Mike Porter, President, Margaretville
Mike is a retired teacher from Margaretville Central School. He taught Earth Science, Environmental Science, Science Research in the High School, Driver Education and several elementary and junior high courses over his 33-year career. In 1988 he was selected as the New York State Conservation Teacher of the Year by the New York State Board of Soil and Water Districts. A life-long resident of Delaware County, Mike is an avid birder and has studied the changes in the avian community over the years.
As a small woodlot landowner, he has learned to manage his property to better enhance wildlife, timber quality and maple syrup production. Mike has been an active volunteer Fireman for nearly 45 years and was an Executive officer for most of that time. He was a member of the Town of Middletown Zoning Board of Appeals and, later, a Planning Board member and Chair. Besides birding, Mike gardens, makes Maple syrup, cuts his own firewood and does woodworking. Currently, he is harvesting trees from his property and preparing his own lumber via a bandsaw mill on the property.
Steve Finch, Vice President, Secretary, Halcottsville
Steve began his professional career, just out of high school, at family business Hubbell Brothers, Inc., and continued at family owned Brookside Hardware, Ltd., where he became a manager and partner. Steve has been a volunteer first responder in the Halcottsville Fire Department (HFD) since he was fourteen.
After retiring from full time employment at the end of 2019, Steve continues to manage projects for MTC and he continues to be an active volunteer in the community. Steve is the president of the Halcottsville Fire Department and a Fire Commissioner for the Middletown-Hardenburgh Fire District. Steve recently joined the board of directors for the M*Ark Project, and in his hometown, he recently created the Halcottsville Community Association, to bring residents together. Steve is also Vice President of the Halcottsville Cemetery Association. In his free time, Steve loves to spend time outdoors gardening and landscaping around the home and property he shares with his wife, Sara. Together, they also both enjoy golfing and skiing in and around the Catskill Mountains.
Steve Reich, Treasurer
Steve Reich grew up in Yonkers NY but was always interested in the natural world. He spent a lot of time fishing (yes, there are fish in Yonkers, even trout in the Saw Mill River, but he would also travel to Kensico Reservoir). He went to college at Colgate University and stayed a fifth year to get his Master’s in Teaching. He spent 36 years as a public school history teacher, 35 of them in Valhalla, NY.
Nearly 20 years ago he and his wife were able to purchase 50 acres of land in Margaretville. A young forester, newly hired by the CFA, came out to do a site visit. It has been a pleasure watching Ryan Trapani move into the leadership of the organization. This has been the place where he has hunted with his father in law, brother in law, son and nephew. He strives to be a steward of the land and has hosted the Game of Logging on his property.
Eleanor DiPalma, Delhi
Eleanor, daughter of immigrant farmers, learned the magic of the forest at an early age. She worked in her family’s business as a landscaper and book keeper where she developed self–motivation, physical stamina, creativity and unique visual skills. This experience has positively shaped her life skills. Dr DiPalma earned a PhD from New York University in dance movement psychotherapy and she is recognized internationally in her field.
Eleanor has completed an array of projects on her own land. These projects include: a riparian buffer restoration; eradication of invasive species; tree planting of more than a thousand seedlings; tree pruning; timber stand improvements; and early successional habitat management to create a place for wildlife to thrive.
Lenore Ostrowsky, Oliverea
Lenore joined the Catskill Forest Association in August 2016 and has learned a great deal from CFA’s programs and staff.
In 1923 her grandparents bought seventy acres of densely forested, largely mountainside property on both sides of McKenley Hollow Road in Oliverea, NY from a retiring minister and his wife whose only son had been killed during WWI. It has been in the family ever since, first as a landscape for her grandfather to paint while teaching at the Art Students’ League in New York City and then as a place for him to host Yiddish Art Theatre actors, producer Maury Schwartz, scenic carpenters, and to create stage designs for upcoming performances.
Lenore is a federal administrative lawyer in Washington DC. She has spent part of every summer here since she was born.
Gabe DeBrita, Schoharie
Gabe DeBrita is a Forester. As a graduate of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (BS in Forest Resource Management) and the New York State Ranger School (AAS in Forest Technology), Gabe has a specific interest in the management of northern hardwood forests. Gabe enjoys taking care of his small forested property where he lives in Schoharie, and spending time with his wife, Val, and dog, Gus. Together, Gabe and Val also enjoy vegetable gardening and raising meat chickens.
Cat Sokil Milnikiewicz, Arkville
Cat Sokil Milnikiewicz has been a member of the CFA since 2001. The CFA has been an invaluable resource for learning tree id, planting, and pruning, as well as strategies for oak regeneration. Cat earned a PhD in Economics and taught at Middlebury College in Vermont and Bard Early College on the Lower East Side. She completed the Master Forest Owner (MFO) training during the pandemic. Cat divides her time between Brooklyn and her land off Dry Brook in Arkville. The Milnikiewicz family purchased the property in 1966 as an escape from NYC. The Catskills reminded them of their home in the Carpathian Mountains of Ukraine.
Jordan Heller, Pine Bush
Jordan Heller is a consulting forester based in Pine Bush, New York. His business focuses on managing forests from the understory up rather than the overstory down. During the summer months, he primarily manages non-native invasive species and native interfering species through herbicide treatments. Throughout the spring, fall, and winter, his work includes writing forest stewardship plans, marking and cutting timber stand improvement projects, installing deer exclusion fencing, and preparing timber sales.
Jordan works closely with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Watershed Agricultural Council (WAC) to help clients access grant funding that can offset the cost of forest management activities. He is a Technical Service Provider (TSP) for the NRCS and a WAC Qualified Forester.
Jordan began his forestry career buying timber for Wagner/Greene Lumber, where he spent seven years before transitioning into forest consulting. For the past five years, he has worked as a forest consultant throughout New York, New Jersey, and northeastern Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of the SUNY ESF Ranger School and holds a bachelor’s degree in Forest Resources Management from SUNY ESF.
Jordan’s interest in the Catskill Forest Association began through his longtime colleague Gabe DeBrita, whom he attended Ranger School with and later worked alongside at Greene Lumber. He became more familiar with CFA and its work after meeting Ryan Trapani and Giovanna D’Angelo at the 2025 Society of American Foresters (SAF) conference in Saratoga.
Jordan believes CFA occupies a unique space within forestry by providing meaningful experiences and educational opportunities for forest landowners as well as those who are simply interested in the natural environment around them. He sees CFA as a valuable educational resource that helps foster awareness, understanding, and action regarding the many issues facing forests and forestry today. With CFA’s values closely aligning with his own, Jordan looks forward to contributing to the organization and helping maintain and expand its success within the forestry sector as a member of the Board of Directors.