PEOPLE

The CLDS is an all-volunteer organization led by a Board of Directors. The organization is supported by members, corporate sponsors, and a variety of partnerships with local municipalities, academic institutions, and other non-profit organizations.

Board of Directors

The CLDS Board of Directors is currently comprised of ten individuals that are responsible for the overall management of the organization. A short profile of each is provided below. Anyone interested in joining the Board should contact Krista Schneider at kschneider@DigCLDS.org.

Heather Cole currently works as a holistic healthcare practitioner in Mountaintop. She moved from the Midwest to our area in 2003 with over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry. She and her husband Timothy live in Drums and attend the Conyngham Valley Bible Church. In addition to volunteering as the CLDS Membership Committee Chairperson, Heather also spends her free time volunteering for Meals on Wheels and the Red Cross. Through the Red Cross Disaster Relief program, she spent some time in New Orleans helping the victims of hurricane Katrina by managing two kitchens. Through this effort, she helped feed thousands of people everyday. Heather is also an environmental activist who is currently working with Butler Township to improve their recycling program and educating the community on green initiatives. As a vegetarian, she believes in eating fresh, local organic food. Heather hopes her work with the CLDS will help others to be more healthy and self-sufficient, and create a greener planet in the process.

Nicole Cook
Nicole Cook is founder of the Sugarloaf Chapter of the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots and Shoots program. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Penn State University.  Nicole is very proud to be employed by the US Postal Service as the Postmaster for Conyngham Borough. She resides in Sybertsville, and has two sons.  Nicole is a long time community volunteer for several organizations and has completed her second trip to South Africa to volunteer at the Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden in Nelspruit, South Africa. 

Nicole has also been a prolific craft artisan in the area for many years and also serves as recording secretary for the Conyngham Borough Planning Commission.  She has experienced the love and satisfaction of gardening since she was a little girl helping her grandmother grow geraniums in Sheppton, Pennsylvania and hopes to help others realize the same joy through the community garden project. 

Elva Dargay
Elva Dargay is a registered nurse and community activist. Presently, she is employed as a Program Nurse/Caseworker by North East Counseling Services in Hazleton. A long time resident of Weatherly, Elva has been as a member of the Weatherly Flower Club since 1971, where she has also served many years as the organization’s past president. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors for the Center for Landscape Design & Stewardship, Elva also serves as secretary for the Weatherly Rotary Foundation, which is currently undertaking an initiative to revitalize, renovate and reuse the former Lehigh Valley Rail Road engine shops. She is also a former member and officer of the Carbon County Cooperative Extension Service. Elva received her Associate’s Degree in Applied Science from Luzerne County Community College, and also completed coursework at New Mexico Western University. 

Andrea Fendrick
Andrea Fendrick is a certified elementary teacher and tutor. In 2009 she served on the Butler Township recreation summer staff as the children’s garden coordinator. Combining her love of children and gardening, she is currently working to help expand the children’s summer camp.

Lee Gillespie
Lee Gillespie is president of Lexicord, a firm of writing consultants who teach bankers and stock-and-bond analysts how to construct well organized clearly written reports. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco and has a master's degree in linguistics and language teaching from the School for International Training. A resident of Sugarloaf, Lee plans to put her writing skills to use as chairperson of the Grants Committee.

Jule Greco

Rick Mikula

Krista Schneider, President and Founder
Krista Schneider is a licensed landscape architect with over ten years’ experience in the design and planning of parks, historic sites, gardens, and communities. She is currently employed with Barry Isett & Associates, Inc. in Hazleton, PA. Previously, she taught design studios and planning classes at the University of Kentucky where she served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and as an associate faculty member in the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation. Ms. Schneider has also received awards for her design work and published a book and several articles about landscape design, planning, and preservation. She is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State and Harvard University, as well as a former officer in the US Army Quartermaster Corps.Krista lives in Conyngham, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children. She is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accredited professional. 

Ann Shamberger, Secretary

Jack Shamberger, Treasurer
Jack is a recent transplant from Vestal, New York, where he lived most of his life. He and his wife Ann moved to this area in 2008, making their new home in Drums. Jack retired from the IBM Corporation as a Resource Planner after 38 years of service. During his tenure at IBM he attended their professional training programs and also evening college classes at Broome Community College, graduating with honors, and then continuing further study at SUNY Binghamton. Jack's main outside interest in his life has been gardening, creative design with plants and flowers, and involving himself in helping others. Starting at a very young age he helped his parents with their two acre vegetable garden on leased land and the flowers and shrubs around their house. Local garden club ladies lived in the area and they shared their plants and knowledge. Over the years, Jack worked as a gardener for a five-acre Victorian Estate, a greenhouse grower/florist, and also as a florist. While working at IBM and after retirement, Jack had a part-time business consisting of an antique shop, floral shop, and garden center. His community service has included work with the National Ski Patrol System, where he was a patroller, instructor, and examiner; for his service he received the NSPS 5304 pin. Jack also spent many years as an instructor/trainer for the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, and American Safety and Health Institute. For 32 years Jack was a member of the Vestal Volunteer Emergency Squad serving in various capacities; instructor, board member (Treasurer), NYS Critical Care EMT, and Assistant Chief. Jack was also active with the Boy Scouts of America in many leadership positions and their Order of the Arrow organization. Jack is an Eagle Scout with Bronze Palm and a Vigil Honor Member of the Order of the Arrow.

Jim Walck
Jim Walck is a Pennsylvania Certified Horticulturist and the owner of Jim Walck Lawn & Shrub Service, which he founded in 1970. Jim has a long history of service to his profession and community. He presently serves as a Horticulture Curriculum Advisory Board Member from Luzerne County Community College, the same institution from which he received his degree in Horticultural Science. Jim is also a member of the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association (PLNA) since 1990, and has served on the PLNA Board of Directors since 2003. His teaching experience includes course offerings at the Pennsylvania State University, Hazleton Campus, and Lehman College.  Jim is currently in the process of opening up his own garden center, Beechwood Gardens, which is located on Route 309 in Butler Township. In addition to his professional service, he also is a volunteer fireman with Butler Township and has served several terms as the Fire Chief. He is married with one daughter and lives in Drums.