Katie I. Ginsberg — Founder, Executive Director

Ms. Ginsberg represents CELF to outside organizations and on committees, and at the local, state, national and international levels. She builds and maintains relationships with schools districts, outside experts and colleges in support of CELF’s mission and programs. Ginsberg oversees and manages organizational development and assures that program objectives are met.

Ginsberg has conducted and participated in a broad range of seminars, conferences and courses on sustainability and on re-orienting education through global and interdisciplinary education. She works with thought leaders in this emerging educational paradigm who are advising schools and educational systems worldwide. 

Ms. Ginsberg is a Founding Member of the Westchester Green Schools Coalition and serves on the Westchester County Climate Change Advisory Panel. She served as Chair of the County Executive’s Westchester Global Warming Task Force for the education sector, which developed a blueprint to integrate sustainability across the campuses, curriculum and communities of Westchester, NY schools.  Ms. Ginsberg also serves on the Board of the Women's Climate Initiative and on the Advisory Board for Teatown Lake Reservation.

Prior to founding CELF, Ms. Ginsberg was a founding partner and director of marketing for an accessories company. She previously worked in Account Management at BBDO Worldwide Advertising. Ms. Ginsberg has a BA in Psychology from Northwestern University. 

Patti Bressman — Director of Programs and Operations

Ms. Bressman’s initial role at CELF was as Treasurer, handling financial reporting, budgeting and planning. Her responsibilities have expanded from this initial role to include program development, for which she has had eight years of professional development in sustainability education, green building, energy management, corporate social responsibility and green marketing.

Bressman developed several of the core CELF programs for students and teachers, including the Students for a Sustainable Future EXPO and Learning with Leaders.

Bressman’s prior experience includes years of senior financial management experience in the fields of information systems solutions (Health Management Systems, Inc. and Electronic Data Systems). Bressman also is currently active in commercial real estate development and is on the Advisory Board for the Green Guru Network and the Swarthmore College Parents Council. She holds an MBA in Finance from George Washington University and a BBA in Marketing and Business Management from The University of Texas at Austin.

Melanie Lester — CELF Director of Education

An active CELF Board Member since its founding, Ms. Lester’s contributions to CELF’s work are particularly prominent in our teacher training, administrator/educator/community outreach, ongoing program development and partnerships with graduate and undergraduate schools and university faculty, as well as planning and assessing the comprehensive infusion of SE in curricula, campuses, and institutional cultures.

Ms. Lester is extremely proud of the fact that she is a longtime faculty member of The Allen-Stevenson School, NY, an independent school educating boys grades Kindergarten-9. The school embodies a culture that is committed to providing a dynamic, evolved and comprehensive educational experience for each student. Embracing sustainability as an institution, the Allen-Stevenson School is credited with launching a nationwide Independent School coalition in its quest to further Sustainability across campuses, communities and curriculum. 

Ms. Lester holds multi-state Certification to teach ages Kindergarten-Adult and licenses in Special Education including Gifted and Dyslexic as well as a host of high school subjects. She has an MS in Neurological Impairment and is a Certified Orton-Gillingham Instructor. Recognized as a renowned resource for professionals and parents, she has coordinated and chaired Educational Conferences and lectured nationally and abroad. She currently serves on additional Professional and Community boards and organizations such as the Advisory Board of The Gateway School, NY, the Feliz Navidad Holiday Club, NY, Green Schools Alliance, NAIS, Phi Beta Kappa and NYC Board of Education Liaison.

Sarah Hodder — Program Coordinator

Ms. Hodder handles every aspect of CELF’s Students for a Sustainable Future EXPO, from recruiting exhibitors to organizing volunteers. Her experience as a producer for NBC Nightly News gave her the skills to coordinate complex events and to pursue potential participants with gusto. Her career as a journalist honed an attention to detail and nurtured a passion for communications and education. Hodder’s work at CELF includes everything from writing press releases and “Balance” the CELF newsletter, to revising the School Ecol-Footprinting program. Hodder’s goal is to make sustainability exciting and accessible to students and communities with clear and compelling language.

At NBC, Hodder produced both award-winning investigative reports and feature stories. She was previously an Associate Producer of NBC’s Dateline. Ms. Hodder’s experience also includes consulting for V-Day and for the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute. She assisted former NBC anchor and author Tom Brokaw with his 2002 autobiography “A Long Way From Home.” She has been a reporter for the Legal Times and American Lawyer Media. Her green roots go way back; years of camp at Habitat Education Center in Belmont, Massachusetts in the early 70’s inspired her lifelong interest in preserving the environment.

When she is not working on the EXPO, she is co-chair of the Chappaqua Central School District Environmental Committee. Ms. Hodder holds a B.A. magna cum laude in English and American Literature and Language, from Harvard University.