Our Team
ADI is led by a dedicated group of individuals. The current Core Team consists of our staff, and several representatives from our affiliate organizations. In addition to the core team, ADI is served by an equally talented and robust Advisory Board.
Staff

Melanie Reding, ADI Communications
​
melanie@diverseadks.org
Core Team

Pete Nelson, ADI Co-Founder, North Country Community College
tearofclouds@gmail.com

Martha Swan, John Brown Lives!
info@johnbrownlives.org

Rocci Aguirre, Adirondack Council
raguirre@adirondackcouncil.org

Jen Kretser, The Wild Center
​
jkretser@wildcenter.org

Paul Hai, SUNY ESF
​
pbhai@esf.edu

Cali Brooks, Adirondack Foundation
cali@adkfoundation.org

Willie Janeway, Adirondack Council
wjaneway@adirondackcouncil.org

Jacob Vennie- Vollrath, ANCA
​
jvennie-vollrath@adirondack.org

Kim Irland, North Country Community College
​
kirland@nccc.edu

James McKenna, ROOST
​

Kate Fish, Adirondack North Country Association
​

Shaun Kittle, ROOST
​
Advisory Board

Dr. J.W. Wiley
Author, Chief Diversity Officer, Lecturer and Consultant at SUNY Plattsburgh, founder and President of Xamining Diversity.
Ex Officio

Ellen Bettmann
Nationally- recognized leader in the fields of anti-bias education and cultural diversity, 17 years as National Director Training and Resources for the Anti-Defamation League
Upper Saranac/New Hampshire

Dr. Donathan Brown
Associate Professor at Ithaca College and 2017 United States Fulbright Scholar in Race and Public Policy
Ithaca/Adirondacks

Carol Cain
Award-winning travel writer and diversity advocate, founder of GirlGoneTravel.com and ambassador for The American Latino Heritage Fund (ALHF) of the National Park Foundation.
NYC ... and the whole world!

Kathleen Scottie Ginn
Retired Vice-President of Engineering at IBM, co-chair of the IBM Executive GLBT Task Force for 16 years
Westport

Brian McNaught
The world's leading corporate diversity consultant dealing with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues in the workplace. Best-selling author of four watershed books on gay issues, all of which are used as college texts.
Tupper Lake

Aaron Schwartz
Staff Assistant at SUNY Plattsburgh's Center for Diversity Pluralism and Inclusion
Plattsburg