By Karen Keene

Monmouth Conservation Foundation (MCF) is delighted to officially welcome five new trustees to our board: Jerry Buffalino, Nora King, Tony MacDonald, Michael Rubin, and Andrew Spears (ex-officio). These individuals are volunteering their time, energy, and resources to advance MCF’s mission of creating parks, saving open space, preserving farmland, teaching environmental sustainability, safeguarding waterways, and protecting wildlife throughout Monmouth County.

Jerry Buffalino is a native New Jerseyan and has been a Holmdel resident for 27 years. He is currently retired from a long career as a senior lender in the corporate banking division of several major commercial banks. He graduated from Fordham University and earned a master’s degree in finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He and his wife, Lorraine, have two daughters, Audine Christie and Laurette Jean. They are parishioners at St. Catharines Church and actively volunteer in several parish community services.

Jerry is currently President of Preserve Holmdel, an organization of concerned citizens devoted to the preservation of Holmdel’s open spaces and natural resources. He was previously a member of Holmdel Township’s Business Relations Committee, a former member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and currently serves on the Financial Advisory Committee. Jerry is an avid golfer and enjoys cycling and practicing yoga. Thompson Park, located near his home, where he does a lot of cycling in the summer, is his favorite park in Monmouth County.

Nora King is a Monmouth County native, raised in Locust. She graduated from Tulane University and earned her JD from Seton Hall Law. She practiced law in New York City as a derivatives attorney, representing hedge funds, trading desks, and energy companies. After a move to London, she returned to Monmouth County, where she, her husband, Kenny, and two children, Clara and Gavin, have been living in Rumson for the last ten years.

Nora volunteers and supports the VNA Health Group and its Children's Auxiliary, which raises money specifically for the VNA's Children and Family Health Institute. She is also involved with The Rumson Country Day School, which their children attend, and its annual fundraising efforts. When not supporting local organizations or ferrying her children to their activities, Nora spends free time playing tennis around Monmouth County. Deep Cut Gardens is her favorite local park, where she loves seeing the plant life and trees in full bloom and having the ability to walk through so many native plant species. 

“Because Monmouth County was my childhood home, I have seen the huge transformation in the last 40 years. Farms have been subdivided and sold off to developers, golf courses have been repurposed, and entire areas of fields and open spaces have become office complexes. While I am cognizant of the need for reasonable development, I feel strongly that our parks and open space are vital resources that we must protect. I was lucky to be raised with Huber Woods essentially in my backyard, and it is my hope that all Monmouth County residents have access to local parks,” shared Nora.

Tony MacDonald is director of the Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute (UCI), which supports stewardship of healthy coastal ecosystems and sustainable communities through science and public policy.  He graduated from Middlebury College and earned his JD from Fordham University School of Law. He was previously the executive director of the Coastal States Organization (CSO) from 1998-2005. CSO, based in Washington, DC, represents the interests of the governors of the nation’s 35 coastal states and territories on coastal and ocean policy matters. Prior to joining CSO, Tony was the special counsel and director of environmental affairs at the American Association of Port Authorities, where he represented the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) at the International Maritime Organization on negotiations on the London Convention. Tony has also practiced law with a private firm in Washington, DC, working on environmental and legislative issues, and served as the Washington, DC, environmental legislative representative for the Mayor of the City of New York.

Another native New Jerseyan, Michael Rubin has lived in Monmouth County for 42 years with his wife, Cindy – the past 30 in Colts Neck and the previous 12 in Holmdel. They have one son. Michael retired in 2019 from his long career as a manufacturer of dance apparel and dance shoes made by Body Wrappers. He graduated from Upsala College and earned his MBA at NYU with a concentration in finance. He was a board member of the Monmouth Museum for fourteen years, mentors students through Give Back and Big Brothers Big Sisters, and now takes calls for the 988 national suicide hotline.

Michael has actively taken part in land conservation, having owned 1,000 acres in West Virginia which were placed under state forestry management plans, meant to encourage wildlife habitat and manage the ecology of the forest. “This experience gave me an education in what forest management means and how individual land owners can act responsibly for their entire community, “ shared Michael. He has downsized to 43 acres of largely wooded acreage in Vermont, which are being placed under the Family Forest Carbon Organization to preserve the carbon catching power of trees.

When introduced to MCF recently, Michael was drawn to working with our organization to promote smart development. With a pro-business mindset, he aims to find balance where we retain open space and farmland and do not saturate with warehouses and strip malls. His favorite green space is their property overlooking the Swimming River Reservoir, and Thompson Park tops his list of Monmouth County parks – for its proximity and many activities like the ceramic studio programs. He enjoys kayaking on the Swimming River Reservoir, gardening in his yard here and at his Vermont home, reading, and doing a bit of financial research. 

As the Director of Monmouth County Park System, where he has worked for 38 years, Andrew Spears feels excited when he sees our residents discovering nature. “There is so much “wildness” in nature still left in Monmouth County, much of which is unknown to residents, and I am glad to play a small part in preserving the precious resources in our midst,” he shared.

Andrew grew up in Middletown, then graduated from Gettysburg College and Monmouth University, where he earned an MBA. The service project for his Eagle Scout rank was creating a picnic grove at Tatum Park, which has become Andrew’s favorite park in Monmouth County. The park’s towering tulip trees sparked his interest in nature as a youth. Andrew is an avid birdwatcher and often can be found combing the marshes of Monmouth County’s Bayshore searching for migrant birds. He currently lives in Tinton Falls with his wife, Michelle and three teenage boys. Andrew and Michelle feel fortunate that all three of their children have the opportunity to attend one of the Monmouth County Career Academies.

We are grateful to our new trustees and current members for working with MCF to #KeepMonmouthGreen. MCF was established in 1977 by a group of citizens to acquire, hold, preserve, and protect the open lands, historic areas, and park and recreational areas of Monmouth County, New Jersey, together with any buildings located thereon. In 2022, MCF celebrated the 45th anniversary of our founding by visionary leaders Judith Stanley Coleman and Michael Huber. To date, MCF has assisted with the preservation of 9,030 acres overall in Monmouth County. Among these, we have helped to conserve 4,350 acres of County parklands – 24% of Monmouth County Park System’s current 18,000 acres, acting as a facilitator among stakeholders and partners and/or by contributing funding.