Oded Holzinger Executive Director
Oded is a climate resilience professional that has focused his career on promoting holistic and equity-centered strategies for supporting the communities that are most exposed to the impacts of climate change and to environmental injustice. As Executive Director, Oded provides strategic leadership to Groundwork in these times of growing need and opportunities in the climate and environmental justice fields. Previously, Oded spent four years working as the organization’s Climate Resilience Program Manager, leading projects such as The Yonkers Greenway, The Saw Mill River Coalition, and Climate Safe Neighborhoods. Prior to becoming Executive Director, he worked for several months as a Climate Adaptation Specialist for AKRF, a NYC based environmental planning and engineering consultancy firm, supporting city governments in the implementation of climate adaptation policy and design strategies.
Originally from Israel, he began his career as an outdoor educator, working with underserved communities and utilizing their local natural resources as an educational and therapeutic asset. This is when he first started developing his passion for promoting green, sustainable, and resilient cities.
Oded holds a master’s degree in urban planning from Hunter College with a focus on environmental planning and a bachelor's degree in Geography from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Ellen Theg Chief of Operations
Ellen began her environmental work studying ecology. After interning at the Council on Environmental Quality for a political perspective, she turned to research science at Duke University. Choosing to pursue a secondary interest in film sparked by exposure to classic Japanese and European art films, she settled into the distribution side of the film and television business, developing her skills in intellectual property rights licensing as VP of Business & Legal Affairs for a major European media company. From there, she earned her MBA with a special focus on environmentally sustainable business practices, and brought this perspective to her contribution to The Five Horsemen of the Modern World, Daniel Callahan’s book examining the ‘wicked’ problems of climate change, food and water shortages, chronic health issues and obesity. Ellen joined Groundwork Hudson Valley in 2014 to build its grant and business processes, and has served as Principal Investigator for Groundwork’s climate resiliency education grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and project manager for the initial stages of the construction of the Yonkers Greenway. In her current capacity as Chief of Operations, she oversees Groundwork Hudson Valley’s three program areas: Sustainability Education, Climate Resilience, and Youth Leadership.
Karen Tumelty Director of Development and Communications
Karen’s career has ranged from working as on-air DJ for a commercial radio station, to product manager for the Irish-American Hip Hop group House of Pain (of Jump Around fame), to building and executing fundraising and growth strategies for organizations including Human Rights First, Riverkeeper, and Greyston.
At Riverkeeper, highlights of her achievements included working with allies like Whole Foods to build awareness about the environmental and cultural importance of the Hudson River. The Earth Month campaign that she created for all of the NYC Whole Foods Markets increased web traffic to over 1,000,000 hits per month and significantly increased online donations. Her non-confrontational approach to story-telling has created new levels of understanding of people and communities that have been marginalized and excluded. For example, while at Greyston, she inspired one of the most iconic social enterprises,The Body Shop, to adopt Open Hiring practices at the distribution center and in their retail stores. This, in turn, resulted in increased donor confidence and gift size. She works from a core value of listening to people and helping them connect to the work that will help them be the change they want to see in the world.
Karen is an avid cook who enjoys exploring new cultures through flavor and is also an accomplished knitter. She was raised in Yonkers and has lived in our community for much of her life. She has served as Vice Chair of the Yonkers Human Rights Commission, was the founding Chair of the Yonkers Alliance for Latino and Immigrant Services, and was the Formation Chair for the Yonkers St. Patrick’s Day Parade for many years.
Miriam Foley Business Manager
Miriam holds a B.A in Computer Science from Queens College and started her career as a computer programmer. While taking time off to raise her two sons, she became very involved in the Yonkers community and held many positions, including President of the Yonkers Council of PTA/PTSAs. By combining all of the knowledge and skills she acquired, Miriam returned to paid work in the nonprofit sector as a Grants and Finance Manager for local community organizations. As the Business Manager for Groundwork, Miriam provides office support for all of Groundwork’s community programming, which reflect her interests in the local community (especially the schools), the environment and the arts.
Joel Rodriguez Sustainability Education Program Manager
Joel is a skilled sustainability professional with over eighteen years of experience in program development and management, environmental education, and community engagement in the nonprofit sector. He has developed dynamic programming for schools and diverse community stakeholders rooted in the principles of sustainability. In his past role as Director of Environmental Education at the City Parks Foundation, he oversaw the creation, implementation and expansion of school day, afterschool, and summer enrichment programs across all 5 boroughs of New York City, with a particular focus on underserved communities. He continues to serve as the Sustainability Coordinator and member of the Zoning Board for his hometown of Elmsford, where he guides sustainability initiatives and represents the village on the Bronx River and Saw Mill Watershed Advisory Boards. He also consults as a subject matter expert on several projects in the Catskills that are focused on permaculture and climate change resiliency. In his free time, Joel enjoys studying invertebrates, both terrestrial and aquatic, fungi, fossils, and has a special interest in waste reduction, upcycling/repurposing and food security.
Joel holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University at Buffalo, a graduate certificate in Higher Education Administration from Northeastern University, as well as a graduate certificate in Climate Change and Sustainability and a M.A. in Global Sustainability from the University of South Florida.
Christina Weiler Interim Community Adaptation Manager
Christina Weiler is a creative, impact-driven climate professional passionate about environmental stewardship. She aspires to contribute to organizations that build power and capacity within communities affected by climate change.
As a Clinton Global Initiative Fellow, Christina created a program in partnership with the New Rochelle City Planning Office to engage youth in researching park access and walkability in low-income areas of their city. She also created and ran a sustainability consulting nonprofit for small businesses in her college town and worked as an intern for SWEEP, which developed an environmental performance standard for solid waste facilities across the US.
Christina loves designing community engagement tools that empower participants to share perspective and build consensus toward actionable goals. Most recently, she was a community educator designing and leading intercultural and trilingual activities in public schools in Spain under a Fulbright grant. There she learned how environmental education fits naturally into curriculum for children, in particular how children can learn from neighbors and family members who have connections to agriculture.
Christina holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies with minors in Economics and Latin American Studies from Colgate University.
Zoe Camhi Sustainability Education Program Associate
Raymond Foster Youth Programs Associate
Raymond Foster is passionate about supporting young people as they grow into the next generation of environmental leaders. He first joined Groundwork Hudson Valley as a Green Team Crew Leader, where he guided youth in hands-on projects focused on sustainability, stewardship, and community building. Now, as Youth Program Associate, Raymond helps manage and expand programs that provide youth with career pathways in the environmental field.
Raymond holds a B.S. in Environmental Ecosystems from SUNY Binghamton, where he engaged in campus sustainability initiatives and completed a capstone project on vacant housing in the Binghamton area, exploring the intersection of community development and environmental justice.
Outside of work, Raymond enjoys playing basketball at local parks, hiking, thrifting, and spending time with friends and family.
