I retired in 2019 from my position as Associate Vice Provost at New York University in the area of Research Compliance, overseeing the offices which support its faculty doing research. I served on the Board of Directors of the Council of Governmental Relations, an organization composed of the nation’s major research institutions and also served on the Board of the National Council of University Research Administrators, so I am accustomed to the important work that Boards do.
Having grown up on Long Island, ocean communities have always been special to me. As a family, we tried beach vacations in the Hamptons, on the Cape, on the Vineyard, and finally in 1993, we discovered Block Island and never again chose anywhere else. In 2011, we were lucky enough to find a house to purchase and although we still retain a house in Connecticut, we enjoy the Island year-round.
The importance of conservation was made clear to me at a young age as I watched the Great South Bay become polluted, the farms disappear from my hometown and the empty space become consumed by development. One of the things that drew me to Block Island was the determination of its residents to preserve its natural beauty and open space.