Meet the Board
Dedicated Board Members
ESSLA’s Board of Directors are all volunteers who meet regularly throughout the year. Working side-by-side with community volunteers and partners, the directors focus on activities and initiatives to continue preserving and protecting the Schroon Lake watershed.
Gary Karl
Gary Karl started coming to Schroon Lake with his wife, Debbie, almost 40 years ago. In the ensuing years Gary and Debbie came to Schroon Lake with their three daughters. Gary is ecstatic to be living now in the Adirondack Lodges and sharing his love of Schroon Lake with eight grandchildren. He is a transactional lawyer who retired from the private practice of law as a partner in a major Rochester firm. Outside his law practice, Gary was a board member in several Rochester-area not-for- profits and a two-time recipient of USA Swimming’s outstanding service award for his volunteer contributions to the sport in western and central New York.
Bob Colegrove
Bob retired in 2009 after a 40-year career in banking and finance. Have owned a house on Schroon Lake since 2001 and currently lives here for 6 months and winter in South Carolina. Currently supervises the water testing activity for ESSLA and participates as a super scout.
Jeanne Clement
Jeanne Clement is the secretary at ESSLA. Jeanne and her husband, Jim, have been coming to beautiful Schroon Lake for over 40 years. They bought their home at Adirondack Lodges in 1991, and enjoy spending time here with their two daughters, two sons-in-law, and five grandchildren. They spend their winters in Fort Myers, Florida. Jeanne worked in Health Care, retiring in 2011, where she was EVP of Clinical Services Integrity and Quality for Alere. She is a Registered Nurse and has her Master of Public Health, Health Management and Policy, from New York Medical College. Hobbies include golfing, boating, Mahjongg, and many of the other activities that the Adirondacks have to offer!
Rick Smith
Rick and his wife, Maryanne, have owned their home on Schroon Lake since 2006. They thoroughly enjoy year-round activities with their five children, son-in-law, family and friends.
The Smiths reside in Yardley, PA, where Rick volunteered in youth sports and various non-profit organizations. He retired from KPMG as a senior partner in 2016.
In 2012 Stephen retired and joined the board. For forty years prior to that he was a senior partner at a law firm in Poughkeepsie where he was a federal trial lawyer specializing in construction, labor and employee benefits. He and his wife, Karen, have had a home on East Shore Drive since 1991. He served as ESSLA’s President from 2016 to 2019. He thoroughly enjoys e-biking, pickleball, fishing, woodworking, sailing and gardening with Karen.
John Greening
John has been sharing the beauty of Schroon Lake with his family for over 40 years, fishing, hiking and waterskiing. He is currently an Environmental Health and Safety Professional, with a Bachelors Degree in Biology – Chemistry from The College of Saint Rose, AAS degree in Natural Resources Conservation from Fulton Montgomery Community College.
Ev McNeill
Ev & Carol and three boys started building on Schroon in 1979. He was a Sourcing Manager with GE Power Systems in Schenectady. Upon retiring in 2004, Schroon Lake became their permanent residence. Ev is a leader of ESSLA’s signature Scout Program and a Scout himself; chair of ESSLA’s Environmental Committee; and a leader of the Joint Environmental Committee meetings of the three lakes associations in our watershed. In 2020 the New York State Federation of Lake Associations named him its “Lake Steward of the Year” for having gone above and beyond the call of duty. These days, Ev focuses not only on aquatic invasive programs, but terrestrial invasive threats.
Tad Matley
Tad’s interest in the Adirondacks began in the early 80’s while living in upstate New York. A career move with GE brought him back to the area in 2000 when he purchased a camp on Adirondack Road. Tad retired from GE in 2013 as an Operations and Supply Chain Management executive, a career spanning 33 years. He enjoys his summers at Schroon Lake and resides in Florida during the winter. Tad has a BS in Engineering and BA in Business from Rutgers University and an MBA from Purdue University. He is the proud father of three children and two granddaughters.
Carol has been lucky to have been coming to Schroon Lake her whole life–from staying with relatives on Sand Point to summers at her parents’ camps on the East Shore to owning a townhouse at the Adirondack Lodges since 2004. Carol has passed the love of Schroon Lake onto her husband, Kent, and two children. Carol’s involvement in ESSLA has come full circle as her parents were part of ESSLA’s board in the 1990’s.
Christopher DeGiovine
Christopher DeGiovine has been a Roman Catholic priest for 45 years. He bought his “camp” on Schroon Lake with Rev. Ron Menty in 1977. A 46R, Chris has always found solace and renewal on the lake and in the mountains paddling, hiking, skiing and biking. Fr. Chris was Chaplain and Director of Spiritual Life at The College of Saint Rose for 25 years before completing his ministry as pastor of St. Matthew’s Church in Voorheesville, NY. Over the years “camp” was converted into a year-round home where Chris now resides full time.
Susan Lauricella
Susan, her husband Paul and their three children have been enjoying Schroon Lake since 1994. In 2017 they knocked down their small cabin and built a year-round home. In 2021, Susan retired from being a Teen Services and MakerSpace librarian, they sold their CT home and moved to Schroon Lake. She and Paul enjoy paddling, biking, hiking, relaxing at the beach, skiing, snowshoeing and the beauty of the Adirondacks.
Paul Goldsworthy
Paul retired from a career of 35 years at a global elevator company and then finally from Rutgers University in 2018. In 2018 Paul and his wife Pat moved to the home they built in 2005 on Adirondack Road in Schroon Lake. Paul is an enthusiastic biker and enjoys hiking, fishing and boating the Adirondacks. He became actively involved in ESSLA as a lake scout in 2018 and most recently in leading the lake clean up to help with the Loon program. Paul has a business degree from the University of Kentucky and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Laura Gumaer
Born in Watertown, N.Y., Laura & her family spent summers on the St. Lawrence River & Lake Ontario. After graduating from SUNY New Paltz with degrees in K-6 Education & Communication Arts, Laura had a rewarding career in education. In 1993, Laura & her husband, Kevin, bought a log house in Adirondack where they spent a lot of time with their son (John), family & friends. In 2014, Laura and Kevin bought a lot on East Shore Drive & began construction in 2018. As long-time members of ESSLA, they now spend their time on Schroon Lake, in Walden, N.Y., & wherever their travels take them. Laura has a deep respect for Schroon Lake & would like to ensure the integrity and beauty of the lake and its watersheds be preserved for future generations.