Robert J. Kresse,
Chairman
Mr. Kresse resides in Buffalo and is an attorney with Hiscock &
Barclay, LLP of Buffalo. Mr. Kresse serves on a number of boards and
community organizations including the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation,
King Urban Life Center, Martin House Restoration Corporation, Green
Downtown Buffalo, Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, Erie County
Medical Center Lifeline Foundation, New York State Preservation
League, and the Buffalo Green Fund. Mr. Kresse is a graduate of
Canisius College and Georgetown University Law Center. “Bob
Kresse’s enthusiasm and longstanding dedication has been
instrumental in helping to protect cultural landmarks, support
innovative programs and foster successful public-private
partnerships that have helped improve the quality of life for
Western New Yorkers,” stated former Governor Pataki. “I’m
confident his energy and commitment as Chair of the Niagara River
Greenway Commission at this critical and exciting time will help
provide a strong foundation as it works to create opportunities
among the scenic parklands and beautiful waterfronts that are
hallmarks of the Buffalo-Niagara region.”
Paul A. Dyster,
Vice-Chairman, Chairman,
Citizens Advisory Committee
Mr. Dyster
currently serves as the Mayor of Niagara Falls. He
resides in Niagara Falls and has extensive
community and government experience. He served as a city
councilman in Niagara Falls from 2000-2003, is a current member
of the Executive Board of the Friends of the Buffalo Niagara
Rivers (Buffalo, NY), a member of the Niagara River
Environmental Coalition, a founding member of the Niagara
Waterfront Revitalization Task Force (Niagara Falls, NY), a
member of the Board of Directors of the Niagara Arts and
Cultural Center, Inc. and member of the Board of Directors of
the Niagara Experience Center, Inc. Previously, Mr. Dyster was
Director of the Graduate Program in International Affairs and an
Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics at Catholic
University of America in Washington, D.C. He is also the owner
of Niagara Tradition, a local business specializing in retail
and wholesale supply and manufacturing of ingredients and
equipment for brewing and winemaking.
Alice Roth, Secretary
Alice Roth served as Mayor of the City of Tonawanda from 1990 thru
2001. As Mayor, Mrs. Roth was committed to protecting and enhancing
the city's natural resources that include park and green space along
the Niagara River, Erie Canal and Ellicott Creek. One of her major
accomplishments as Mayor, was the revitalization of the City's Erie
Canal waterfront. Today, Tonawanda' Gateway Harbor is one of the
busiest harbors on the Erie Canal system. In addition to the
harborfront, the Tonawanda portion of the Erie Canal Heritage Trail
was developed; Niawanda Park's Riverwalk was enhanced and extended
inland along Two Mile Creek Road into the Town of Tonawanda. For
many years, she served on NY Canal Corporation's Recreationway
Commission and is the former Vice-Chair of National Parks Service
Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor Commission. She currently
serves on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, City Planning
Board and chairs the City Arts Board and Historical Society
Development Committee.
John Giardino, Treasurer
Mr. Giardino resides in Buffalo and is the Chairman of the
Buffalo Niagara Jobs Initiative and serves as a Board member of
the Buffalo Urban League, Buffalo Zoo, National Conference for
Community and Justice, Olmstead Conservancy, and a number of
other community organizations. Mr. Giardino acted as lead
negotiator in the innovative Olmstead parks merger and
management plan and is Chief Executive Officer of Centerstone
Development. Mr. Giardino is also a partner in the Buffalo law
firm of Lippers, Mathias, Wexler and Friedman LLP.
Ronald J. Pilozzi,
Chairman, Local Government Advisory Committee
Mr. Pilozzi currently serves as the Mayor of the City of Tonawanda.
He previously served as Councilman for eight years from 1994-2001
and was a member of the Management Team at General Motors Powertrain,
Tonawanda Engine for over 30 years and retired from GM in 2002. Mr.
Pilozzi is a past President of the Town of Tonawanda Development
Corporation, a member of the Tonawanda Empire Zone Administration
Board, a former loaned Executive to the United Way of Buffalo and
Erie County and served on the Board of Directors and Life Member of
the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 77.
Edward T. McDonald
Mr. McDonald resides in the
city of North Tonawanda and recently retired after eighteen years as
Business Representative for the International Brotherhood of
Teamsters Local # 264. Mr. McDonald is an Executive Board Trustee of
Teamsters Local #264, Secretary of Teamsters Joint Council #46, a
member of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plan and
member of the Phi Epsilon Kappa Honorary Education Fraternity.
David Hahn-Baker
David Hahn-Baker (DHB) after graduating from Princeton in 1981
worked in Washington, D.C. for a number of national environmental
organizations including, the National Clean Air Coalition as a Field
Organizer, Senior Lobbyist for the League of Women Voters and as
Political Director of Friends of the Earth.
In 1989 he
moved to Buffalo, NY and established his own firm, Inside/Out
Political Consultants, whose organizational motto is Inside
Washington, D.C. skills with Outside Washington, D.C. thinking. He
has worked since then as an environmental consultant focusing on
environmental justice issues and the disproportionate impact of
pollution on people of color and lower-income communities.
During that
time his clients have been environmental advocacy groups from the
National Wildlife Federation to Greenpeace who though taking a
different general approach to environmental issues need help working
on the concerns of non-traditional environmentalists. He has also
worked extensively for the national foundation and grant-making
community such as the James C. Penney Foundation and the Rockefeller
Foundation.
Locally his
clients have included the Community Action Organization of Erie
County which administers the Head Start program and he is helping
organize its Environmental Justice project and the Community
Foundation for Greater Buffalo helping it establish an environmental
grant making program.
Commissioner Emeritus Advisory
Committee
Paul G.
Leuchner
Mr.
Leuchner is a resident of Grand Island. Prior to joining the US
Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District Office in 1973 he worked as
a research assistant spending considerable time in the North
Atlantic Ocean on oceanographic vessels operated by the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution. During his career with the Corps of
Engineers that spanned more than 30 years he worked as a wetlands
biologist, water resources planner and project manager. The last
half of his career was spent managing the Department of the Army
water resources regulatory permit program that covered three
states. While employed by the United States Government Mr. Leuchner
served as an environmental advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the
Army for Civil Works in Washington. He also spent time at the
Office of the Chief of Engineers where he assisted with the drafting
of the national environmental compliance plan for Corps of Engineers
operational facilities. Mr. Leuchner is a member of the United
States Coast Guard Auxiliary spending considerable time on the
waters of the Niagara River. He is the Chairman of the annual
Paddles Up Niagara event sponsored by the Niagara River Greenway
Commission.
Richard F. Soluri
Mr. Soluri, a former executive in the insurance
industry, served as Mayor of the Village of Lewiston from 1994 thru
2009. As Mayor and a lifelong resident of Niagara County, as well as
through his extensive involvement in numerous community
organizations, Mr. Soluri has played a leadership role in expanding
tourism opportunities and economic development in the Village and
along Lewiston's waterfront. He is a past Vice Chairman of the
United Way of Niagara, a member of the Niagara County Chamber
Commission, a member of the ArtPark & Co. Advisory Board, a founder
of Service Organizations of Lewiston (S.O.L.E.) and director of the
Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp.