Melissa Everett
Melissa Everett, Ph.D., Executive Director, is an outreach and communications strategist working at the intersection of climate action, green industry, and community development. Since 2004, she has helped to build a movement of local innovators who are reducing their communities’ carbon footprints and building the market for clean energy industries. Her accomplishments with SHV include convening eight influential regional summits and conferences and bringing the Solarize model for community education and solar group purchasing to the Hudson Valley on a three-year funding award from NYSERDA. Trained in counseling and group facilitation through the Concord Institute in Massachusetts, Melissa has taught innovative courses in leadership and community service at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and in sustainability at SUNY Dutchess. She received her Ph.D. in 2006 from the International, Off-Campus Program of Erasmus University’s Centre for Environmental Management and Sustainable Development in the Netherlands, a pioneering program for mid-career professionals worldwide. Her thesis research focuses on the dynamics of community turnarounds and the role of social networks. She was one of the original 1,000 prominent citizens trained by The Climate Project. The author of three books and many articles, Melissa has given lectures and workshops on three continents. Her Making a Living While Making a Difference was honored with the Bronze medal for Best Book in Foreword Magazine’s annual rankings. She was named one of nine “People to Watch in 2012” by Hudson Valley Magazine, and recently won the Hudson River Environmental Society’s Outstanding Practitioner award.
Laura Petit
As a lifelong Ulster County resident, I raised five children in Esopus. I sat on several Town of Esopus ad hoc committees including Master Comprehensive Plan, Zoning Revision and Esopus Beautification, and have used my grant writing skills to secure funding for Esopus Climate Smart initiatives. Currently I sit on the Recreation Commission and Environmental Board, and attend the Economic Development Committee meetings. I have a degree in liberal arts, paralegal certification from Marist. After authoring the New Paltz Zero Waste Action Plan, which received awards from the EPA, I continue to participate in a food recovery program that has diverted over 100 tons of food to local pantries.
As a three-term legislator, I am a member of Health and Human Services, Energy and Environment, Chair Recycling Oversight, and have been appointed liaison to Ulster County Fire Advisory and Ulster County Community Action. My first term I chaired Public Works and was vice-chair of Ways and Means. I have written and sponsored laws that closed an illegal landfill, placed NARCAN kits in all County buildings, required that IDA projects pay prevailing wages and limit distribution of non or hard to recycle items. The Recycling OVersight Committee proposed a Zero Waste Implementation Plan that is undergoing review. During the interim, there is an RFP for a ReUse Innovation Center in Ulster County following the vision of John Wackman and the model of New Paltz ReUse Center.
I am an active volunteer for two food pantries, sit on the boards of Ulster County Community Action and Esopus Community Foundation and Chair the Esopus Climate Smart Committee.
Holly Shader
Holly Shader is a middle school science teacher who has been involved in the environmental movement for over 30 years, working to educate community members about climate change, how to live more sustainably, and create more resilient communities. She now organizes the Repair Cafés for New Paltz and Gardiner. She has been an active member of the New Paltz Climate Action Coalition for over 10 years and currently sits on their board of directors. She is also a task force member of Climate Smart Gardiner, where she wrote the grant to install an EV charger for the town. She has also been a volunteer at Repair Cafés since they were introduced in the Hudson Valley by John Wackman in 2016. She now organizes the Repair Cafés for New Paltz and Gardiner.