2007 Board of Governors

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Please direct e-mail for Board members to wetlands_bod@wetlandsforum.org.

OFFICERS (select link to view biography)

CHAIR

Kevin Bliss
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

1^ST VICE CHAIR

Anne Secord
US Fish & Wildlife Service

2^ND VICE-CHAIR

Kathleen Bennett
Bond, Schoeneck, and King, PLLC

TREASURER

Joseph McMullen
Terrestrial Environmental Specialists, Inc.

SECRETARY

Virginia L. Ursitti
Watts Engineers

BOARD MEMBERS AT LARGE

Kevin M. Bernstein
Bond, Schoeneck, and King LLP

Edward Frantz
NYS Department of Transportation

Peter B. Gibbs
Regional Biologist

Michael Fishman
Stearns & Wheler, LLC

Paula Marshman
NYS Depatment of State, Costal Management

Frances Reese M.S.
Joseph C. Lu Engineering and Land Surveying, PC

Melissa Toni
Malcolm Pirnie, Inc.

Kurt Weiskotten
NYS Thruway Authority/Canal Corporation

Stephanie Wojtowicz
NYS Department of State, Division of Coastal Resources

ADMIN. ASSISTANT
Elizabeth A. Seme, Inc.
Administrative Assistant

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BOARD BIOGRAPHIES

Bernstein, Kevin M.

Kevin M. Bernstein is a partner with Bond, Schoeneck & King, based in Syracuse. Mr. Bernstein concentrates his practice in matters relating to wetlands permitting and enforcement,  mining permitting, environmental impact review (SEQRA), zoning and land use matters, energy projects (including power generation facilities under Article X of the Public Service Law), landfill permitting,  petroleum contamination, wastewater treatment, hazardous substance and petroleum storage tanks, toxic tort litigation, defending criminal investigations, and the environmental aspects of business transactions, including environmental due diligence.
Mr. Bernstein is a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section, where he serves as Co-Chair of the Energy Committee.  He is also a member of the Coastal and Wetlands Resources Committees, the Section’s Hazardous Site Remediation and  Solid Waste.  He is also a member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, a member of the Environmental Law Committee of the Onondaga County Bar Association, and is a member of the District of Columbia and Maine Bar Associations. He is admitted to practice in New York, Maine and the District of Columbia.
Mr. Bernstein is also Vice-Chair of the New York State Wetlands Forum, a member of the New York Association for Solid Waste Management, the New York Construction Materials Association, the Air and Waste Management Association, the New York Water Environment Federation and the Independent Power Producers of New York. 

Bliss , Kevin R.

Kevin R. Bliss is a Senior Environmental Analyst with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. He functions as project manager in the review of permit applications for all Department jurisdictions, perhaps most frequently including those related to water and wetland impacts. Kevin is also an adjunct instructor at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry where he teaches Wetland Practicum, an evening graduate course related to wetland ecology and management. Past employment included private consulting with an environmental and civil engineering firm as well as environmental planning within local government. Kevin is a charter Board member of the Great Swamp Conservancy, a non-profit environmental education nature center. Kevin is a Ph. D. candidate studying water and wetland ecosystems at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry where he received his M.S. in Environmental Science, concentrating in Water Resources Management. Kevin's undergraduate degrees are in Hydrology, and in Fisheries and Wildlife Technology. Kevin's goals for the NYS Wetlands Forum are to expand student membership, update the web site, and continue to improve communication on and understanding of wetland issues pertinent to New York State.

Fishman , Michael S.

Michael Fishman is a certified Professional Wetland Scientist (PWS) and a Certified Wildlife Biologist (CWB) in charge of the Environmental Science sector of Stearns & Wheler, LLC, Environmental Engineers & Scientists, in Cazenovia, NY. Michael has 22 years of professional experience in the field of natural resources, including 17 years of wetlands-oriented work. He has worked on sites up to 25,000 acres in size in 25 states, and has worked in academia, state regulatory sector (NYSDEC), the non-profit sector, and in private consulting. His specialties include wetlands habitat restoration, creation, and management, environmental impact assessment, and rare, threatened & endangered species. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources (concentrations in wildlife and aquatic sciences) from Cornell University, and is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Conservation Biology at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, studying habitat use of the endangered Indiana Bat (Myotis sodalis) in the Great Lakes Plain Ecoregion of New York State.

McMullen, Joseph

Joseph M. McMullen is a Principal and one of the founders of the environmental consulting firm of Terrestrial Environmental Specialists, Inc. Mr. McMullen holds a M.S. degree in biology with a concentration in botany. He has 26 years’ experience in environmental consulting, with over 20 years active experience in wetland study. His specific expertise in wetlands studies includes: aerial photograph interpretation; wetland delineations; wetland vegetation cover type mapping; state and federal permitting; wetland creation planning; wetland construction monitoring; post-construction monitoring of created and restored wetlands; and expert testimony. He holds all available wetland delineation certifications. Mr. McMullen has been involved in hundreds of wetland studies in New York, and has made numerous presentations on various aspects of wetland permitting and study. He has also performed numerous vegetation surveys, including endangered and threatened plant surveys, vegetation/habitat cover mapping, and descriptions of plant communities.

Reese, Frances

Fran is a Senior Environmental Scientist/Planner with Lu Engineers, a civil and environmental engineering consulting firm in Rochester, New York. She holds a B.S. degree in Zoology and M.S. degrees in Water Resources Management and Soil Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Fran taught undergraduate and graduate classes in watershed management, soil science and geography in the Earth Sciences Department at SUNY-Brockport for over ten years. She has over 20 years’ experience in wetland delineation, mitigation, monitoring and permitting. She currently manages the wetland and natural resources business sector for Lu Engineers, providing expertise in environmental compliance, SEQRA and NEPA assessment, natural resource planning and assessment. She organized the Hydric Soils Workshop for the NYS Wetland Forum in 1999, and hopes to organize additional technical workshops in the future.

Secord, Anne

Anne has been serving as the Region 5 Branch Chief for Federal Activities, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since May of 1999. Previously she was a biologist for the USFWS and has managed the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. Anne has earned a M.S. in Wildlife Biology from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA and a B.S., Wildlife Biology from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. She has studied and published numerous articles on the effects of PCB contamination along the Hudson River.

Toni , Melissa

Melissa Toni is a Wetland Scientist with Malcolm Pirnie, Inc, an environmental engineering, science, and consulting firm in Latham, New York. She is certified by the Society of Wetland Scientists as a Professional Wetland Scientist. Currently, Melissa’s primary responsibilities include performing wetland delineations, assessments, and permitting functions for various development projects. Melissa’s wetland-related experience is mostly in the regulatory/policy field. She was a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers biologist assigned to the Enforcement and Compliance section of the New York District’s Troy office, regulating Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Melissa also was an Environmental Analyst III for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection in charge of the Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification Program, which is Connecticut’s state-level wetland regulatory program. More recently, Melissa served as the Natural and Cultural Resources Manager for the Connecticut Army National Guard. Melissa has a B.S. in Natural Resources Management and Engineering from the University of Connecticut, has taken coursework in wetlands biology from SUNY Cobleskill, and M.S. courses in aquatic biology from Southern Connecticut State University. Melissa is the Chairman of her town’s Planning Board and is active in local politics. Melissa intends to bring a more regional view of wetland issues to the NYSWF by comparing policies in adjacent states to current issues in New York.

Ursitti, Virginia L.

Virginia is the Senior Environmental Scientist at Watts Architecture and Engineering, PC in Buffalo, and has been in the engineering consultant business for over 15 years. Virginia hopes to contribute to improvements in communication among those who are affected by wetlands from various points of view. Landowners, environmentalists, natural resource managers, and planners should have a common ground on which to air views and resolve conflicts, and the Forum is the platform for that purpose. Currently, her professional duties include two main areas: 1) Conducting environmental assessments for development projects in compliance with SEQRA and NEPA, evaluating all potential social, economic, and environmental impacts; and 2) Performing wetland assessments, delineations, and design of wetland mitigation projects. She has also worked in state and local environmental protection and planning agencies. Virginia earned a BA in Anthropology and Environmental Studies from SUNY Geneseo and has completed graduate work in environmental policy at the University at Buffalo. She has been nationally certified as a Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP) since 1995.

Wojtowicz, Stephanie

Ms. Wojtowicz is a Coastal Resource Specialist with the New York State Department of State, Division of Coastal Resources.  Working in the Watershed Management Unit, she assists communities with the preparation and implementation of watershed plans and water quality improvement projects.  Prior to joining the New York State Department of State, Ms. Wojtowicz was employed by Ducks Unlimited, Inc. where she worked with the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service on the Wetlands Reserve Program as a wetland restoration biologist.  Ms. Wojtowicz earned two baccalaureate degrees from Clarkson University in Environmental Science and Policy,  and Engineering and Management.  She also holds a Master of Science degree from Antioch New England University in Applied Land Ethics.  She hopes to bring her experience in land use and watershed planning to promote effective protection and restoration of New York’s vital wetlands.