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The Board of Directors of Sheldrake Environmental Center announced the hiring of the organization’s new Executive Director, as well as the appointment of two new members of the Board of Directors. The new leadership team brings new perspectives and fresh energy to the fulfillment of Sheldrake’s mission and community connections.

Elizabeth Weisman brings multifaceted experiences and skills that are well-suited to her new leadership role as Executive Director. A former attorney and Cardozo School of Law graduate, she pursued marketing and communications with roles in public relations, advertising, design, and nonprofit development. After settling in Larchmont 22 years ago, Weisman transitioned to communications for the College of New Rochelle, which then led to an interest in education and roles as both a Writing Assistant in a developmental English program at CUNY in Queens and, more recently, as a teacher in residence at The Windward School in White Plains. 

Summer camp at Sheldrake was a special experience for Weisman’s two children, who are now adults. Weisman reconnected with Sheldrake recently as a participant in its adult mindfulness programming. She looks forward to encouraging the Larchmont community to take advantage of Sheldrake’s unique programs and natural wonderland.

Jodi Scheinfeld has a background in education, writing, and nature and has been a naturalist with Sheldrake since 2012. As a Sheldrake naturalist, Scheinfeld has led school trips and early-childhood educational programming, drawing on professional training at Sarah Lawrence College Child Development Institute’s Teaching the Environment Program and at The Shelburne Farms Institute for Sustainable Schools in Vermont. A former high-school English teacher and adjunct writing professor, Scheinfeld also helped establish, and continues to co-chair, an annual district-wide children’s poetry festival, “Poetry Out Loud,” for the New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence. 

Joyce H. Newman is an Emmy Award–winning environmental journalist, educator, and gardener. She holds a Certificate in Horticulture from The New York Botanical Garden and is a tour guide both there and at Wave Hill in Riverdale. Newman has been a naturalist at Sheldrake since 2013 and served previously on the Sheldrake Board of Directors in 2008-2009.