![Joshua Beese and Dia the Conservation Detection Dog. Photo by Heather Darley. Joshua Beese and Dia the Conservation Detection Dog. Photo by Heather Darley.](https://nynjtc.com/sites/default/files/2018_StaffPortraits_JoshDia%20%2844%29.jpg)
Board and Staff Update: Winter 2019
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![Trail Conference headquarters in the winter. Photo by Jeremy Apgar. Trail Conference headquarters in the winter. Photo by Jeremy Apgar.](https://nynjtc.com/sites/default/files/styles/news_center__single_page_style/public/DSH_Winter1Apgar_ExteriorFrontRight_020516.jpg?itok=ixtZCpj8)
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The Trail Conference welcomes Dylan, Justin, Susan, Katina, Kathy, Joshua, and Dia to our trail family.
Five New Board Members Appointed
At the Annual Meeting held Nov. 3 at Trail Conference Headquarters, four new Board members were approved to serve three-year terms: Dylan Armajani, Justin Bailey, Susan Barbuto, and Katina Grays. Directors Ken Posner and David Stuhr were re-elected. Additionally, the immediate appointment of Kathy Nolan was approved to fill the term of Rick Levine, who resigned from the Board. Kathy, of Mt. Tremper, N.Y., is a very active public servant and outdoors enthusiast. She is the senior research director at Catskill Mountainkeeper, president and executive director of Catskills Live! Trails & Wilderness Association, and executive director of Tibet Aid. In 2017 she was elected to Ulster County Legislature, District 22, representing four towns in rural, western Ulster County.
Welcome, Josh and Dia
Joshua Beese, our Conservation Detection Dog Handler, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago spending his childhood hiking with dogs through the local woods and swamps and helping to maintain the trees, flowers, and vegetable garden at his grandparents’ house. An interest in other cultures led him to pursue studies and work in several states throughout the U.S., as well as Brazil and England. Even though he has enjoyed all of the locations he has lived, the Hudson Valley is the place he loves the most. Joshua is the owner of Painted Dogz training in New York City and is a canine search specialist with New Jersey Task Force 1 and FEMA. He is excited about the opportunity to combine his great respect for dogs and environmental conservation in an effort to help manage the forests and other natural places of the Lower Hudson Valley. Read more about our program here.