Board Members

David Dell, Ph.D. (Chairman) has a unique background combining research, management consulting, executive leadership, and investment banking. Through publications, conference presentations and news citations, he has been recognized as a thought leader in Sustainability, Outsourcing, M&A integration, HR, Corporate IT strategy, and other areas. Currently as CEO / co-founder of Sustainable Profitability Group.

Dr Dell is active in developing new energy investments. As chairman of HRTechTeam he provides guidance for best practices in HR technology. In his personal practice Dr. Dell serves on the boards of growth companies and non profit organizations, and is a trusted adviser to senior business leaders. As Research Director for the Conference Board for the Concours Group and Diebold Group Dr. Dell was engaged in numerous reports on best practices for leading corporations. He has served companies in transition and turnarounds as interim CEO, Chief Technology Officer as well as Chief Talent Officer and been an officer and director of 2 NASD National listed companies. As an investment banker focusing on funding, acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures of emerging technology companies he has helped secure over 100 million in funding and helped investors avoid thousands of attractive traps.

In addition to SHV, he is active on the boards of Luminary Publishing, the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, and the Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York. David has a Ph.D. from Columbia University in the languages and culture of India.

Perry Goldschein, J.D. is a corporate sustainability consultant, and former environmental and regulatory lawyer, with 15 years of experience helping organizations create value through sustainability. Perry has served such world-class clients as GE, Goldman Sachs, the International Monetary Fund, Johnson & Johnson, National Geographic, PepsiCo, Walmart, and Yale University. He has been quoted and published widely in academic journals, industry press, and the general media. He has also taught at the State University of New York, New Paltz, and presented at American Strategic Management Institute, Cornell University, Sustainable Brands, and Net Impact. Perry holds a J.D. from the University of California, Davis, and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Rev. Limina Grace Harmon serves as the pastor of New Paltz United Methodist Church. For over twenty years she has worked for social justice, believing in the words of John Wesley that ‘there is no holiness but social holiness,’ and how we take care of one another and the earth is a sacred joy and responsibility. Her work has spanned political and policy formulation to work with the ACLU before answering a call to ministry. In seminary ecological justice was a special area of study, and she was named an International Green Build Scholar in 2014.

In addition to her work at the church, she currently serves on the Ulster County Human Rights Commission, the New Paltz Central School District Racial Equity Initiative Advisory Committee, and is the Chairperson of the Catskill Hudson District Cross Racial Cross Cultural Appointment Task Force. This past year she was honored to be a member of the Police Reinvention and Reimagination Committee for the Town of New Paltz. Limina has two incredible children, Bentley and Kalinda. She is supported in love, laughter and adventure by her partner Art.

Lucy Johnson received her PhD from Columbia University in 1973, and started teaching at Vassar College, where she is now a Professor Emerita. She has taught numerous courses in Anthropology as well as Environmental Studies, Latin American Studies and Technology and Society. Extending over a period of more than forty years, Prof. Johnson, has been active in archaeological field studies, including survey and excavations in Alaska, Egypt, Chile, Peru, Idaho, Arizona as well as numerous locations in New York State.

In 1991 Prof. Johnson’s edited book, ‘Paleoshorelines and Prehistory‘, CRC Press, was published. She has also published many book chapters, articles and reviews. Her contributions extend from 1973 to 2018. Prof. Johnson has lectured, presented papers or participated on panels at over fifty professional events. In her portfolio there are over ten research reports, and numerous contract reports including many dealing with archeological and cultural resource evaluations for the Town of Poughkeepsie improvement projects.

Lucy has been active in the governance of Vassar College as well as serving on the boards of a number of local not-for-profit organizations. She is currently secretary of the Board of Directors of the Hudson River Environmental Society, secretary of the Board of Directors of the LaGrange Library and member of the Hudson River Estuary Management Advisory Committee.

Edward Lawson, Jr., JD, MBA, is President and CEO of Family and Community Engagement Services, Inc. He is a committed change agent and transformative leader with over 25 years of experience in community mobilization. A strategist and sought-after speaker, Edward has procured over $60 million in direct service and grant writing of federal and major foundation grant proposals for Department of Education, Health and Human Service, and Department of Justice programs. He has designed and managed Fatherhood initiatives, Healthy Marriage and Relationship programs, and Re-entry programs.

Playing an active role in the promotion of President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge, he was instrumental in establishing the Yonkers MBK Plan, MBK Stakeholder Summit, and the Lower Hudson Valley MBK Alliance. He served as the grant writing team lead and the inaugural Program Manager for Yonkers MBK Impacting Communities Grant, which was selected as 1 of 10 of the Obama Foundation MBK National Impact Communities.

An expert in change management, Edward has developed a diversity, equity, and inclusion framework which has effectively assisted law enforcement agencies to envision, develop, and implement comprehensive local action plans to increase agency communication and connection with the public. Edward is a family mediator and adjunct professor at SUNY New Paltz in the Black Studies Department.

Victor-Pierre Melendez is an experienced community outreach professional with a broad background in environmental sustainability and the development of corporate accountability policies and procedures. Victor’s work has allowed him to liaise with various nonprofits and community organizations to ensure a seamless interface in project implementation. He brings to SHV added understanding of the interconnections between different industries within for-profit, nonprofit, and government sectors. He can most recently be found holding the position of Municipal Relations Director at Joule Community Power where he manages communications with municipal clientele and develops sales and marketing strategies for Community Choice Aggregations (CCA) and the community distributed solar power generation (CDG) programs throughout New York State.

He received a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science & Marine Biology from the University of Tampa, a master’s from the Bard Center for Environmental Policy, and a second master’s degree in Public Administration from the College of New Rochelle in 2017. In 2017, Victor founded V-Structuring Concepts, a strategic consulting group that provides guidance to everyone from the environmental community activists to the driven entrepreneurs.

In his earlier years he is proud to have worked as a Project Developer that supported the development of the Energy, Sustainability & Resilience (ESR) Division – Sustainability Navigator Program for the Institute for Building Technology & Safety. Victor directed the Green Cities initiative for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, working in-depth on various issues from environmental justice to green infrastructure. He also worked for the Orange County, NY Department of Health. As an entrepreneur, he managed a cafe and art gallery/dance studio in the Downtown Waterfront district of Kingston.

Michael Sheridan, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the School of Management at SUNY New Paltz. With a focus on business strategy, organizational behavior and environmental sustainability, Michael engages students in important research in enterprises and the community. His professional honors include the Pontikes Center Research Award and membership in the National Scholars Honor Society.