Planning, bUilDing, maRketing, anD SUStaining - The Delaware ...

Dick Cochrane is a graduate of Penn State, with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and a Master’s degree in
Public Administration. Mr. Cochrane is retired from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, after a thirty-six year
career. During that time, he worked in PennDOT’s Central Office and Districts 11 and 4, most that time in construction
administration. During that time, he also served as the Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator for Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Mr. Cochrane now works for McTish, Kunkel & Associates of Allentown.
Lynn Conrad has been the director of the non-profit Rail-Trail Council for over 16 years. Her background is in environmental
science education and community forestry. Ms. Conrad is working on developing the 38-mile D&H Rail-Trail
in eastern Susquehanna County as well as other trails in the northeast.
Jeff Darwack is Deputy Director of the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Bucks. He has previously served as
coordinator of the Bucks County Enterprise Zone and as a Constituent Services Representative in the office of Congressman
Michael Fitzpatrick. Mr. Darwak holds a degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
Carter van Dyke is a professional planer and landscape architect who is president of CVDA, Planners/Landscape
Architects, with a regional practice located in Doylestown, PA. In this capacity, he leads the firm’s work in downtown
revitalization, multi-modal transportation initiatives, including trail development, historic preservation, TND infill development,
and open space initiatives to preserve cultural landscapes. The firm recently received an Honor Award from the
American Society of Landscape Architects for the Plan for Compatible Economic Development for the Middle Schuylkill –
A Schuylkill Highlands Conservation Landscape Initiative. Prior to starting his own firm, Carter served as a senior planner
with the Bucks County Planning Commission where he won national and state recognition for developing Performance
Streets, the Newtown Joint Group, which was the first Joint Zoning Ordinance in Pennsylvania, and furthering Performance
Zoning for open space and environmental preservation.
H. Scott Everett, D&L Trail Manager, joined the D&L staff in 2006 as the Stewardship and Trail Manager. He works
with multiple partners – various levels of government, agencies, fellow non-profits, and consulting engineers to develop
and construct the 165-mile D&L Trail. Mr. Everett is a longtime volunteer on the Ironton Rail Trail and a founder of SUN*LV
(Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley), a community gardening program. Scott holds a B.S. in Organizational
Leadership and an A.A.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Pennsylvania State University.
Spencer Finch is the Director of Sustainable Development for the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC), a widely
respected statewide environmental non-profit founded in 1970 and known for its innovative and collaborative approaches.
At PEC, Mr. Finch manages PEC’s Greenway Program in the Southeast Region, helping complete a Regional Trail network
that will be one of the best in the nation. The program’s successes include securing a $23 million TIGER federal grant in
February 2010 for construction of regional trails; assistance in the creation of a $10 million funding stream for trails, from
DVRPC and the William Penn Foundation; and the scheduled completion of over 10 new trail, bikeway and pedestrian
projects around the region in the next 2 years. Mr. Finch currently serves as co-chair of the Circuit Coalition.
Kevin Fister has been Wildlands Conservancy’s Outdoor Recreation Manager since 2006. He manages the Bike & Boat
Program and develops other outdoor recreation opportunities for residents of the Lehigh Valley aimed at increasing environmental
stewardship. Currently, Mr. Fister is also carrying out a large-scale project to improve and enhance the Lehigh
River Water Trail with improved permanent signage and an updated website, as well as developing two new access areas to
increase participation and enhance user experience.
Bob Folwell received two Landscape Architecture degrees from Penn State University and went to work for the Centre
County Planning Commission for three years before securing the Capital Projects Coordinator position with the Chester
County Parks and Recreation Department. After serving for 23 years as their Project Manager, a position that included
planning, grant writing, engineering, property acquisition, and landscape architecture disciplines, he took a similar position
at the Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area. Now at the Heritage Are for five years, Mr. Folwell has continued
his trail building work in Berks and Schuylkill Counties and lead creation of the partnership based Schuylkill Heritage Towns
and Tours Program for economic revitalization to merge the trail with the town. Working on a series of Technical Assistance
manuals, he lead creation of a model trail overlay ordinance and wrote the Schuylkill River Trail Maintenance and Management
Plan. The next manual, the Schuylkill River Water Trail Strategic Management Plan, is presently being built with local,
state, and national partners.
Elissa Garofalo is President / Executive Director of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, where her
duties include project management, marketing, heritage tourism, byway planning and public-private partnerships that
preserve and enhance heritage and cultural resources. She has helped develop two regional revitalization programs, the
Corridor Market Towns Initiative and Landmark Towns of Bucks County. Ms. Garofalo is a founder of the Carbon County
Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the Leadership Carbon Steering Committee, President of Carbon County Partners for
Progress, and a member of the Circuit Coalition. She holds a B.S. in Urban & Regional Planning from the Pennsylvania
State University.
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