John Gilroy (President)
Campaign for America’s Wilderness, Pittsford, NY
John is Associate Director of the Campaign for America’s Wilderness and has consulted with national foundations and organizations to develop and promote campaigns to protect old-growth forests, critical habitat and road-free areas in National Forests. He spent a year at the Rockefeller Family Fund as Program Associate and, from 1988-1992, served as Executive Director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. He has previously worked with The Center for Study of Responsive Law, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), and currently serves on the board of the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation. John holds a bachelor’s degree from New York University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.
Mark Colón (Vice President)
Attorney, New York, NY
Mark is the Deputy Counsel of New York State’s Division of Housing & Community Renewal (“DHCR”), where he provides legal advice to the State’s Commissioner of Housing and assists DHCR’s executive staff in the formulation and enforcement of agency policy. In this capacity, he also shares in the management of DHCR’s Office of Legal Affairs with the General Counsel. Previously, Mark spent several years as an associate in the finance and real estate practices of Dechert LLP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Mark graduated magna cum laude from Hunter College (CUNY) and received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was the Managing Editor of the Yale Law & Policy Review. Upon graduating from law school, he clerked for the Honorable Julio M. Fuentes, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Prior to attending law school he worked for the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), where he had been active while a student at Hunter.
Gina Kim (Director)
GritTV, New York, NY
Gina is a senior producer for GritTV with Laura Flanders. Prior to that, she was a producer for “NOW with Bill Moyers & David Brancaccio,” a political news magazine on PBS, and for “Donahue” on MSNBC. Gina also worked with Michael Moore on “The Awful Truth.” Before becoming involved in television, she was a campaign director for the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), focusing on tort reform and environmental issues. Gina also worked for The White House Office of Advance under former President Bill Clinton.
Susan Stamler (Secretary)
United Neighborhood Houses, New York, NY
Susan is the Director of Policy and Advocacy for United Neighborhood Houses of New York (UNH), the membership organization of New York City settlement houses and community centers. UNH promotes and strengthens the neighborhood-based, multi-service approach to improving the lives of New Yorkers in need and the communities in which they live. UNH’s membership comprises one of the largest human service systems in New York City, with 34 agencies working at more than 400 sites to provide high-quality services and activities to a half-million New Yorkers each year. In her position, Susan directs a department lobbying on both the state and city level to increase funding for early care and education, senior supportive services, after-school and youth programs, language and adult literacy programs and vocational training. She has over 25 years of experience in lobbying, organizing and advocating on behalf of community based organizations supporting human services, women’s reproductive health, HIV/AIDS counseling and treatment and consumer issues. Prior to her work at UNH, Susan lobbied for UJA-Federation, coordinated political activities at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and was one of the founders of the New York AIDS Coalition. She has a bachelor’s degree from Queens College, and lives with her family in Brooklyn.
