MOUNTAINVILLE – Caroline Hamling of Chester and Catherine Hunter of Campbell Hall have joined the Orange County Land Trust’s Board of Directors.
Caroline Hamling has a long history as a staff member with the Orange County Land Trust. Between 2010-2013, Hamling served as Director of Development, in which she was responsible for all fundraising for annual operations and special programs. As Communications Director from 2007-2010, she managed all internal and external communications activities, including media, policy outreach, public awareness campaigns, website, and magazine editorials. Hamling also served several years as Benefit Reception Coordinator, in which she organized and managed the Land Trust’s largest annual fundraiser. She held a number of positions prior to her tenure at the Land Trust, including Healthcare Network Administrator for an NYS Dept of Health/Marist College joint initiative, Communications Assistant for Special Projects with the American Lung Association of Delaware, and Legislative Aide in the Maryland State Senate for then-Senator John Pica, Jr.
Hamling earned a Master of Public Administration from Marist College and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from SUNY Plattsburgh. Since 2011, Hamling has been a member of Bon Secours Warwick Health Foundation Board of Directors. She has also served as a volunteer with Orange Pathways, helping to raise funds for the Orange County Heritage Trail, and a member of the Orange County Bicycle Club. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, kayaking and cycling.
Hamling said: “I am delighted to have this opportunity to serve on the board of the Orange County Land Trust. The current board and staff members have done an amazing job protecting local farmland and conserving important natural and scenic lands, and I look forward to working with them. It is a challenging time for non-profits, but I believe the work of the land trust will continue to be important to all of us, and to future generations.”
Catherine Hunter was most recently a Branch Manager, Mortgage Loan Originator with Walden Savings Bank in Circleville. She was also a Branch Manager, Mortgage Loan Originator with Orange Bank & Trust Company in Chester, NY, and a Branch Manager/Licensed Relationship Manager/VP during a long career with KeyBank National Association; in which she worked in many different branch offices as a manager and also spent time in commercial and residential loan origination. In 2003, she became licensed in Life, Accident, and Health Insurance, and held Series 6 and Series 63 licenses.
Hunter has been involved with many community and non-profit organizations throughout her professional career to the present. She was a graduate of Leadership Orange- Class of 2002, a
past board officer for the Warwick Lions Club, Warwick Rotary Club, Winslow Therapeutic Riding Center, Chester Kiwanis Club, and a past board member with Planned Parenthood Mid Hudson Valley. Hunter has also served on the Orange County Land Trust’s Benefit Reception committees, as well as the Land Trust’s Stewardship & Land Protection Committee. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Marist College.
Hunter said “I am so happy to have the opportunity to be a part of the OCLT, whose mission it is to preserve and protect our precious environmental and agricultural resources for all of us to enjoy for generations to come.”
Board President Arlene Nolan, who announced the board appointments at a June meeting of the Land Trust’s Board of Directors, stated “We are thrilled to have Caroline and Catherine join our board of directors. They bring to this board a distinguished, professional background with a wide range of expertise. Both Caroline and Cathie have demonstrated enthusiasm and dedication to land protection to ensure the beauty and natural resources of our beautiful Orange County. We are lucky to have these talented women work beside us as we endeavor to go forward in this ever-changing climate of social and environmental reform.”
