I called the founding meeting for a clean air group in March 2019 because I believe that people working together and building power can force polluters and their government enablers to stop destroying our air, water, soil and ecosystems. In December 2011, I was involved in the movement to stop Lehigh Cement from getting a DEC air permit to burn a paper and plastic mixture called EnviroCubes. I was invited to serve on the Community Advisory Panel.
My past advocacy and organizing background includes co-founding and directing the NY Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (1990-95), and the Regional Farm & Food Project, which promoted sustainable agriculture through farmer-to-farmer education and local food activities (1996-2004). I was instrumental in starting the Troy Waterfront Farmers’ Market, now in its 21st year. In 1988 when as a grad student, I formed a group that in three months persuaded  Cornell University to institutionalize recycling, which previously Cornell had left to undergrad volunteers and the whims of a local scrapyard.
I moved to Argyle in 2005 where I live in the small passive solar, energy-efficient house that I built with the help of friends and a few contractors. I make my living as an independent journalist. I am also an avid organic vegetable gardener. I hold a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, served as a VISTA volunteer in the coalfields of southern West Virginia, and earned an M.S. in Entomology from Cornell. I became a board member of the National Recycling Coalition in May 2022. I also serve on the public policy committee of Zero Waste Capital District and on the Environment Committee of Honest Weight Food Coop in Albany.