Pam was born in Norwich, CT and currently resides in Colchester. She is an active volunteer, currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Friends of CT State Parks and the Board of Directors of the Thames River Heritage Park Foundation. In recent years, she served on the Mystic Country (Eastern CT Regional Tourism District) where she served as the Chairperson and, Friends of Harkness Memorial State Park. She was also a member of the CT State Park Centennial Celebration Committee-2013-14 which helped to raise nearly $50,000 for the Centennial Celebration and the CT State Parks Centennial Commemorative Book. Pamela serves on the America State Park Foundation as a Retiree member of the National Association of State Park Directors. In her leisure time, Pam is a member of the Norwich Power Squadron (US Power Squadrons), a boating education organization and the West Highland White Terrier Society of CT. Ms. Adams was elected as a Justice-of-the-Peace in 1981 and continues to serve in that capacity. Prior to her retirement in 2009, Pamela served as Director of the Connecticut State Park system for 12 years and was a dedicated public servant with the CT Department of Environmental Protection; retiring after 33 years with that agency. Other Information: BA, Wittenberg University, MS University of Connecticut. Married to Thomas.
As well as serving as Co-President currently, Eileen held prior office as FCSP’s President for eight years. (2007-2014) She deepened the FCSP partnership with DEEP and CFPA, and led a successful multiyear campaign to raise awareness of the lack of funding for and staffing of the State Park System.
A life long Griswold CT resident Ryan Snide wakes up everyday inspired to help others. He is a self employed Plumbing and Heating Service Professional with a life long passion for the outdoors. Raised in the Pachaug Forest, he is the founding President of Friends of Pachaug Forest. Ryan has also joined the Connecticut Forest and Park Association as a Trail Manager for the Quinabaug Trail and works with the various other trail building groups in the State. He is a strong community advocate with a very positive perspective on life who works hard to instill the same attitude in the volunteers he leads. ” If we all did things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”
Meg Begley is Chair of the Publicity/Social Media and Co-Chair of the Fundraising Committees. She is the FaceBook and Instagram administrator who enjoys creating posts that engage people in the wonders of Topsmead and the Friends’ efforts to preserve this special place.
Helen Post Curry, an Interior Designer and Color Consultant by profession, lives in New Canaan and works to promote and preserve the work of her great-grandfather, the renowned architect Cass Gilbert. She runs the tours of his magnificent Woolworth Building in NYC, and has recently created the Friends of Seaside State Park in Waterford, CT to help preserve its architectural heritage, which includes two of his last buildings.
Born and raised in Waterbury, Shaun has been visiting Connecticut state parks since the earliest days of his youth. Parks like Harkness, Gillette Castle, Black Rock, Devils Hopyard, Wadsworth Falls, and numerous others, shaped Shaun’s love of both the natural world and of the human stories of our state’s past. These places are part of the reason Shaun attended Central Connecticut State University and majored in history. After finishing his B.A. and M.A. degrees, Shaun worked for the National Park Service as a ranger at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site in Oyster Bay, New York for more than six years. In 2011, Shaun accepted a position with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and was happy to return to Connecticut. He now works on the shoreline and owns a home with his wife in the Middletown area. Shaun joined FCSP in 2015 to advocate for our state lands and raise awareness so more citizens will enjoy them.
Margot Burns is currently the Environmental Planner for the Lower CT River Valley Council of Governments where she coordinates the Lower CT River and Coastal Region Land Trust Exchange and recently led the development effort of the Menunketesuck / Cockaponset Regional Greenway and its 2012 designation as a CT State Greenway. Margot earned her MS in Geography/Environmental Protection and holds a BA in Environmental Geography from Central CT State University. She currently serves on the Steering Committee for the Connecticut Land Conservation Council as Secretary for the Eastern CT Resource, Conservation, and Development Area, and is a member of the Chester Conservation Commission.
Eric has been Executive Director of CFPA since May, 2008 after serving for over five years as the Executive Director for the Farmington River Watershed Association in Simsbury. Eric holds an M.S. in Environmental Science/Range Management from U.C. Berkeley, and a B.A. in History from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Eric is the lead advocate for CFPA at the state legislature where he works primarily on forestry, recreation, education, and trail-related policy issues. Eric led CFPA’s efforts to secure recreational liability reform to encourage municipal entities to open their lands for recreation, as well as helped protect 14,000 acres of forests in the 10-Mill program by easing tax burdens on landowners. Most recently, Eric worked with CFPA and as Treasurer of the Protect CT Public Lands Coalition, Inc. to place Question #2 on the statewide ballot in Connecticut. This ballot question passed with ~85% support adding to Connecticut’s constitution a new Amendment that will protect State Parks, Forests, and Wildlife Management Areas from being given away by the Legislature without adequate public input.
Eric currently serves on the Boards of the Friends of CT State Parks, Connwood Foresters, Inc., and the Connecticut Land Conservation Council. He is also on the Steering Committee for the Friends of Auerfarm Scenic Reserve and the Working Lands Alliance.
Jay joined the FCSP board in 2013. He started his tenure with the state parks simply by offering his services in the visitors book at Heublein Tower. He joined the Friends of Heublein Tower board of directors in 2002. In 2009 accepted the position of Co-President of the board. As an architect, Jay brings his interest in restoring buildings back to their original integrity. His ability to gather support, secure materials and labor have led to many successful restoration/recreation projects at the tower. He, other members of the board and the Park Manager have collaborated on many projects together, relying on their individual strengths and talents to accomplish daunting tasks. Jay’s never afraid to be hands on, from bending copper for light fixtures to climbing up to the cupola to change the light bulb in the beacon. Jay lives in Simsbury with his wife Tara and daughters Taylor, Maggie and Maeve.
Susan served as Deputy Commissioner for Environmental Conservation for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection from April, 2008 to November, 2019. She is an avid outdoorswoman and gardener. For more than thirty years, she held a variety of environmental management and policy positions in both Connecticut and Massachusetts. She was responsible for developing and implementing innovative public private partnerships, and for expanding educational programming and recreational opportunities in state parks for both states.
Tom is the Director of the State Parks and Public Outreach Division of the DEEP, and serves on the FCSP Board as an Ex-Officio member. Tom began his career working for DEEP in the early 80s in the State Parks Division. For 5 years, Tom worked at several parks in the greater Hartford area, including Penwood, Stratton Brook, and Talcott Mountain State Parks. Tom then worked for 10 years in the private sector, doing legislative advocacy for a number of clients, several focusing on environmental issues. He returned to the DEEP in 1997 to direct the legislative program for the DEEP working for each of the past five Commissioners representing the DEEP before the General Assembly on a wide range of issues, including significant collaboration with the Friends in their legislative work. Prior to becoming Director of Parks, Tom’s other duties for the DEEP have included leading the Land Acquisition and Management Program, as well as the Indian Affairs program.
Mike is Chief of the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation for the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. In this role, he oversees the administrative, operational and managerial functions of the State Parks, Boating, and Environmental Conservation Police Divisions. Mike’s career in state parks began with North Carolina State Parks, where he started as a Park Ranger and worked through the ranks to become Park Superintendent working in five different state parks throughout western North Carolina. He eventually became Chief of Operations for North Carolina State Parks where he planned, organized and managed 41 operational units within the state parks system overseeing interpretation and education programming, law enforcement, emergency services and park maintenance and operations. He left North Carolina for his current position in Connecticut where he works to provide outdoor recreation opportunities consistent with the long term protection of the state’s natural resources. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Earth Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.