Western Pennsylvania Conservancy Names New Board Members
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) announced that it has appointed four new directors to its board. The board members were elected by members during WPC’s Annual Meeting.
“We welcome our new board members, both for their experience and expertise and for their strong commitment to the Conservancy’s mission,” said Tom Saunders, president and CEO of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.
“The new directors’ longstanding support of our work will inform their decision-making and help to advance WPC’s commitment to protecting and restoring Western Pennsylvania’s exceptional natural places, creating green spaces and gardens and preserving Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater,” he said.
New members include:
- Geoffrey Dunn. A lifelong resident of Erie, Pa., Dunn is a trustee of the Erie Community Foundation and also serves on Penn State Behrend’s local advisory board. A committed conservationist and an oil painter who enjoys painting nature scenes, Dunn has been a member of WPC since 1987. He believes that time spent in nature is critical for people’s well-being and, as such, supports WPC’s land and water conservation work as well as its greening initiatives, which help to bring nature to people living in cities and towns throughout Western Pennsylvania.
- Dan Nydick. An entrepreneur who has launched and grown several businesses, Nydick is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s Electrical and Computer Engineering department. A member of WPC since 1985, Nydick has conserved his own property through an agricultural easement, a voluntary agreement that limits future development while enabling continued private use of the property. Nydick became familiar with WPC when he was a student and realized that all of his favorite outdoor places had been protected by the Conservancy.
- Michael Polite. Polite is a resident of Pittsburgh and President of Ralph A. Falbo, Inc. His experience includes public and private housing and economic development, program management, minority and micro-business development, and community outreach. Polite currently serves as a director of Pittsburgh Gateways Corporation, a business accelerator with the mission of generating business growth. Prior to serving on Pittsburgh Gateways, he was a director of Catholic Charities and Angel’s Place.
- Carolyn Rizza. A resident of Grove City, Rizza is Professor Emerita of Slippery Rock University who serves on several boards. Currently, she chairs the Advisory Board of the Storm Harbor Equestrian Center at Slippery Rock and the board of Hospice, Inc. of the Visiting Nurses Association of Western PA, and is a current board member of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Partnership for Aging. Rizza has been a member of WPC since 1990 and supports conservation work in the French Creek area.
The four new members join a 32-member board that oversees the Conservancy’s finances, strategic plans and operations.
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About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) enhances the region’s quality of life by protecting and restoring exceptional places. A nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932, WPC was responsible for the founding of six state parks and has conserved nearly 225,000 acres of natural lands and waterways. The Conservancy owns and operates Fallingwater, the Frank Lloyd Wright house in Mill Run, Pa. that symbolizes people living in harmony with nature. In addition, WPC enriches our region’s cities and towns through 140 community gardens and greenspaces that are planted with the help of 8,300 volunteers. The work of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is accomplished through the support of more than 10,300 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org.
Media contact:
Stephanie Kraynick
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
(412) 586-2358
skraynick@paconserve.org