To ensure members and stakeholders from all basin states are collaborating and are able to discuss state specific issues and threats, the Coalition created the State Lead initiative. Each State Lead is responsible for convening and organizing work around Coalition priorities, while also looking for emerging issues that may need Coalition support. State Leads work to ensure that Coalition members are knowledgeable about basin issues and engage with the larger membership to help solve them.
New york
Molly Oliver, Friends of the Upper Delaware River, Director of Policy
Molly joined FUDR as the Policy Director in the Fall of 2018. She grew up in Delaware County, NY on the headwaters of the West Branch Delaware River. She obtained a degree in Landscape Architecture and became a Professional Landscape Architect before returning to the area in 2013. At that time, Molly began working for the Delaware County Planning Department and eventually transitioned to the Department of Watershed Affairs.
In these positions, she gained a new appreciation for the politics surrounding the river. Molly is passionate about working with the Coalition in this dynamic environment full of potential to further community and conservation goals.
Email: molly@fudr.org.
Sherri Resti Thomas, Friends of the Upper Delaware River, Deputy Director
Sherri serves as Deputy Director for FUDR based in Hancock, NY. Sherri has been employed by FUDR for 11 years and has played a key leadership role in the growth and evolution of the organization. Sherri is the primary organizer of FUDR’s signature “One Bug” fly fishing event that kicks off the spring fishing season each year on the Upper Delaware River and the organization’s largest fundraiser.
Sherri helps direct numerous conservation programs at FUDR including stream restoration projects, national and state funding campaigns, local and regional coalition efforts, and FUDR’s annual fly fishing summer camp for kids. When she can pry herself away from her FUDR duties, Sherri enjoys spending time paddle boarding and kayaking on the Upper Delaware River with her husband Rich near their home on the UDR West Branch in Starlight, PA.
Email: sherri@fudr.org.
Jeff Skelding, Friends of the Upper Delaware River, Executive Director
Jeff Skelding has worked in the non-profit conservation field for more than 30 years. He currently serves as Executive Director for FUDR based in Hancock, NY. Prior to his position with FUDR, Jeff directed the National Great Lakes Campaign-Healing our Waters Coalition for the National Wildlife Federation in Washington, DC. Jeff has extensive experience in coalition building, grassroots organizing, campaign development, policy analysis, legislative lobbying and media relations. When he finds some spare time, Jeff enjoys fly fishing for wild and native trout near his home on the Upper Delaware River in northeast Pennsylvania.
Email: skelding@fudr.org.
delaware
Robin Glazer, Delaware Nature Society, Environmental Advocate
Robin joined the Delaware Nature Society in 2022 as the Environmental Advocate. She holds a B.S. from Penn State in Wildlife and Fisheries Science and an M.A. in Biology from Miami University’s Project Dragonfly. Prior to joining the DNS, Robin worked as a zookeeper at several zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, fulfilling a childhood dream. As such, much of Robin’s graduate work focused on resource allocation for zookeepers, organizations, and animals, filling several resource gaps in the profession. After more than a decade of connecting guests to wildlife at zoos, Robin transitioned into advocacy to champion environmental causes at the legislative level. Now her work involves leading Delaware in regional clean water coalitions, supporting Delaware’s clean water initiatives, and bridging the gap between communities and their governments on environmental issues. Robin lives in Delaware with her husband and their rescue dogs, cats, and birds.
Email: Robin.Glazer@delawarenaturesociety.org
pennsylvania
Donna Kohut, PennFuture, Campaign Manager – Delaware River Basin
Donna serves as the Campaign Manager for the Delaware River Basin at PennFuture. Formerly the Upper Bucks Field Coordinator, she joined the Campaigns team in June 2021. Before working for PennFuture, Donna built a career in the outdoor recreation industry over the course of fifteen years. During that time, she literally immersed herself in the waters of the Delaware River Basin, facilitating various environmental education programs with non-profit organizations along both the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers, guiding whitewater trips in the Lehigh River Gorge, and leading hiking adventures throughout Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, Bucks, and Berks counties.
A resident of the Lehigh Valley, Donna spent several years volunteering with her local chapter of Sierra Club Water Defenders and PennFuture’s ACE program, advocating for water protections from the Delaware headwaters through the Lehigh Valley and beyond.
Not only is the Delaware River Watershed intertwined with America’s history, it is also home to several of Pennsylvania’s iconic waterways from the pristine streams in the Poconos to the Lehigh Valley and the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers that follow past Philadelphia. Donna is honored to give voice to the protection of these special rivers and streams.
Email: kohut@pennfuture.org
New jersey
Katie Perrone, New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, Policy Assistant
Katie is the Policy Assistant at New Jersey League of Conservation Voters and the New Jersey State Lead for CDRW. She grew up in Mansfield, NJ, just a couple of miles from the Delaware River. Katie graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia with a Bachelor's degree in political science and history. During her time at Temple University, Katie received a grant to research the history of Earth Day and the grassroots environmental justice movement in Philadelphia. Katie also worked for Temple’s Office of Sustainability and completed a local climate action planning internship in Warrington Township, Pennsylvania. Upon graduation, Katie received a Fulbright grant to earn an MSc in climate change policy and communication at Dublin City University.
Upon returning to the US, Katie joined New Jersey LCV and the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed in order to utilize what she learned to advocate for the protection of the natural resources that she grew up around. The Delaware River Watershed is essential to providing the residents of New Jersey with safe drinking water, outdoor recreation opportunities, and thousands of jobs. Katie is extremely grateful to have the opportunity to work with CDRW’s New Jersey members to protect the watershed.
Email: katie.perrone@njlcv.org