Peg was appointed as Board Chair in early 2021, having been a member of the Board of Directors since 2014. The Board currently has 27 board members, including Peg. Board Chairs generally have terms of three years, with no limits.

As Board Chair, Peg says she very much likes the interaction on this level and the opportunity to interact with nearly all board members often. “I think it makes it easier for me to feel like I’m having an impact on the organization and the Catskills and what we’re trying to accomplish alike,” she says.

Peg says she is enjoying her position and is thrilled the staff and board are working together very well.

Q: What do you see being able to accomplish in the role of Board Chair?

A: One of the advantages is being able to identify needs within the organization that should be addressed or could be addressed and then working towards that. So, this year, when I came on, we were just starting to have the conversations about justice, equality, diversity, and inclusion, which we call JEDI. JEDI is an issue for which we need to do our due diligence. We need to have trainings, we need to have staff trainings, board trainings, and we also have to examine our culture. So we’re going to delve deep into JEDI issues and the whole process of making sure that our Board and our organization, staff included, is sensitive to these issues, not only for our internal relationships but also, as we interact with the general public, we really need to be aware and sensitive and welcoming.

When people come to our visitor center, people are on our trails, people are interacting with us, it’s really important for the experience people have here in the Catskills to be a welcoming experience and to be positive. So to me, the JEDI work helps inform all of that. So we’re going to be doing a lot of intensive JEDI workshops and trainings over the next couple of years, I’m sure.

We’re signing up to get our electricity from the Delaware River Solar Farm, which is a series of solar farms. We did our due diligence to find one that is what it says it is, and delivers well, is a NYSERDA partner.

Q: What else is on the top of your priority list?

A: Well, there are two things. I guess the top of the list really now has to be environmental climate-change focused. Short-term goals, we would like to get our facilities to net zero as soon as possible (Erpf Center and CVC), and we’ve got a committee working to get us some proposals and put some procedures in place that we can implement. We want to replace our older hybrid vehicle with a fully electric vehicle. We want to see if we can help encourage climate-conscious decisions and policies and practices throughout the Catskills for individuals and businesses, and that will take collaborating with other organizations. Working together is the best way to make sure that something happens, especially on a region-wide basis. Those are our short-term goals.

And, long-term, because issues of climate stability are coming to a head, we have to be very prudent and mindful of decisions that we make, and we also have to look at proposals that come from the good and bad players from outside, such as the [proposed] Ashokan pumped storage project, which was poorly, if at all, planned. I don’t think it was just poorly planned, I think it was unplanned, but that used a lot of people’s time and energy and a lot of focus. With many proposals, legislation, we’re going to have to be mindful of the good and bad decisions. And, at this point, we can’t afford to make any bad environmental or climate decisions. So I think our Policy Committee is going to be very busy in the long term making sure that we can do the best for the Catskills possible. It’s not going to be easy, but this is important work. I think we do this work that other organizations here in the Catskills don’t. We are policy-minded and advocacy-minded, and I think that a lot of this heavy lifting is going to fall to us.

Amidst all of this, we continue to do our Catskills Stewards Program, and the CRISP (Catskills Regional Invasive Species Partnership) program - removing invasive species; and SAP (Streamside Acquisition Program), which is protecting the stream banks from erosion and flood risk. So there’s work on the ground that happens while we are also working in these other realms as well.

Q: Where are your favorite hikes in the Catskills?

A: So I spent 20 years hiking the Catskills in my previous job. And so these days, my hikes are basically in my own valley. I live in the Halcott Valley, which is near Fleischmanns, but I’ve always had a very fond feeling for Giant Ledge, for Slide Mountain. I have not hiked them recently because of the influx of people. With so many people going up at the same time, it’s not quite the same experience as when you’re there by yourself or with your family, but there are so many great hiking trails in the Catskills. I can come away from any one of them with the same feeling and the same cleansing of my palate that, regardless of what trail I’m on, every trail gives me the same thing in that it’s just kind of a renewal and just clearing my mind and gets me going so I can keep on for the rest of the day or the rest of the week.

Photo: Peg DiBenedetto at the Catskill Center’s Platte Cove Preserve ( Plattekill Falls)