We invite you to share your voice on environmental topics you care about and shape a future that reflects our collective values and commitment to the Town of Rochester and its people. Join the conversation.

About

The Town of Rochester is one of six communities in the Hudson Valley to be accepted to PCA’s Funding Futures Training and Grant Program!

Each of the communities chosen will receive training and technical assistance to host nonpartisan listening sessions aimed at identifying local environmental priorities. Through these sessions, communities will explore potential projects and funding strategies to support their goals. Every voice matters, so we invite you to share your thoughts, experiences, and ideas.

In the Town of Rochester, we are united by the land we live on and a shared commitment to a healthy and vibrant future. Our rural roots—reflected in working farms, scenic landscapes, forests, and waterways—are part of what makes our community special. These natural connections, along with our shared hopes for the well-being of our families and their families, bring us all together.

Team

Judith Karpova has lived in the Town of Rochester since 2001, moving up from Hoboken, NJ. She’s worked at an oil refinery, gotten a Master’s Degree (NYU) in Comparative Literature, and is a Certified residential and building energy auditor with the Building Performance Institute since 2006. She was on the Environmental Conservation Commission for 15 years and helped the Town get on the national Pollinator Pathway map (save the insects!). At 81, she still does energy audits, most recently the Town’s municipal buildings, and writes science-fiction romance screenplays.

Faye Forman is a resident of Accord. Since 2017, she has worked on human-powered vegetable and flower farms in New York. At Clove Valley Community Farm in 2021, she discovered a love for drying grasses and flowers and later a love of wreath making. She mixes both wild and cultivated plant material to create custom dried wreaths and bouquets. Faye is an artist with a joint-BA in History and Human Rights from Bard College. She is building her home and flower business in Accord with the help of family, friends and the local farming community.

Heather Eckardt has been a resident of Kerhonkson since 2011 and brings a thoughtful, values-driven approach to environmental and community concerns. Her professional experience includes roles at the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley, Ulster Community College Foundation, Scenic Hudson, and Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, where she has supported mission-aligned initiatives and fostered community engagement. She holds a degree in Agricultural Science from Oregon State University and has pursued graduate studies in sustainability, environmental leadership and communication, deepening her commitment to a more sustainable and connected world.