Four finalists from among 20 applicants to be interviewed
By Gwendolyn Craig
There’s a shortlist of candidates for the top leadership position at the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, following the resignation of Nicole Hylton-Patterson in October.
Twenty people applied to become director and four are moving forward with interviews, said Audrey Schwartzberg, communications officer for the Adirondack North Country Association. The nonprofit houses ADI in Saranac Lake and supports its efforts.
“We anticipate conducting a second round of interviews,” she said. “We are hopeful we’ll be able to announce the new director after the holidays — in early or mid-January.”
The diversity initiative began in 2015. Its mission is to make “the Adirondacks a more welcoming and inclusive place for both residents and visitors while ensuring a vital and sustainable Adirondack Park for future generations.”
Its inaugural director, Hylton-Patterson, left after nearly three years to become the new director of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging at Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit working with people with developmental disabilities.
The Adirondack Diversity Initiative has received funding from private donors, and has also received state money since 2019. It most recently was allocated $300,00 in the 2022 state budget. In ANCA’s job posting, it advertises a $65,000 to $75,000 salary commensurate with experience for the director position, plus a benefits package.
The job description notes that the Adirondack Park “is best known for its expansive pristine forests, lakes, rivers, and outdoor recreation opportunities. .. Yet the Adirondack Park continues to suffer from multiple countervailing forces, which, if left unchecked, could further harm regional socioeconomic and cultural development. The population is largely white, and stands in marked contrast to the overall population of New York State, which is projected to become a majority minority state within the next ten years.”
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Let’s hope this time around the person who is hired is indigenous. I would love to see an article written in detail about exactly what this initiative to make the ADK more diverse entails. And let’s be honesty, when we talk about people of color and diversity we need to not just focus on the African American population but all people of color.
How will this new person deal with all of the new crime that is now showing up in the ADK and the breakins at our trail heads. It used to be the case that we felt very safe that our cars wouldn’t be broken in to and we would find very little trash on our trails. With the push to bring downstate people into the great outdoors, we have been matched with higher crime and more trash and disrespect of our trails. There’s not enough parking at our trail heads for us locals now so address the push for more people to come and how the parking will be dealt with. Other states have no issues with creating parking but the ADK wants more people here but refuses to create more parking.
There should also be an annual review of this new person that outlines exactly what their work is accomplishing, how it is accomplishing it and the environmental impact on bringing more people here.
It’s always interesting to hear white people are the blame for everything. Do these people that are not “represented” in the ADK told they can’t come here? Of course not. We all make choices, just like I don’t choose to go into NYC with all the crime.
To reach your goals you could try bussing like in the sixties, or maybe a public sponsored high rise housing in Old Forge.