DEC Names Chief Resiliency Officer, Director of Indian Nation
Affairs, Regional Director for Region 7, Director of Media
Relations

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced four appointments to new
and existing leadership positions with DEC’s Executive and Regional
teams.

“I am excited to announce key DEC leadership additions and
changes that are critical to sustaining the success of New York’s
environmental protection policies and
programs,” Commissioner Seggos
said. “Suzanna Randall and Peter Reuben
are bringing extensive experience and skills to two new and
critically important agency roles that focus on enhancing
resiliency and strengthening relationships with Indigenous Nations.
Dereth Glance will continue bringing her energy and passion to a
different role leading DEC’s presence in Central New York and the
Southern Tier, and Cecilia Walsh will help guide our extensive
engagement with the media to inform the public. DEC is
strengthening our team to bolster our efforts to meet the unique
challenges and opportunities before New York State.”

Suzanna Randall was appointed DEC’s first Chief Resiliency
Officer. Randall will be responsible for administering the State’s
landmark Clean
Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022,
leading the development and implementation of all major components
of the program. Randall most recently served as Deputy Director of
Project Delivery for the Office of Resilient Homes and Communities,
formerly the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery. Additional
experience includes serving as Special Projects and Sustainability
Coordinator with the New York State Environmental Facilities
Corporation, where she led the award-winning Green Innovation Grant
Program, and Water Resources Planner at Philadelphia Water
Department’s Office of Watersheds.

Peter Reuben was named the first-ever Director
of DEC’s
Office of Indian Nation Affairs. Reuben has more than a decade
of experience with DEC, most recently as the Regional Spills
Supervisor in Western New York, as well as more than 15 years
working closely with Indian Nations on a wide range of
environmental projects and issues. Previously, Reuben served as
Brownfield Program Manager for the Seneca Nation of Indians
Environmental Protection Department, worked as a consultant to the
Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force, and Tonawanda, Seneca, and
Tuscarora Nations. In 2012, Peter was elected Vice-Chair of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Tribal Waste and Response
Assistance Program’s National Steering Committee.

Dereth Glance was named Regional Director in DEC’s Region 7,
which covers Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga,
Oswego, Tioga, and Tompkins counties. Glance most recently served
as DEC’s Deputy Commissioner for Environmental Remediation and
Materials Management, where she oversaw DEC’s divisions of
Environmental Remediation, Materials Management, and Mineral
Resources. Prior to joining DEC, Glance served as Executive
Director of the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency and was
appointed by President Obama as U.S. Commissioner at the
International Joint Commission. Glance’s experience also includes
work with Citizens Campaign for the Environment, New York State’s
Great Lakes Basin Advisory Council, Clean Water Network, and
Onondaga Lake Partnership Outreach Committee, among other
roles.

Cecilia Walsh was appointed DEC’s Director of Media Relations.
Walsh will oversee DEC’s Press Office to ensure the effective
communication of the agency’s actions to statewide and national
media outlets and the public. Most recently, Walsh served as
Project Coordinator for the Cannabis Education and Employment
Development Program with the New York State Department of Labor.
Previously, Walsh was Director of Communications with the Albany
County District Attorney’s Office for more than a decade where she
oversaw all media and public relations for the office and District
Attorney.