Board of Directors

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Troy Fried, Vice-Chair, Executive Committee

Troy Fried, originally of Selden, moved to Brookhaven with his wife in 2007. As a parent of a South Country Central School District student, Troy became involved with CEED when his son began attending CEED programs and joined CEED’s Wavemakers program. Troy graduated from Muhlenberg College of Allentown, PA with a B.S. in Biology. He later obtained a Master’s degrees in education from Dowling College and in administration from C.W. Post. Troy began as an analyst in an environmental testing laboratory before his teaching career in the Westbury School District. Troy has served as a biology teacher for 20 years and department chair for the past nine. Troy’s focus is on expanding CEED’s partnerships with local schools and communities to increase awareness of the importance of environmental education.

Rachel Ndembera, PhD, Secretary, Executive Committee

Rachel Ndembera is committed to CEED’s mission of connecting the community with nature and science, in particular supporting holistic opportunities for children to activate their imagination through exploration and collaborative problem solving. She grew up with an appreciation for science and outdoor education which she applied to an undergraduate degree in Geology and Astronomy from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Rachel discovered a passion for teaching while serving in Botswana as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Upon returning to the United States, Rachel earned a Master’s in Teaching from Stony Brook University. While teaching at a public secondary school in Harlem, NY she completed an advanced certification program in School Building and District Leadership through a Collaborative Leadership to Advance School Success partnership between New Visions for Public Schools and Hunter College before returning to Stony Brook University to complete a doctoral program while working in her current role as Director of Science & Research PK-12 at Middle Country Central School District.

Rachel’s research experiences range from mapping surface lineations on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons as an undergraduate to graduate research which allowed her to investigate geochemical characteristics of the local quartz found at West Meadow Beach in order to learn more about Long Island’s glacial history. The focus of her recent publications investigates pre-service Earth & Space and General Science teacher content knowledge with the objective of informing targeted professional learning experiences.

Joan Miyazaki

Joan Miyazaki is a retired native New Yorker whose passion for the living world began in early childhood while exploring the forests, fields, lakes, and streams upstate and around New York City. Those outdoor experiences were so rewarding that they set the stage for a lifetime of focus on the structure and function of biological systems. After decades of teaching biology at Stony Brook University, she appreciates how special her experiences were, and how few children into adulthood have experienced the beauty, pleasure, and excitement of the natural world. Joan believes that that lack of experience has led us down the tragic road of habitat destruction and species extinction that is gaining ever more momentum today. She sees CEED’s potential to reverse that trend and impact the awareness of children to adults to help them see the beauty and problems of Long Island’s ecosystems. CEED can nurture, educate, and engage them in problem-solving discussions and actions.

Joan graduated from New York University in Biology and holds Master’s Degrees in Botany (Rutgers), and Paleontology (Stony Brook). In retirement, the arts have become a larger part of Joan’s life in retirement through brush painting, the mandolin, and tai chi/qigong, so she appreciates CEED’s focus on art. She has found the CEED community is rewarding to interact with, and share ideas, and activities across many scientific, artistic, and cultural programs.

Sam Rauch

Sam Rauch is an independent curator and producer of artist projects, primarily in the public realm. Since 2007, he has collaborated with a number of the world’s leading artists to realize their most ambitious exhibitions, commissions, and site-specific installations. In the course of Director-level roles at Public Art Fund, the New Museum, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, and Madison Square Park, he has partnered with artists from emerging to world-renowned, produced dynamic new works in a wide range of media and scale, and engaged diverse publics in New York City and around the world, in contexts ranging from traditional museum and gallery spaces to public streets and parks, iconic urban landmarks, and important civic sites. Rauch’s research investigates experimental and interdisciplinary collaborative art practices that foster kinship, reciprocity, care, and repair within and between the human and more-than-human realms. He currently serves as Curator for art and design collective Department of Transformation, as well as a curatorial advisor to the urban farm network Project Eats. Sam is particularly interested in helping CEED find ways to use art to connect people and nature.

Mike Kaiser

Mike Kaiser is a long time resident of East Patchogue and became a volunteer for CEED very shortly after it was formed. Mike is a graduate of St. John’s University and a Navy veteran who spent most of his career in finance, eventually serving as a Vice President for Irving Trust Company and Bank Austria. He is an avid outdoorsmen, camper, backpacker and trail maintainer who is a member of the exclusive club of “46ers” who have hiked all the peaks over 4000 feet in the Adirondack Mountain Club. He has also hiked extensively all over the country. Mike has long been a volunteer with non-profit organizations and has served as a treasurer, financial secretary and volunteer firefighter. In addition to volunteering with CEED, he is presently a Trustee on the Adirondack Mountain Club Advisory Board.

Jennifer Vorbach

Jennifer Vorbach is an art dealer and auctioneer with a long-standing interest in biology and conservation. She grew up in Switzerland, and her summers in the Alps inspired a fascination with biodiversity and respect for the complexity of natural systems. During her 12 years at the International School she was educated with students from around the globe. She graduated Mount Holyoke College with a B.A. in Art History, and attended the Christie’s Course in London. She is a beginner beekeeper in Bellport. Jennifer’s lifetime involvement with fine arts dovetails with CEED’s Art and Nature mission. She has served on the Boards of the Saint-Gaudens Memorial and the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum and believes that expanding the joy of the natural world in the community helps provide a path forward in preserving our wondrous ecosystem.

Clyde Parker

Clyde Parker is a long-time resident of Bellport. He is a former business owner and business consultant, specializing in stimulating revenue growth for retail operations. An army veteran, Parker says military service taught him many valuable lessons about leadership and goals.

Trish Odusami

Patricia Odusami (Trish) is a business management and planning expert, with extensive program management, technology planning, and strategic decision-making experience. Trish currently works in the Biotech/Pharmaceutical Industry managing relationships between Business customers and Information technology. She brings to CEED a global viewpoint, having lived and worked in Europe, Africa, and the Americas, and hopes her background across multiple cultures can help ensure that CEED develops as an organization committed to diversity. Trish is an alumna of Birkbeck College, University of London. She is a member of Women in Technology, Lean In, and the Project Management Institute, PMI. She served for years as the Vice President, Education, Global Expression Toastmasters, New York; and serves in an advisory role to a local non-profit café organization in Patchogue, NY. In her spare time, Trish enjoys writing, cooking, and mentoring young professionals.

Sally Wellinger, Executive Director

Sally Wellinger has lived on Long Island for almost 35 years, but spent the early part of her life in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. Having parents who are outdoor enthusiasts, hiking and being in nature has been a large part of her life. Sally has a degree from Stony Brook University in biology, psychology, and philosophy; and a masters in Elementary Education from Dowling College. She is New York state certified to teach Biology, General Science, and Elementary Education. Sally has taught many age groups and disciplines, including working as education and site director at the Outdoor Education Learning Lab of Western Suffolk Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES), located at Sunken Meadow State Park. She has served as a volunteer and on staff at several non-profits including the Long Island Explorium, OceansWide, Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, and the Riverhead Foundation. Sally has developed education programs, worked as program administrator, and provided professional development, including New York State Science Learning Standards and science professional development for educators. Sally co-produced the Eastern Long Island Mini-Maker Faire, helping it grow into a larger Maker Faire. All of these life experiences have prepared her for her dream position as Executive Director of the Center for Environmental Education and Discovery.

Patrice Dlhopolsky, Advisory

Patrice Dlhopolsky retired from her position as Director of the Suffolk County Probation Department in 2017 after having spent over 40 years in community supervision in Suffolk County. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in French from St. John’s University and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from New York Institute of Technology. Patrice retired in order to spend additional time with her young grandchildren, to travel, and to free up more time enjoying the natural world through gardening & other worthwhile and enjoyable activities.

CEED provides the opportunity to enjoy and help protect that natural environment so that it can be enjoyed by her grandchildren and future generations. The Bellport-Brookhaven community is the perfect place to develop and grow our program.

Swazi Clarity, Advisory

Swazi Clarity recently moved to Bellport from the US Virgin Islands and England where she had careers in banking and real estate development and a longtime commitment to wildlife preservation and environmental learning. In England, she grew fruit and vegetables organically in rural Dorset for her London restaurant, and in doing so learned to cherish and protect the surrounding wildlife and wild places. She supported and worked with local non- profits for wilderness preservation and as a Girl Scout leader organized camping trips and nature hikes.

Swazi holds a BS from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and an M.A. from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. She hopes to help CEED give the Bellport- Brookhaven community the chance to experience the irreplaceable benefits of enjoying and preserving the natural world around us.

Rebecca Muellers, Co-Founder

Eric Powers, Co-Founder

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