399 and PT 728. She is active in several community organizing projects in Kingston, NY and sits on the boards of the Business Alliance of Kingston and the Kingston Land Trust. She is also a member of the Waterfront Advisory Committee, Rondout Business Association and the Lighthouse Commission. Her main civic interests are the development and preservation of publicly-accessible natural spaces, historic preservation that benefits all members of the community, and revitalization of Hudson River waterfronts that is appropriate to each community’s character.
Julie Noble is an Environmental Educator for the City of Kingston. Julie attended Binghamton University in Binghamton, NY and has a Bachelors of Science in Environmental Studies. Julie works with youth and adults in the Kingston community to teach about the natural world. Julie also serves as the Secretary of the Kingston Land Trust. In this role, Julie documents many land trust events, including the monthly board meeting. Julie is also chair of the Kingston Conservation Advisory Council. Julie was born and raised in Kingston, NY and is married to co-worker and fellow land trust board member, Steve Noble.
Berky is the Deputy Director at the Ulster County Planning Department and a Visiting Lecturer at Bard College. She has 25 years of experience in the fields of architecture, economic development, and urban planning in the non-profit, government, academic and private sectors. She managed major rehabilitations of museum facilities for the City of New York and the adaptive reuse of loft and office buildings on the Brooklyn waterfront and in the Manhattan Financial District. She worked for the World Bank and the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. on infrastructure, urban, community development, and cultural heritage protection in Jordan, the West Bank, Brazil, Georgia, Albania and Romania and in urban areas and metro regions throughout the United States. In Ulster County, she has been responsible for the County’s long-range policy development, including the first Ulster County Charter (adopted in 2008), the County’s Main Streets program, the County’s first Open Space Plan (adopted 2007), the County’s Waterfront Revitalization Plan, and the county’s Greenway Compact. Berky has a B.A. in Art History from SUNY Stony Brook and holds two Masters degrees from Columbia University in Real Estate Development and Urban Planning, where she is also completing a Ph.D. in Urban Planning. She has also taught throughout her career, including urban and regional conservation planning at the University of Rome (Italy), Parsons The New School, and is currently an adjunct faculty member at Bard College.
Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Advisor
Arthur Zaczkiewicz is a founding member of the Kingston Land Trust. In the 1980s, Zaczkiewicz worked for Citizens Campaign for the Environment, raising public awareness on several issues including clean water and preservation of the Long Island Pine Barrens. He also worked as a landscaper on Fire Island, often face-to-face with native whitetail deer. After serving in the U.S. Army, which included combat during Desert Storm in 1991, Zaczkiewicz pursued a career in journalism working as a staff writer, reporter and editor of several publications including Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), WWD The Magazine, WWD Scoop, DNR, Footwear News, Home Furnishings News, HomeWorld Business, Hotel Business, Retail Traffic magazine, New York House magazine, Newsday, the Times Herald-Record and Ulster Publishing, which includes the New Paltz Times, the Woodstock Times and the Kingston Times. Zaczkiewicz has also appeared on CNBC’s On the Money and on Northeast Public Radio. He also served as financial editor of the Fairchild Fashion Group, a division of Condé Nast Publications. Zaczkiewicz has moderated and participated on numerous panels and conference calls with firms that include The New York Times, Citigroup, Telsey Advisory Group, Financial Dynamics, Bear Stearns, Brooks Brothers and TradeCard.
Kingston Land Trust
P.O. Box 2701
Kingston, N.Y. 12401
Reach us at 845.877.LAND [5263]
Our offices are located at:
280 Wall Street, Second Floor
Kingston, N.Y. 12401
