Cornwall residents will assist Skoufis
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent quarantine, Senator James Skoufis had created a number of advisory boards to provide input on a variety of topics. Unfortunately, those boards have yet to meet, but two Cornwall residents are ready to offer their thoughts and opinions when meetings are allowed to begin.
Susan Lennon will serve on the Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Advisory Board and Thomas Bregman will serve on the State Energy Planning Council.
“I am honored to be nominated by Senator Skoufis to serve on the New York State Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Advisory Board,” Lennon said. “I have worked in the tobacco control program for 10 years and am passionate about reducing the number of people in New York who use tobacco products including electronic nicotine devices. Senator Skoufis has been a strong supporter of the tobacco control program and I look forward to working diligently as a member of the Tobacco Advisory Board to promote public health by reducing tobacco use and youth initiation.”
Lennon has known Skoufis for several years through the work she’s done as a Tobacco Program Manager for the American Lung Association’s Tobacco-Free Hudson Valley Program. Once he was elected senator, he nominated her to become part of the board.
The Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Advisory Board works to establish guidelines and consults on issues relating to the implementation and evaluation of the New York State Bureau of Tobacco Control, which serves to reduce tobacco use in New York through educational programming and public policy.
“What I would bring to the board is the experience of the actual work in the field. My work has me partnering with medical organizations in Orange, Ulster, and Sullivan Counties, mental health organizations, and I work directly with leadership there to provide education about the best way to treat tobacco dependency. I would bring the day to day work from the field experiences to this board.”
Bregman and Skoufis have known each other since the senator’s days as an assemblyman.
The two often had conversations pertaining to issues associated with clean energy and energy efficiency.
Prior to becoming the executive director of the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum, Bregman served as the director of Energize New York at an organization based in Westchester called the Energy Improvement Corporation.
“In that role I was very much involved in clean energy programs” Bregman said. “I also sat on the energy committee for the Mid-Hudson Regional Sustainability Plan which was a planning process developed in 2013 and 2014.”
The State Energy Planning Council works to establish energy planning processes and develop state energy plans for a greener and more environmentally sustainable New York State. The board will be tasked with providing input and guidance to help guide the energy planning board in their strategic decision making process so they can reach specific goals such as energy resiliency and lowering carbon emissions. Bregman also looks forward to addressing long-term challenges posed by climate change and mitigating the impact of greenhouse gas.
“My prior work as director of Energize New York helped local communities and individual households in the Hudson Valley make smart energy efficiency and renewable energy decisions,” Bregman said. “In my current role as executive director of the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum I am acutely aware of the need to transition to a more sustainable energy system over time while supporting the ongoing energy needs of families, business and other institutions across our region and state. I look forward to contributing to the work of the council.”
