Board Members
Martha Handler, Board President
Martha Handler joined the WCC board in 2001 and is currently serving as Board President. After graduating from the University of Colorado in 1981, she worked as an environmental consultant for the EPA, NRC and Department of Energy in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles. During this time Martha specialized in community relations at various Superfund sites across the country and wrote regulations and provided oversight in the areas of nuclear waste, oil refinery regulations, and asbestos removal procedures. Martha has been an environmentalist, philanthropist, and community activist for many years. While living and attending school in the West, she became aware of the plight of the wolves and vowed to find a way to get involved to secure their survival. When she and her family moved East in 1996, she met the founder of the WCC and recognized that this was the opportunity she’d been dreaming of. Since joining the Board, Martha has remained one of the WCC’s most ardent and enthusiastic supporters. In addition to serving on the WCC Board, Martha has served on the boards of the Lewisboro Land Trust and the Lewisboro Library. She is also an award-winning writer. Her most recent novel, Winter of the Wolf, is a New York Times best-seller.
Hèléne Grimaud, Founder
Hélène Grimaud is a renowned concert pianist and a founder of the Wolf Conservation Center. Hélène Grimaud was born in Aix-en Provence in the south of France in 1969. At the age of 17 she appeared at Daniel Barenboim’s invitation with the Orchestre de Paris and began a career wherein she has performed with most of the world’s major orchestras and renowned conductors. Hélène champions many charitable causes, including the Worldwide Fund for Nature and Amnesty International. In addition to her dedication and hard work in founding the WCC, Hélène has become a global advocate for wolves, their relationship to the environment, and the human role in protecting their future. In Hélène's words, wolves are not only essential “biodiversity engineers,” preserving balances among animal and plant species but also “endlessly fascinating creatures who have much to teach humans.” Hélène is the author of three successful books, “Retour à Salem” (Albin Michel, 2013), “Leçons Particulières” (Robert Laffont, 2005), and “Variations Sauvages” (Robert Laffont, 2003) / "Wild Harmonies" (Riverhead / Penguin, US, 2006). Hélène's deep dedication to her musical career, both in performances and recordings, is reflected and reciprocally amplified by the scope and depth of her environmental and literary pursuits.
Errol Antzis
Errol Antzis has been a both a financier and entrepreneur in the Media, Entertainment and Technology industries for over 40 years, as well as a musician and staunch supporter of environmental and animal rights organizations and causes. He has been a Board member of the Wolf Conservation Center since 2021, and joined based upon his strong belief that wolves are an essential part of our global ecosystem, and are critical to maintaining a balanced and sustainable environment.
Errol has also served on the Board of Born Free USA as Treasurer, is the President of the Waccabuc Landowners Council, which assists with local environmental issues and social events and preserves local historical sites. In addition, Errol is a member of the Lewisboro Land Trust in Westchester, NY.
Errol graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received a Master of Business Administration from New York University. He lives in Northern Westchester with his wife, daughter, miniature Poodle, two Holland Lop bunnies and dwarf hamster.
Cristina Civetta
Cristina Civetta has been a board member since 2019. Growing up a native New Yorker and graduating from NYU with a degree in Art History and Advertising. Cristina was born with Congential heart disease and has been a fierce voice for the American Heart Association and junior victims having undergone seven life saving surgeries thus far. Cristina has been yearning to become more involved in the Wolf center since learning and becoming involved with it through board president Martha Handler. Cristina has helped to bring in new audience and items to events the WCC. She hopes to be able to bring her events and fundraising/strategic partnership background to the center to continue its pivotal work.Cristina lives between Manhattan and Pound Ridge with her husband Ed Scheetz and their two dogs,two cats and two goats.
Maryanne Hartley
Maryanne Hartley has spent most of her career as a small business owner and consultant in the outdoor apparel industry, working with renowned European brands such as Rossignol, Belfe & PostCard and VIST, who were looking to market and expand in North America.
Having grown up in the Berkshires she developed an early devotion to conservation, and a respect for the environment and the animals that are so critical to the ecosystem. The passionate research and fundraising for wolves by one of her children led her to the WCC. Over the last 2 decades, Maryanne has been involved in both charity and fundraising projects, supporting organizations such as the Maine Children’s Cancer Program, Boston Ballet, and the German International School in Montreal where she has lived for the past 15 years before moving to Connecticut with her family.
Tracy Kraft
Enthusiastic about problem solving and innovation, Tracy’s professional work with Kraft Kennedy focuses on helping law firms leverage technology for operational efficiency. Outside of Legal Tech, Tracy serves as a founding member of the Women’s Wolfpack, a collective supporting positive outcomes for local efforts.
Her love of nature, respect for the ecosystem, and affinity for wolves drew Tracy to the WCC. A member of the board since 2020, Tracy brings a passion for building community, strategic collaboration, and belief in a future where wolves thrive. She lives with her three children and black lab Stella in the woods of Waccabuc, New York, where on quiet nights she can hear the wolves howl.
William Cordiano
Bill Cordiano joined the Wolf Conservation Center Board in 2022. Bill is a retired executive with an extensive background in the development, acquisition, financing and management of energy infrastructure assets, including a strong emphasis on renewables and the regulatory process. Bill’s background includes serving as an officer, director and board member of various entities in the energy sector, including federally and state regulated electric and gas public utilities, independent power production companies and transmission companies.
Bill also serves on the Board of Caramoor Center for Music and The Arts where he is a member of the Executive Committee, Chair of the Building and Grounds Committee and has overseen the Center’s capital projects since 2014.
Bill received his Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from The Cooper Union and his MBA in Economics from the Stern School of Business at New York University. Bill is a 40-year resident of Pound Ridge, NY where he lives with his wife Sandra and Labrador retrievers Dylan and Kingsley.
Scott Kantro
Scott: "As we all know a journey starts with knowledge and desire without which no significant progress can be made.
It advances through a collective vision that excites and energizes all concerned to reach the destination, and through a strategy adaptable to changing circumstances, tells us how to proceed.
But as always, the journey’s success is determined by how well folks execute…and although our road is long, we can and must change the direction of protecting one of our most valuable resources: wolves!"
Claudia Neary
Claudia Neary is an attorney and advocate based in Westchester County, New York. Claudia grew up in Los Angeles and was fascinated by whatever nature was around her. She graduated from UCLA, met her husband Michael, and moved to New York to attend Fordham Law School.
She was first introduced to wolves through her brother-in-law, Tim. He loved wolves and took every opportunity to tell people about them. Tim passed away in 2007 and ever since then, the wolves kept coming back into her life. She began by attending all the events and supporting the WCC every way she could. She learned about these magnificent animals and how they are so integral to the environment. She joined the WCC Board in 2017.
Besides serving as a Board Member at the WCC, Claudia is also a Board Member for the Hunts Point Alliance for Children and the Bedford Hills Free Library. She also provides pro bono legal work and volunteers at her children’s schools, Blair Academy and Bedford Village Elementary School.
Dean Travalino
Dean Travalino began his commitment to the environment as a young adult, volunteering as a photographer and community organizer for a small group co-founded by his mother to save "Nunatacks-The Hall Estate." The effort eventually led to the creation of the Greenberg Nature Center. As a partner in the Westchester law firm of Allen, Litt, Hulnick, and Giordano he often leaned on his background in zoning and planning to advocate for responsible development for both residential and major corporate clients. A long-time member of the WCC board and its Facilities Committee, he is proud of the aesthetics and environmental sensitivity shown in the plans developed by the team for the Education Center and campus improvements. Among his various community and nonprofit board memberships, Dean was a member of the original board of Phelps Memorial Hospital Hospice. He holds a BA in history from Fordham University and a JD from Boston University School of Law.
Susan Freund
Susan Watkins Freund has been an active supporter of the WCC for over a decade, and continues to be instrumental in both strategic planning and development. Susie first learned about the WCC when she met co-founder Hélène Grimaud who was performing at the Caramoor Summer Music Festival nearly 20 years ago. With five children and a strong commitment to both education and the environment, Susie quickly offered her support, joining the Board a few years later. After graduating from Boston University, Susie, who was born and raised outside of Philadelphia, moved to New York where she worked while earning a Masters Degree in History from Columbia University. Her interest in conservation and the environment began in earnest when she was a researcher for the industrial display company designing the Washington State Department of Ecology’s pavilion at Expo ’74 in Spokane–known as the first environmentally-themed World’s Fair. The pavilion celebrated the State’s victory over litter from the first trash (Adam and Eve’s apple core) to the landmark passage of the Model Litter Act. Other exhibits covered subjects including the importance of protecting aquifers and vanishing species as evidence of man overstepping his boundaries in the environment. Susie serves on the Board of Caramoor Center for Music and The Arts where she is a member of the Executive Committee. She is also the Director of Captiva Island Yacht Club. She has also served on the Parent Boards of both Rippowam-Cisqua and the Low Heywood School for Girls, as well as on the Fund Raising and Development committees of the Katonah Museum of Art where she initiated the highly successful annual House Tour. Susie, who was a competitive swimmer as a child, continues to play championship golf. She and her husband John live in Pound Ridge with their horses, dogs and 13 visiting grandchildren.
Tripp Killin
Tripp Killin is the Executive Director of the Jeniam Foundation, a small family foundation that focuses on conservation issues. Previously, he was Associate Director of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, an advocacy group working to preserve wild places in the Land of Enchantment (including vital wolf habitat). Tripp received a B.S. in Biology from the University of New Mexico (Go Lobos!) and then spent a decade in the software industry, first in Silicon Valley and then in Albuquerque. Tripp joined the Wolf Conservation Center to help save a creature that is critical to many wild ecosystems, and which represents the very essence of wilderness. He believes wolves are an indicator species for the health of the human spirit. He lives in Newtown, CT with his wife and two children.
Shari Wolf Ruckh
Shari Wolf Ruckh joined the Board in the spring of 2010 and became Treasurer in 2011. Shari obtained a BS in Psychology in 1987 from Union College in Schenectady, NY, and an MBA in Certified Public Accounting in 1989 from Hofstra University, in Hempstead, NY. She spent the next two years as an auditor in the Retail and Publishing division of Arthur Andersen, LLP, and then went on to a career in private, corporate accounting including the positions of: Accounting Manager at the World League of American Football; Manager of Financial Accounting at Home Box Office; Controller of US Operations of the recruiting firm Michael Page International; Controller and Assistant Treasurer of the music label, publishing and distribution company Ryko Music Group; and most recently, Assistant Controller at World Wrestling Entertainment. Currently, Shari has chosen to leave the workforce to focus on raising her daughter. In addition to being on the Board of the Wolf Conservation Center, she also is on the Board of the Pound Ridge Neighbors’ and Newcomers’ Club as its Treasurer. Shari resides in Pound Ridge, NY with her husband Robert Ruckh and her daughter Amelia. She has always been a great lover of all types of animals, and considers it an honor and a privilege to serve the wolf population by being involved with the Wolf Conservation Center.
Advisory Board
Diane Bentivegna
Erica Cornwall
Nina Fascione, International Rhino Foundation
Cathy Kangas
Randolf Perry, Nonprofit Attorney and Advisor
Scientific Advisory Board
Charlie Duffy, VMD (Veterinary Medical Doctor)
Cristina Eisenberg, Ph.D., Earthwatch Lead Scientist, Author
Dr. Don Moore, Smithsonian Zoo/ Polar Bear international
Rolf Peterson, Wolf Biologist