Leo Wiegman is Director of Solar Programs at Sustainable Westchester. Previously, he was co-founder of Croton Energy Group, a solar energy firm. Leo is former Mayor of the Village of Croton-on-Hudson, former Executive Director of Sustainable Westchester, and previously worked for three decades in book publishing. Since 2010, Leo has written two books and dozens of articles on sustainability topics and been a frequent speaker on these topics. Leo holds a BS from Tufts University.
In his own words: “Climate disruption is already underway and will further erode how we grow food and find water and avoid disease, let alone how we heat and cool our homes or travel to work or play. Our goal is to help each household know what their contribution toward that disruption is in terms of emissions. We then offer each family a tool they can customize to their lifestyle to plan to reduce their emission year over year with concrete, quantifiable metrics.”
Chandu Visweswariah was the Founding President and CEO of Utopus Insights from 2017 to 2021. Utopus Insights is a global renewable energy software company headquartered in Valhalla, NY. Prior to co-founding Utopus Insights, Chandu led a worldwide Smarter Energy and Environmental Science team at IBM Research. He was named an IBM Fellow, the highest technical honor conferred by IBM, in 2013 for his seminal work in semiconductor chip design automation.
Chandu holds a PhD in Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He is an IEEE Fellow with a book, over 100 publications and 119 granted patents to his name. He has been a Croton resident since 1993 and was a co-founder of Croton100. He lives a low-carbon lifestyle in a zero-carbon house that he and his wife built in Croton.
In his own words: “Climate change is the compelling challenge of our lifetimes. For the sake of future generations, we must embrace personal responsibility and chart a measured course to net zero emissions. We can do this!”
Mary Florin-McBride has an MBA in Finance from NYU Stern School of Management. Prior to her retirement, she had an extensive career in banking finance, having served almost 30 years in Crédit Lyonnais/Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank in New York and Paris. Most recently she was Interim Chief Credit Officer at the Primary Care Development Corp., a non-profit which finances and counsels health care clinics targeted at underserved communities, and was involved with the financing of the Hudson River Healthcare clinic in Peekskill.
She has served on the Finance Committee of Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church in Croton for close to ten years, was an early member of its Care for Creation Ministry and is a current member of its steering committee organizing the Sunday Sustainable Seminar Series. Mary has been a tenacious advocate to limit the perils of global warming.
In her own words: “I’ve been fortunate to have had environmental mentors from a young age, who brought home the twin messages of respect for the earth and responsibility for our actions. Today I’ve learned so much from the many speakers and members of Care for Creation, and am passionate about the need to move the climate game forward on all levels: self, home, community, nation and beyond.”
Juliane Saary-Littman is the Research Director at the International Association for Credit Portfolio Managers (IACPM), a global financial services industry association with over 125 member firms worldwide. Prior to IACPM, she worked in Finance and Risk functions at Deutsche Bank AG in Frankfurt, Germany, and New York. Juliane has been a catalyst for environmental education in her community for over two decades, with activities including organizing a Bill McKibben “Step It Up” rally, running a public-school organic garden, authoring an environmental column in her local newspaper, and most recently being a founding and steering committee member of Transition Town Port Washington. Juliane holds a Diploma in Computer Science and Business Administration from the Technical University in Darmstadt, Germany. In her own words: “The impacts of the changing climate on all of us have unfortunately become all too clear. The transition to a Net Zero future is no longer optional. But before we start on our climate journey, we need to understand where we are now and where we want to go. This will give us the opportunity to explore alternate routes and inspire others along the way. The Carbon Tracker will show us the way.”
Bob DeAngelis retired from IBM in 2018. He managed energy conservation, environmental compliance and major construction programs at IBM. He co-chaired the National Engineers Week program for IBM Research and spoke to thousands of students about careers in engineering and science. He has also run classes on plastic pollution at Yorktown High School. He is the founding member of Yorktown100 because he strongly believes in personal responsibility and loves the approach of using the carbon tracker and leveraging the extended team. He has recently become known for his help with sustainable home heating and air conditioning systems. Bob is a “hands on” engineer who loves to build and repair things and is an avid hiker and cyclist. Since retirement, he started a small business with a unique accessory which makes outdoor grilling more accessible. His education includes a BS in Chemical Engineering and an MBA. He lives in Yorktown with his wife.
Patty L. Buchanan is a trained Climate Reality Project Leader and member of the Executive Committee of the Climate Reality Project, Westchester Chapter. She was a founding member of Croton100. She is a retired lawyer, having provided legal services to low income clients for 5 years, followed by a 20-year career in the United States Department of Justice. Patty is a life-long member of the Croton community.
In her own words: “I joined the CURE100 Board because the mission to methodically cut carbon emissions through the use of the Carbon Tracker, with a 5% per year step-down approach is an inspiring way to achieve community goals. I also believe CURE100’s way of making necessary, rapid, and unprecedented changes will be successful through its ‘neighbors influencing neighbors’ approach.”
Patty served as Board Secretary of CURE100 until August 2021.
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