Daniel Kiefer-Bach

Daniel grew up in Rochester, New York, and has lived the last 8 years in Longmont, Colorado.  Daniel's partner, Tayler is from Old Forge, New York and it is through her and her family that he found himself relocated to Eagle Bay in 2021.   Daniel's background has predominantly been in Not-For-Profit Management and Social Program Creation. As the current Community Development Specialist for LivingADK (livingadk.org), Daniel spends most of his time out in the community shoring up small town needs such as healthy food access, affordable housing solutions, broadband expansion and year-round sustainable economies resistant to climate change.  Just like everyone else in the Adirondacks, you can find Daniel out canoeing, hiking, camping and xc skiing whenever possible.

Cindy DeAngelis

Cindy started visiting the Adirondacks a few years ago when her fiancé was training for the Ironman in Lake Placid. They fell in love with the area and when the opportunity presented itself last year, they moved up to live in Lake  Placid full time.  Since moving to the area, Cindy has made it a priority to get involved in the community – volunteering with Ironman Lake Placid, the Lake Placid Film Festival, and most recently with AdkAction’s Food Security Projects. 

Cindy has experience working across product development, technology and client management in the finance industry. In her current role, she leads the product roadmap for iOS and Android mobile apps, working with engineers to build new capabilities, and collaborating with clients and stakeholders on launching these features to customers in market. She graduated from Boston University with a degree in Business Management and minor in International Relations.  She looks forward to bringing this experience as well as her passion for food security and environmental sustainability to her work with AdkAction. 

Cindy enjoys hiking, kayaking, skiing, and exploring all the amazing things that the Adirondacks have to offer in her spare time.  

Diana Zais

Diana Prescott Zais, a native of Keeseville, recently moved back to Augur Lake with her husband Gregory and one of her sons Daniel. Her second son Sam enjoys taking in all the Adirondacks have to offer when he visits on his vacations twice a year.

Diana earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Lawrence University and a Master’s Degree from the Hotel School at Cornell University. She spent the first part of her career in the hospitality industry working for Hyatt and Westin Hotels. In 1991 she left the hotel business to devote her full attention to raising twin sons. Over the next 30 years though the family’s permanent residence was Needham, MA the Zaises escaped to the family home in the Adirondacks whenever possible for long weekends, summer and winter holidays. It was truly their second home.

In 1999, Diana joined Babson College’s Advancement Division assuming the role of Vice President for Development in 2010. She recently retired following the management of two capital campaigns, $216M and $300M respectively, and is enjoying her return to the North Country. Diana continues her involvement in the hospitality industry serving on the Board of Directors of Resort Enterprises, Inc. in Rumney, NH and the AuSable Chasm Company, AuSable Chasm, NY.

Elizabeth Ruscitto

Elizabeth grew up in Syracuse, New York, and spent many summers with family and friends around the Adirondack Park. Like many others, she kept getting called back to the mountains and moved to the Old Forge, New York area in 2020. She is a venture capitalist, consultant, and angel investor focused on the intersection of data, technology, and communities. For the last 16 years, she's worked with hundreds of startups, not-for-profits, and SaaS companies to build platforms for highly active and diverse communities with millions of members in more than 180 countries. She is known for being a community champion using data-driven frameworks and storytelling to scale impact, innovation, and member engagement.

Andrea Baer

Andrea Baer was born on the island of Jamaica and has been a US Citizen for over thirty years.  Andrea is the owner and president of Adirondack Baer Antiques and Collectables in the Town of Keeseville where she resides with her husband Steven Baer and their twelve-year-old son Cortland Baer. Before relocating to upstate NY,  Andrea worked as the Director of Events for Orange County Chamber of Commerce and also worked for over twenty years in the banking industry in various capacities such as; Branch Supervisor, Business Development Specialist, and Business Development Officer.  Andrea is an active member at her church and serves as a Treasurer for the Gideons International Zone 9 New York. She is also serving on the Board of Trustees for the North Country Underground Railroad and the Governance Committee. Andrea is enthusiastic and enjoys working with people.  Two of her favorite hobbies are fishing and power walking along the beautiful Adirondack Mountains and Lake Champlain.

Lee Lamparski

Lee is a retired CPA. She and her late husband, Paul, made Lake Placid their forever home in 2016. Paul was the first in the family to hold the treasurer spot at AdkAction and upon his passing Lee took up the reins. Lee began her career, after graduating from Michigan State University, with Coopers & Lybrand, one of the original “Big 8” accounting firms. She moved to southeastern Pennsylvania to continue her career, get married and raise two girls. In 1993 she obtained a tax practice to assist small business and individuals, retiring in 2017. Lee has been on the board of various charities and is a founding member of the Lake Placid, NY, Rotary Foundation. In addition she currently volunteers for AARP providing free tax preparation for many in the Tri-Lake area. Lee is an avid skier, hiker and equestrian and has begun taking RV trips with her dog around the country.

Eric Holmlund

Eric Holmlund is a Professor of Environmental Studies in the Environment and Society Department at Paul Smith’s College. He is also the Director of the Adirondack Watershed Institute Stewardship Program, which works to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species on waterways across the Adirondack region. Holmlund also steers a multi-year sustainable development collaboration with the National Park of the Tuscan-Emilian Appenines in Italy. Holmlund has served as Interim Dean at Paul Smith’s College, as the Director of the Outdoor Education Program at St. Lawrence University, as a senior instructor for the Wilderness Education Association (WEA) and as instructor and Course Director for the New York Outward Bound Center. Holmlund is the author, with Jack Drury, of The Camper’s Guide to Outdoor Pursuits, a book published in 1997.Eric Holmlund holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from Dartmouth College, a Master’s Degree in Outdoor Recreation from Southern Illinois University, a Master’s Degree in Secondary English Education from the State University of New York at Potsdam, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Studies from Antioch University New England. His research interests include narratives of environmental attachment and socio-political conflict, and aquatic invasive species spread networks via overland transport of recreational watercraft.

Anne Schoff

Anne grew up in Schenectady, vacationing with her family on Sacandaga Reservoir. She and her husband Jim purchased their summer home on Upper Saranac in 1987. Her educational background, BS in Radio-Television (Ithaca College) and MEd (John Carroll University,) has led her professional career to span both public relations and teaching (grades 1-8) in Cleveland, Ohio. Her board experience in Cleveland includes The Near West Theatre and City Year Cleveland. In the Adirondacks she has served on the Pendragon Theater board and is active with the Birth To Three Alliance through the Adirondack Foundation. Anne and Jim count their ten grandchildren as their greatest contribution to the future of the Adirondack Region.

Ruth Smith

Originally from the Boston area, Ruth came to the Adirondacks with her husband, Craig, to relax at the Smith’s summer camp on Upper Saranac Lake after they completed graduate degrees in 1974.  Since they both enjoyed the many outdoor experiences this region offers, it wasn’t long before they decided that Saranac Lake was the place to call home. Ruth is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, with a B.A. in Biology, and earned a M.S. in Microbiology from the Harvard School of Public Health.  After initially working in biomedical research, Ruth taught environmental microbiology and other science courses at Paul Smith’s College from 1977-2011. Ruth’s community activities include past membership and Board positions in the Saranac Lake Women’s College Scholarship Club, and BluSeed Studios. Inc.  She is currently a Board member of the Upper Saranac Lake Association, and had previously served on its Environmental Committee.  At the Trudeau Institute, Ruth serves on the institutional committee overseeing animal use and care.

Lisa Salamon

Lisa Salamon retired to the ADKs several years ago to pursue her love of nature, hiking and macro photography.  Now a resident of Minerva in southern Essex County, Lisa moved to the ADKs from Westtown, PA where she lived for 30 years.  Lisa was active on several non-profit boards while leading public relations and investor relations departments for publicly traded healthcare and nuclear utility companies. Lisa and husband Ken, have two daughters in their late 20’s (who are gainfully employed) and live in a hand-hewn cabin on Minerva Lake with a Portuguese Water Dog and Tabby Cat.  Lisa’s close-up photos are frequently featured in NCPR’s Photo of the Day. She is active in several organizations in the Minerva and North Creek communities.

Seth McGowan

Seth was born in the Bronx, NY, and resides in Tupper Lake with his wife, Susan. He and his wife raised their three grown children, Laura, Scott, and Sarah in Tupper Lake. He started his career in 1987 in education as an instrumental music teacher in Indian Lake. He took the same position with the Tupper Lake Central School District in 1990 where he later became the computer technology coordinator for the District, elementary school principal, high school principal, and served as the Superintendent of Schools from 2007 until his retirement in 2020. In addition to his membership in Rotary and Kiwanis, Seth is the vice-president of the Adirondack Public Observatory and Chairperson of the Education Committee.

W. Buck Bobbin

W. Buck Bobbin is a native of the Hudson Valley, Buck Bobbin was first connected with the Adirondacks while attending Curtis S. Reed Boy Scout camp near Brant Lake. He has canoed much of the Raquette River, finished Boy Scouting as an Eagle Scout and went on to graduate from George Washington University with a degree in International Affairs. Buck worked as a ski instructor in California and New York, and then in electoral politics in Virginia, Illinois, and most recently in the North Country and Adirondack Park of New York. He is currently a regional representative for the New York State Department of Labor, and remains active in environmental conservation, responsible and deliberate economic development, and local Democratic politics. He lives on the Saranac River in Cadyville, NY.

Dave Wolff

Dave is a Saranac Lake native and lives at the family homestead on Lake Kiwassa. He is married to Holly and they have two grown boys, Dj and Stephen. He retired from IBM in 2006 after 31 years in sales and consulting. Both Dave and Holly are “46ers”; he has served on the Board of the Lake Placid Olympic Museum; and he is the President of the Lake Kiwassa Shoreowners Association. Dave graduated with a BS in Physics from Trinity College (CT) and earned an MBA from Dartmouth College and an MS in Computer Science from VPI. He served two terms as Chairman of AdkAction and is the Chairperson of the Broadband Committee.