Sacha is Scenic Hudson’s Director of Conservation Science, provides scientific leadership to ensure that Scenic Hudson’s land acquisitions target the region’s most biologically important sites, that the organization’s 28 public parks and preserves are managed and restored based on best practices. As Scenic Hudson’s point person on climate change, he encourages regional and local strategies that provide communities with lasting environmental and economic gains and maintain healthy, functioning ecosystems throughout the valley. A native of the Hudson Valley, Sacha is an experienced conservation biologist whose research, conducted on four continents, has focused on identifying key biodiversity areas, setting landscape-scale conservation priorities, assessing impacts of landscape changes, and predicting patterns of species invasion. Previously he has worked for the American Museum of Natural History,Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, and The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. He is an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University and author of over 20 peer-reviewed articles and books.

Betsy has managed the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve’s research, education, and stewardship programs since 1985. Beginning in 1992, she has also overseen a variety of other habitat programs on the Hudson River Estuary and Long Island Sound, including habitat restoration, submerged aquatic vegetation and river bottom mapping initiatives, functional assessment projects, tidal wetlands research, the Sustainable Shorelines Project, and a variety of public education and outreach projects. A graduate of Tufts University and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, she previously worked on resource policy issues, wetlands mapping, and forest ecosystem research projects, and as a foreign fisheries observer in the Bering Sea. She recently received the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Excellence Award for Ocean and Coastal Resource Management.

Jeff has been a part of Scenic Hudson’s planning team since 1991. Named Director of Land Use Advocacy in 2010, he leads a team of three planners helping communities ensure that riverfront development stimulates the economy, connects people with the river, and conserves views and natural resources. Jeff is co-author of Revitalizing Hudson Riverfronts (2010), and earned accreditation from the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) in 2003. Previously he worked as a planner in Cape Coral, Florida. He earned a BA in Geography, graduating cum laude in 1985.

Emily is the Watershed Outreach Specialist for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River Estuary Program, with support from the New York State Water Resource Institute at Cornell University. She works with watershed groups, intermunicipal councils, municipalities, and other partners to support community-based watershed planning and conservation. Emily previously worked as a Community Educator with the Environment and Energy Program at Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County. She holds a BA in Environmental Studies from Vassar College.