For Immediate Release
May 17, 2022
Contact: David Gibson
518-469-4081
Congratulations to new Adirondack Park Agency Member Benita Law-Diao
Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve hails today’s NYS Senate confirmation of Albany’s Benita Law-Diao as a new member of the NYS Adirondack Park Agency. She will be the first person of color to serve on the Agency’s board.
“Benita Law-Diao knows the Adirondack Park region very well, serves on Adirondack-based boards like John Brown Lives !, teaches and mentors others, and recreates frequently in the Park’s woods, waters and mountains,” said Adirondack Wild’s David Gibson.
“As a leader in the organization Outdoor Afro, Benita has traveled widely to other parks and protected areas in the country. Her professional, science-based, nutritional health background should also serve her and the agency’s responsibilities for Park planning, resource analysis and protection very well. We thank Governor Hochul for nominating her and the State Senate for the wisdom of confirming her nomination,” Gibson added.
The Adirondack Park Agency’s voting board is comprised of eleven members. Ms. Law-Diao is one of three APA members authorized by law to live outside the boundaries of the Adirondack Park. Five APA members are required to live within the Park. Three APA members are ex-officio representatives of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Empire State Development and Secretary of State.
Adirondack Wild: Friends of the Forest Preserve is a not-for-profit, membership advocate acting to safeguard wilderness and to promote wild land values and stewardship. More is found on the web at adirondackwild.org.