The Corporation is governed by a Board of Directors. Three of the directors are designated in the Act as ex-officio members: the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation, whom the Act also designates as the Chairman of the Corporation, the Commissioner of Health, and the Secretary of State.
The four remaining directors are appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the State Senate. The appointed directors serve staggered six-year terms. Pursuant to State law, after the expiration of a director's term, he or she shall hold over and continue to discharge the duties of a director of the Corporation Board until a successor has been chosen and qualified.
Basil Seggos currently serves as Commissioner of New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Previously, Basil served as both Deputy Secretary for the Environment and Assistant Secretary for the Environment to Governor Cuomo, advising the Governor on environmental policy and overseeing the operations of the state’s environmental agencies, including the DEC, the Office of Parks Recreation & Historic Preservation, the Environmental Facilities Corporation, and the Adirondack Park Agency. Prior to working in the Governor’s office, Basil served as Vice President of Business Development at the clean-tech private equity company Hugo Neu Corporation, Chief Investigator and Attorney at Riverkeeper, Associate at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and as a legal clerk at the White House.
Basil graduated from Pace Law School in 2001, where he received the environmental law award and alumni achievement award, and from Trinity College in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts. Basil is a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, Judge Advocate General’s Corps.
Howard A. Zucker, M.D., J.D., currently serves as Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health.
In his previous role as First Deputy Commissioner, Dr. Zucker led the state Department of Health's preparedness and response initiatives in natural disasters and emergencies. He worked closely with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and other health-related entities in New York City.
A native of the Bronx, Dr. Zucker earned his M.D. from George Washington University School of Medicine at age 22, becoming one of America's youngest doctors. He trained in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital, anesthesiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, pediatric critical care medicine/pediatric anesthesiology at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and pediatric cardiology at Children's Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School.
Before joining the NYS Department of Health in September 2013, Dr. Zucker was a professor of Clinical Anesthesiology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. He was also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law School, where he taught biosecurity law.
His vast experience in public policy began as a White House Fellow under then-Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. Subsequently, he became the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Health where he developed the nation's Medical Reserve Corps, which today is run by the U.S. Surgeon General and includes more than 200,000 volunteers across nearly 1,000 programs. Dr. Zucker has also been an Institute of Politics Resident Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School.
Rossana Rosado currently serves as Secretary of State. Ms. Rosado leads the New York State Department of State, one of the oldest and most eclectic New York State agencies, which plays a critical role in helping to reinvigorate the State’s economy and make its communities more livable. Rosado brings a diversity of experience and leadership to the position, having previously served in both the public and private sectors.
Secretary Rosado’s distinguished accomplishments include being the first woman to serve as Editor and Publisher of the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the country, El Diario La Prensa, as well as an award-winning producer. She has also championed important social causes, including prisoner re-entry and women’s empowerment.
She served on the board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from 2012 to 2015. Secretary Rosado was a Distinguished Lecturer at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and has been a member of the College’s Foundation Board of Trustees since 2012.
Francis T. Corcoran was the President and Chief Administrative Officer of the National Stock Exchange, Inc. (NSX) until its sale in February 2015. Mr. Corcoran has been working in the financial/capital markets arena for 30 years. He has been active on the forefront of businesses that have significantly impacted the capital markets.
Mr. Corcoran was an Owner, Officer and Board Director of Institutional Shareholders Services – the largest Corporate Governance Advisory firm in the world; Managing Director of Sales, Marketing and Strategy at NYSE Member Firm Reynders, Gray & Co.; Vice President and Head of Sales and Business Development at Instinet Corporation; Senior Vice President at the American Stock Exchange for Equity Order Flow & Business Development. He is a former Member of the Board of Directors for the Securities Industry Association (SIA) New York Chapter and was a Member of the Congressional Financial Services Advisory for the Chairman of the Financial Services Oversight Committee. Mr. Corcoran is a Member of the Securities Trader Association and The National Corporate Directors Association.
Mr. Corcoran is an active participant in both state and local government. He is one of the three outside Directors on the Board for the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC). He has served four Governors in this role. As a Member of the Management Advisory Board to the Inspector General of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, he has served as the Acting Board Chairman since 2003 and has also served four Governors in this role. The Office of the Inspector General is an independent oversight agency, which reviews the operations of the MTA, and its constituent agencies, comprising of 650,000 employees and operating in three states. He is a Board Member of the Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council and the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA. He has proudly served the Town of Bedford for twelve years as Councilman
Mr. Corcoran was elected to the Westchester County Board of Legislators in 2015 and represents the 2nd District (Bedford, Lewisboro, Mount Kisco, North Salem, Pound Ridge and Somers). He also serves as Chair of the Environment and Health Standing Committee.
Mr. Corcoran is a graduate of Iona College, B.S. Cum Laude, Humanities.
Charles Kruzansky is the Director of Government Relations and Special Assistant to the Vice Provost for Research at Cornell University in Ithaca. Responsible for Cornell’s dealings with New York State, he manages the University’s legislative and budget agendas before the Legislative and Executive branches of state government. As the state’s largest research university and New York’s Land Grant Institution, Cornell is involved in a range of issues and programs with New York State, in addition to those that affect higher education and research. Prior to becoming director of the Albany Office of Government Relations for Cornell University in 1991, Mr. Kruzansky served as a legislative and fiscal analyst for the NYS Assembly Ways and Means Committee staff from 1985 to 1990. He was the State Assembly’s primary negotiator on energy and other regulatory agency budgets and legislation. He was also on the board of Environmental Advocates of New York from 1993 to 2007 and was New York’s affiliate representative or alternate to the National Wildlife Federation for several years between 1998 and 2004. He has a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and an MBA from Columbia University in New York City. Charlie grew up in the Hudson Valley and resides in Voorheesville with his wife and two kids.
Vita DeMarchi is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Synapse Partners, LLC., the globally recognized excess/surplus line wholesale insurance brokerage and risk management firm specializing in the environmental market. Synapse connects clients, partners and investors through strategic alliances that create innovative and distinctive business advantages. Synapse is headquartered in Syracuse in a formerly decaying, mid-20th century boxing gym that was re-imagined into what became in 2012 the seventh highest ranking LEED EBOM Platinum building in the world.
Ms. DeMarchi is a strategic advisor to Fortune 500 businesses, developing businesses, real estate developers, and municipalities. She helps clients and partners manage business and environmental risk, implement sustainable business practices, analyze financial data for informed business decisions, and secure project funding and capital formation.
Ms. DeMarchi was the co-founder and a Director of Synapse Sustainability Trust, a 501c-3 Not for Profit Corporation which led important New York environmental, energy and economic development initiatives over the past decade. EVPass initiated the groundbreaking 2012 deployment of the CNY Destination Location Network for electric vehicle charging stations and infrastructure which was subsequently sold to a public company in 2013, becoming part of a larger USA network. Restoration Tree Trust, an urban and rural reforestation and habitat restoration catalyst, collaborates with municipalities, government agencies, not-for-profit organizations, educational institutions, and private sector businesses to address greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, energy management and climate resiliency.
Vita DeMarchi is currently Chair of the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She was appointed by Governor Cuomo in 2012 as a Board of Director to the Great Lakes Protection Fund. In the past, Ms. DeMarchi served as the President of the CNY Association of Professional Geologists, and was on the Board of Directors of the NYS Council of Professional Geologists. A graduate of Syracuse University, Ms. DeMarchi was a licensed professional geologist, with Masters Studies in environmental engineering and hydrogeology.
Adam Zurofsky is a Senior Advisor of Rewiring America, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting economically beneficial solutions to energy and climate challenges. Mr. Zurofsky was the Director of State Policy and Agency Management for the State of New York until 2019. In that capacity, he led the development and implementation of major policy initiatives and was responsible for strategic management of the State’s executive agencies and authorities. Mr. Zurofsky previously served as Deputy Secretary for Energy and Finance, where he oversaw all policy and regulatory aspects of New York State's energy, climate and finance portfolios. Mr. Zurofsky helped to lead implementation of the State's climate agenda, including establishing the U.S. Climate Alliance of 25 states and territories committed to upholding the Paris Climate Accords and the decarbonization of the over $200 billion New York Common Retirement Fund.
Prior to his time in government, Mr. Zurofsky was a partner in the law firm of Cahill Gordon & Reindel, LLP, where he represented companies and boards of directors in a variety of litigation, regulatory and governance matters. He currently teaches climate policy at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and has taught, published and lectured on topics ranging from corporate purpose to the clean energy transition in various capacities over the course of his career. Mr. Zurofsky holds an A.B. with honors in political science from Stanford University and a J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School. He lives in New York City with his wife, three children and their dog.
Committee memberships were reappointed at the June 24, 2021 Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors
Audit Committee
(established April 6, 2004)
- Charles Kruzansky, Chair
- Francis T. Corcoran
- Vita DeMarchi
- Adam Zurofsky
Governance Committee
(established December 13, 2004)
- Vita DeMarchi, Chair
- Francis T. Corcoran
- Charles Kruzansky
- Adam Zurofsky
Finance Committee
(established February 11, 2010)
- Francis T. Corcoran, Chair
- Vita DeMarchi
- Charles Kruzansky
- Adam Zurofsky
For previous Board Minutes and Resolutions, please visit our Public Information Page.