Building a Resilient Future Together: The Highlands: Together We Decide Project
Building a sustainable future is the heart of Highlands: Together We Decide, a community-driven initiative launched in September 2025. Our primary goal is to empower residents to design a long-term, sustainable vision for the Town of Highlands, Fort Montgomery, and the Village of Highland Falls. This project is supported by the Partners for Climate Action "Funding Futures" program.
The Town of Highlands Needs Your Vote!
Through our Highlands Together We Decide listening process, residents shared a number of ideas for building a stronger, more connected, and more resilient Highland Falls and Fort Montgomery. Cast your vote for you favorite proposals!
Our Team:
Olga Kuchar Anderson is currently Chair of the Town of Highlands Citizens Environmental Advisory Committee which she founded in 2019. The Committee focuses its work primarily on New York State’s Clean Energy and Climate Smart Community initiatives on behalf of the municipality. Olga is manager of the Community Garden at Holy Innocents in Highland Falls, a member of the Friends of the Highland Falls Library, and sits on the Board of Directors at Sustainable Hudson Valley. She is a recent recipient of the Evelyn Drew Memorial Democratic Service Award for her environmental work.
Roxana Bartolomé has spent over a decade working in the non-profit sector, with experience in fundraising, community engagement, and partnership development. Beyond her professional work, she is passionate about giving back through volunteer-led community initiatives. From 2020–2022, she was a founding member and lead coordinator of Clean Up Crown Heights in Brooklyn, organizing neighborhood cleanups and beautification efforts, and also supported food access and vaccine outreach through Crown Heights Mutual Aid during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since moving to Highland Falls in 2022, she has been an active member of the Citizens Environmental Advisory Committee and is currently training as a Master Volunteer in Community Resilience Building through the Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Erica Affronti is currently a senior at SUNY New Paltz majoring in English and Digital Media Production. She is dedicated to crafting narratives through the art of writing as well as video and audio production. Erica is also a member of the Town of Highlands Citizens Environmental Advisory Committee, primarily focusing on helping with photos and social media posts.
Melissa Everett, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of Sustainable Hudson Valley. She is an outreach and communications strategist working at the intersection of climate action, green industry and community development. Since 2004, she has helped to build a movement of local innovators who are reducing their communities’ carbon footprints and building the market for clean energy industries. Her accomplishments with SHV include convening eight influential regional summits and conferences and bringing the Solarize model for community education and solar group purchasing to the Hudson Valley on a three-year funding award from NYSERDA.
Or drop your ballot off at:
Town Hall
Village Hall
Library
Fort Fitness in Fort Montgomery
More information about the proposals:
Community Futures Fund (pdf)
Highland Connectivity Initiative (pdf)
Community Development Initiative (pdf)
Highlands Outdoors (pdf)
Neighbor to Neighbor Program (pdf)
Community Resilience Working Group (pdf)
Community Center Proposals:
1. Community Center (pdf)
2. Multicultural Center (pdf)
3. A Hispanic Center (pdf)
Public Art (pdf)
Results of survey:
These are the words and issues that were most often cited in the surveys we did. The larger the text, the more often it appeared. The GREEN denotes positive things that need encouragement; the RED denotes areas that need improvement. Subsequent ideas are based largely on these words and phrases.
We are looking for small group meetings where we can share our community stories and explain more about this project. We’d love to come to your church, club, party, etc.
Contact us at highlands.togetherwedecide@gmail.com
Facebook Page: Highlands: Together We Decide