Carlie Graves, President
After a professional career in software development and project management, and a lifelong interest in gardening and the environment, Carlie turned to landscape design, studying at the NY Botanical Garden and receiving a certificate in LD in 2018. Upon becoming more aware of the many roles of native plants in the ecosystem and their benefits to us both locally and as a small part of mitigating climate change, Carlie reached out to WO National and connected with Angela to start the Mid-Hudson Valley chapter.
Carlie is also a co-founder of the Poughkeepsie Farm Project and a coordinator at the Vassar College Community Gardens. When not botanizing or harvesting she can be found rowing on the Hudson River.
Angela Sisson, Vice President and Co-Founder, Events Co-Chair
Angela Sisson received her gardening start forty years ago with the creation of a flower garden for wildlife called a Backyard Wildlife Habitat (a program now known as Certified Wildlife Habitat offered by the National Wildlife Federation). She has a master’s degree in ecological landscape design from the Conway School in Massachusetts and has worked in the field of ecological design and planning for the past twenty years. In 2020, following a surging public awareness about the importance of native plants to pollinators, she helped form a pollinator pathway group. The pollinator pathway experience led her to the founding of the Wild Ones Mid-Hudson Valley chapter.
Angela lives in southern Ulster County with her husband on a “rewilded” landscape which she manages while learning about the woodlands, ponds, fields, gardens—and all the wildlife in their midst.
Tish Osborne, Treasurer
For the majority of Tish’s career, she worked in the healthcare medical device and technology Industries. Tish is dedicated to land preservation and native landscapes which is how she connected with Wild Ones. She’s enjoying the journey of transforming her own landscape into more biodiverse plantings while working to protect the larger environment.
Tish believes there is nothing better than loving what you do.
Besides gardening, her other lifelong passions are coaching skiing and sailing.
Alexandra Lotero Vanderkam, Membership Chair
Alexandra is on a mission to turn her property at the foot of the Shawangunk ridge into a garden for people and wildlife to enjoy. Wild Ones has given her the knowledge and support she needed to follow through with her landscape transformation. Over the last year, she and her husband have planted 140 native trees and shrubs plus 700 perennials, seeded a native meadow, and created a small wildlife pond.
Alexandra is also a Spanish-English interpreter and translator, yoga teacher-in-training, and a New York State Master Naturalist. She volunteers with Ulster Immigrant Defense Network and Phillies Bridge Farm Project.
Sara DeAngelis, Events Co-Chair
Sara is a consultant and educator in exhibition and experience design. She has been studying ecological landscape principles for several years and began focusing on gardening with native plants while living in California. She documents her plants, pollinators, and other wildlife on iNaturalist. In her spare time, she and her husband garden and are transforming much of their Ulster County yard into wildlife-friendly native gardens and meadows.
Please join us!
Interested in advancing the cause of native plants? We’re looking for volunteers to join the Leadership Group and a new group, Seeds! We meet monthly, at present the second Tuesday of each month, and alternate in-person and zoom meetings. We work together to support the organization and each other’s work, and have also found that WO National offers much support when needed.
Secretary – Help us stay organized, take meeting notes, support elections (together with others and WO National).
Communications & Outreach – Enjoy helping get the word out? Like writing or editing? Our monthly newsletter, social media posting and website development are all ways we do this and we’d love to have you come and help out.
Seed Group – We are looking for folks interested in seeding and growing! This group will meet as needed and support future seed workshops and other work to make native plants accessible to all.