Advisory Council Members - New York

The geographic locations of our New York Advisory Council members are indicated by the highlighted towns below. Clicking on the darker purple towns will lead you to our current AC members. The lighter purple towns represent former AC members. 

Current Advisory Council Members - New York

Jim Allen
Paul Smith's College, Forestry Division
P.O. Box 265
Paul Smiths, NY 12970
Phone: (518) 327-6236
Fax: (518) 327-6369
Email: allenj@paulsmiths.edu
Web Address: www.adirondack.org

James A. Allen’s interest in community forestry issues began to develop when he served as a forestry extension officer for the Peace Corps in Swaziland (southern Africa). Although much of his work since has been focused on the ecological aspects of forestry, he continues to maintain a strong interest in the social aspects of forest management. Dr. Allen is currently the Assistant Dean, Forestry Division, at Paul Smith=s College of Arts and Sciences, which is located in the north central Adirondack Mountains. He has occupied that position since July, 2000. Prior to joining the Paul Smith=s faculty, Allen spent nearly 14 years conducting forestry research, focusing mainly on the ecology, management, and restoration of forested wetlands. For 10 of those years, he worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service=s National Wetlands Research Center in Louisiana. More recently, he was with the USDA Forest Service=s Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Irene Brown
4325 Rte.
228 Alpine, NY 14805
Phone: (607) 387-6507

Irene Brown has lived in the Town of Hector (ten miles square, population about 4500) in Schuyler County, New York since 1948. While she is not an "old timer" by local measurements, she is trusted enough to be elected to the Town Board and appointed to the Town Planning Committee. After graduating with a degree in ornamental horticulture from SUNY Farmingdale, Brown raised five children while developing children’s entomology programs, serving as 4-H club leader and PTA Chair. Next, she spent twenty years as Project Coordinator/Research Assistant for Cornell University’s Avian Navigation Studies. Since retiring from Cornell in 1989, Brown has served on the Schuyler County Cooperative Extension Service Board of Directors, the Schuyler County Environmental Management Council, and Board of Directors of the Finger Lakes Land Trust. She is a founding member of the local "Seneca Chapter" of the Finger Lakes Land Trust and worked with 5 other volunteers to start a free, town-wide quarterly newspaper, "The Hector Town Newsletter." In 1997 Brown joined two other retired "ladies in green sneakers" to establish Seneca Trails & Travel, LLC., a local tour guide service with an emphasis on natural and historical points of interest.

Carl Golas
Adirondack North Country Association
20 St. Bernard ST
Saranac Lake, NY 12983
Phone: (518) 891-6200
Fax: (518) 891-6203
Email:anca@northnet.org                               Web Address: www.adirondack.org

Carl Golas is a native of Utica, New York. Since 1992, he has been the full time Wood Products Industry Specialist at the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA), working closely with primary and secondary wood processors. ANCA's objective is to support value-added manufacturing to retain jobs and manufacturing in the region by promoting linkages between harvesters, sawmills, and secondary processors. Prior to working with ANCA, Carl was the production manager for AMF Bowling, in Lowville, NY, responsible for all manufacturing techniques concerning bowling pins and alley flooring. He has also worked as a production and facility design consultant for Pennwood Products (PA), and Diemolding Corporation (NY). Carl is a woodworker himself and is past President of the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce. He is a licensed charter boat captain, and loves to hunt and fish.

Former Advisory Council Members- New York

Ann Ruzow Holland
Friends of the North Country
P.O. Box 446
Keeseville, NY 12944
Phone: (518) 834-9606
Fax: (518) 834-9687
Email: aholland@willex.com

Ann Ruzow Holland was born in Yonkers, New York and came early in her childhood to the Lake Champlain Region. She doesn't plan to leave until "death do us part". Ruzow Holland’s favorite forested area is the Champlain/Adirondack Biosphere. She would like to see these vast areas preserved and protected as the last great wildernesses on the planet. She sees and actively works for a future where 19th century communities thrive, are economically restructured to a global economy, with strong senses of place and high quality of life for all residents, especially those with the least resources. Ruzow Holland has been Executive Director of the Friends of the North Country, Inc. since it was formed in 1981. As the organization's founder, Ann helped to devise the Friends' mission and approach to serve the needs of North Country communities. Before creating the Friends, Ruzow Holland worked for Essex and Clinton Counties as a planner and community developer. She lives on Willsboro Point on Lake Champlain with her husband David, and growing up daughters, Leslie and Briana, together with her menagerie of animals. Ann holds three academic degrees; a BA and MA in Environmental Science and a CAS in Educational Administration and has served as President of the New York Main Street Alliance and a director of the New York State Rural Housing Coalition.

Bill Johnston