Our Team
Pam Skripak
Pam Skripak, Co-Founder/Director is passionate about regenerating a sustainable, just, and biodiverse Earth. She is an educator, community organizer, environmental advocate, and member of Bethlehem Tomorrow, an organization committed to open space and sustainability. Alarmed at the decline in critical pollinators, insects, and wildlife, she has helped spearhead efforts to reduce residential pesticide use and preserve open spaces. More recently, she and her husband became stewards of 7 acres of fields and forest. Learners, like so many, they have taken inspiration from Doug Tallamy’s vision for a world of connected properties that “support life, sequester carbon, feed pollinators and manage water.” Pam has spent her career in the field of experiential education, leadership development, human and organizational capacity-building, and program design and development in the higher education and nonprofit sectors. She holds a BA in English and Women’s Studies from Hamilton College and a Masters in Public Health, Population and Family Health, from Columbia University. She and her husband, David, were Urban Youth Volunteers in Peace Corps Ecuador.
Kate Brittenham
Kate Brittenham, Co-Founder is an ecological landscape designer in Troy, NY. She is the owner of Front Stoop Gardens, an ecological landscape design and gardening company. Kate holds a BA in Environmental Studies from Skidmore College and a Certificate in Landscape Design from the New York Botanical Garden. In 2015 she interned with the Native Plant Trust (formerly New England Wild Flower Society) at their native plant nursery Nasami Farm. She credits this opportunity as transformational, expanding her knowledge not just of native plants, but also the creatures and ecosystems that depend on them. When she is not designing gardens for others, she is usually working on her own. Her favorite place is her own backyard, and she does her best to keep the neighbors from complaining.
Fred Erlich
Fred Erlich, Board of Directors, Vice President served as the founder and executive director of Living Resources for 46 years, an organization dedicated to the needs of disabled persons. By his last year, Living Resources was serving over 2,000 annually, employed 850 staff, owned approximately 40 community properties and two office buildings, and generated annual revenues of $50 million. During his tenure, Living Resources developed five affiliated corporations, including a home health corporation, a corporation to provide professional care after hospitalization, a community social services agency, a real property corp and tax credit finance apartment complex, and a foundation for private donations. In that time, Living Resources continually received clean financial audits, received a platinum rating from Guidestar.com, and were consistently profitable. Fred is the recipient of numerous awards including the Rockefeller College Alumni Award, the University at Albany Alumni Community Service Award, the Hudson Valley Community College Lifetime Achievement Award, and recognition by the U.S. President's Committee on Employment of Individuals with Disabilities. Fred holds a Master in Business and Master in Social Work from the University of Albany.
Our Board
Jackson Patterson
Jackson Patterson, Board Secretary hails from rural Columbia County, where he discovered his enthusiasm for science. His background is in youth development having worked with youth and young adults at a number of summer camps in both seasonal and full-time capacities. Jackson is an environmental educator which has allowed him to connect young adults with the environment and outdoor sciences. Currently, he works for DEC running their summer conservation camps program. Jackson holds a B.A. in Chemistry from the College of Saint Rose.
Pam Tindall O’Brien
Pam Tindall O’Brien, Board of Directors is an attorney who specializes in health care, particularly mental health issues. She worked as an Administrative Law Judge for ten years, and then as Assistant Counsel for the New York State Office of Mental Health for twenty-three years. She left to become Chief Legal Officer for the Institute for Community Living, a large not-for-profit located in New York City. She then worked for the Coalition of Mental Health agencies and Coordinated Behavioral Care.
She loves in Delmar with her husband. She cares deeply about making the planet a decent place to live for her three children and five grandchildren.
Natalie Thomas
Natalie Thomas, Communications Coordinator, graduated from SUNY New Paltz with a BFA in Printmaking, and recently moved to Albany where she connected with Home Earth Alliance. She is in charge of running all our social media pages, creating content, and helping us connect with our audience. She’s very passionate about environmental justice and living sustainably, and is excited to be a part of our team!
Giovana Calmunci
Giovana Calamunci, Volunteer Coordinator Intern, is a senior at the University at Albany where she majors in political science and is a D1 athlete with the track and field team. With a strong interest in environmental issues, she joins Home Earth Alliance as our very first Volunteer Coordinator Intern. She’s super excited to work with Home Earth Alliance and help us launch our second annual Ecological Landscape exhibit at this year’s Capital Region Flower & Garden show this March.
Laura Lehtonen
Laura Lehtonen, Native Plant Propagation Consultant for Home Earth Alliance’s IMAGINE Native Plant Farm, holds degrees in Botany and Science Education. She has worked for the National Herbarium, multiple environmental education organizations, and has experience in both the public and not-for-profit realms. In her spare time, she grows native plants and hangs out at native plant nurseries when she can find them. She is passionate about New York’s native plants and looks forward to supporting the growth of Imagine Native Plant Farm.