Environmental Commission Member Biography’s

Dr. Theodore Chase, Jr. – Is the Commission's Council liaison.  He was recently elected to the Franklin Township Council, after having been a member of the Environmental Commission and Planning Board for the last 14 years and Open Space Committee for 8 years.  He is a retired Professor of Biochemistry from Rutgers University.

John Clyde – Has a BA in Economics and Government and an MA in Political Science. A former Mayor of Franklin Township he also served as a Councilman for 16 years. He is currently the Chair of the Township Trails Advisory Committee.  He previously served on the Township Planning Board and the Open Space Advisory Committee.

Lawrence J. Lewis – Has a B.A. in Earth Science from Kean University and has been employed by the NJDEP since 2007.  He has worked in the environmental consulting field, and taken numerous water samples around New Jersey.  In 2005, Lawrence was a member of the AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassador Program in conjunction with the DEP, which enabled him to accrue 1700 hours of community service by conducting numerous educational outreach programs within Somerset County.  

Cecile MacIvor – A resident of Franklin Township for 36 years with a BS in Chemistry and a BS in Pharmacy, she has been a licensed pharmacist for 40 years.  She served on the Township's Zoning Board for 3 1/2 years in the 1980s and is a current member of the Planning Board.

Dianne M. Pydeski – Has a BS in Environmental Policy from Cook College of Rutgers University.  She is a Registered Environmental Health Specialist in New Jersey and has over 16 years experience in carrying out the enforcement of state and municipal environmental and public health codes.

Arnold W. Schmidt, Vice Chair – Has a BS in Environmental Science and is a Registered Environmental Health Specialist.  He has worked in County government since 1988 enforcing NJ environmental regulations.  Serves on the NJ Noise Council, is a member of the Township Shade Tree Comm. and the Open Space Advisory Committee.

David Triggs – Has a BS in Environmental Science and has been employed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection since 1989.  He is currently a member of the Open Space Advisory Committee.  He has worked in the environmental consulting field as well as the chemical industry.

Arnold S. Vernick, Chair – Has a BS and MS in Civil/Environmental Engineering and is a Professional Engineer in New Jersey and a Board Certified Environmental Engineer.  He has over 45 years experience as a consulting engineer in project management, pollution abatement, environmental protection and watershed management.

Paul J. Walitsky – Has a B.Met and M.S. (Metallurgy) and an M.S in Management. He is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager. He was Manager Environmental Affairs-Philips Lighting, responsible for Environmental Compliance for all of their North American Operations. He is a Member of the Board of Directors of GreenSeal and has a consulting practice in energy efficiency.

John H. Walker – Has a BA in Economics/Business Management from Rutgers and is a 30 year resident of Franklin.  He helped organize, coordinate and complete a 4 year investigation starting in 2002 to remediate widespread gasoline and VOC contamination of more than 160 residential potable wells in Franklin Park.

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