DEC Recognizes Women Who Advocate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The National Women’s History Alliance designated this year’s national theme for Women’s History Month as Women Who Advocate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The theme recognizes women working to eliminate bias and discrimination from individuals' lives and institutions. For more information on this year’s national celebration, visit the National Women's History Alliance website.
DEI has been a part of the everyday work at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for decades. Today, this work is expansive across the agency with diversity and inclusion initiatives led by Personnel, Accessibility efforts led out of Operations, and agency-wide programs under the Equity and Justice portfolio. DEC’s Environmental Justice, Indian Nation Affairs, and DEI programs advance equity by developing policies focused on disproportionally impacted New Yorkers.
Many DEC staff help implement the policies and programs that are helping achieve environmental justice in New York. In honor of Women’s History Month, below are five profiles of women in DEC whose daily work furthering DEI goals is making a real and lasting positive impact in the lives of New Yorkers:
Adriana Espinoza
Adriana Espinoza serves as DEC Deputy Commissioner for Equity and Justice. As Deputy Commissioner, she oversees the agency’s climate justice portfolio, the Office of Environmental Justice, and the Office of Indian Nation Affairs. She also leads internal efforts to encourage diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice among incoming and current staff, and works to enhance DEC's outreach to disadvantaged and underrepresented communities across the state. Prior to joining DEC, Espinoza served as New York City's first Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice in the Mayor's Office of Climate and Sustainability, where she directed the development and implementation of the City's Environmental Justice Program. Espinoza also previously served as New York City Program Director for the New York League of Conservation Voters. She is a first-generation immigrant and college graduate, earning her Master of Science in social work from the University of Texas at Austin, where she concentrated in policy and community administrative leadership.
Her message to the next generation of female leaders is inspired by one of the great intersectional leaders of generations past, Mary Church Terrell: lift as you climb. Terrell said, “And so, lifting as we climb, onward and upward we go, struggling and striving, and hoping that the buds and blossoms of our desires will burst into glorious fruition 'ere long. With courage, born of success achieved in the past, with a keen sense of the responsibility which we shall continue to assume, we look forward to a future large with promise and hope..."
“For Women’s History Month and always, be intentional about uplifting other women, particularly women of color, and create space for mentoring others as you grow in your own leadership,” Espinoza said.
Alanah Keddell-Tuckey
Alanah Keddell-Tuckey is DEC’s Director of the Office of Environmental Justice. She and her team focus on ensuring environmental and climate justice are considered in all aspects of the environmental process and that DEC and State agency programs consider the histories, circumstances, and needs of residents living in historically overburdened parts of the state. In addition to her work for the Office of Environmental Justice, Keddell-Tuckey has served as DEC’s Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs and worked on diversity, inclusion, education, and public outreach with the Office of Communication Services.
Keddell-Tuckey came to State service after several years working as a Government Relations Associate with the Adirondack Council, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the Adirondack Park. Prior to this, she served as the Government Affairs Coordinator for the Empire State Pride Agenda.
Keddell-Tuckey holds a Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from SUNY Binghamton with a minor in Sociology.
Laura DiBetta
Laura DiBetta is the Director of the Office of Outdoor Recreation. The team of four coordinates statewide programs and initiatives to enhance access to nature and the outdoors. Programs like I BIRD NY and the New York State Birding Trail are making it easier for people to learn about and get started in outdoor recreation. Events like Get Outdoors & Get Together Day invite and welcome people of all ages, abilities, backgrounds, and identities to enjoy public lands. The Office also makes DEC information more accessible and works to build and strengthen relationships with underrepresented and disadvantaged communities. Recent highlights include facilitating partnerships to hold events in conjunction with Black Birders Week and launching the Spanish-language email newsletter Encuentre su Aventura.
DiBetta spent 20 years working for environmental not-for-profit organizations before transitioning to public service. Over the years, as a grassroots organizer, communications professional, and program manager, DiBetta worked on issues ranging from protecting community gardens in New York City and brownfields cleanup, to renewable energy and land conservation. Just prior to joining DEC, she was the Park Program Director at Parks & Trails New York where she advocated for investment in the state’s public lands system and helped launch I Love My Park Day and the Park and Trail Partnership Grants.
Much of DiBetta’s free time is spent advocating for equity and inclusion as part of two parents’ groups working with the local school district, and as the proud steward of the Little Free Diverse Library in Delmar.
Trimelle “TC” Andrews
Trimelle Andrews joined DEC as an Equal Opportunity Specialist 1 in 2021. She brings more than 20 years of knowledge and experience in all aspects of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. This includes issues involving equal employment opportunity, affirmative action reporting and analysis, succession planning, reasonable accommodations, community outreach, cultural competency, and training development and delivery, which Andrews learned while working for the Office of the New York State Comptroller. Additionally, she helps keep DEC staff abreast of changes in laws and national trends in DEI in an effort to make process improvements and recommendations in this evolving field.
In addition to her primary duties at DEC which focus on reasonable accommodation requests, recruitment, and outreach, Andrews also strives to involve herself in charitable causes, equity and justice activities, and building relationships with community organizations so that the work of DEC can be shared with others.
Andrews is a strong advocate for civil rights and liberties, previously serving as President/Director for the local chapter of the Council on American–Islamic Relations and as a past member of the Executive Board of the New York Civil Liberties Union (Capital Region). This afforded her the opportunity to continue making a difference in the lives of others by working with interfaith and other diverse organizations and giving presentations and serving on community-based discussion panels alongside other subject matter experts. These opportunities have enabled Andrews to present at Albany Law School, The College of Saint Rose, the Labor-Religion Coalition’s 25th anniversary celebration, and several immigrant rights forums, among several others. In her words, “It is important to do the right things for the right reasons so that when I look at my reflection in the mirror, I like who I see looking back at me.”
Her State career started in 1987 as a Typist with the New York State Department of Social Services (now known as the Office of Temporary Disability Assistance). Andrews holds a bachelor’s degree in community and human services, is a trained paralegal, holds a certification in training development and delivery from Rutgers University, and still hopes to pursue her dream of practicing law. In her spare time, she’s known as the “Compassionate Crafter” and donates crocheted items when she learns about someone in need. She notes “There are things bigger than myself in life and giving from one’s heart is its own reward.”
Andrews is from New York City and is the only child of a Trinidadian immigrant father and great-great-granddaughter of a member of the Blackfoot tribe and a Florida sharecropper.. When asked about her greatest achievement in life, Andrews proudly references her children and grandchildren, each of whom is learning by her example as a single mother to always stay steadfast and approach things “like raindrops on a stone,” and in the end, adversity will always be overcome. She learned these pearls of wisdom from her late mother and a former boss. Andrews believes that diversity of thought and outlook are essential to every aspect of life, and that we must never lose sight of our values and those things that make us unique.
Leah Akins
Leah Akins is DEC’s Statewide Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Coordinator. She focuses on improving access for people with disabilities to outdoor recreation activities such as hiking, camping, boating, paddling, birding, and nature observation. In this role, she is a diligent advocate for greater equity in access to the outdoors, diversifying visitors to State lands, and providing a more inclusive environment for all.
Infusing DEI into environmental conservation is her passion, as she sees this integrated approach as fundamental to improving the health of humans and ecosystems. Akins feeds this passion by creating opportunities for people who have limited access to the outdoors to get outside and by working directly with community groups to deepen their connection with nature.
Akins came to DEI and environmental conservation from a wide-ranging background in environmental science, policy, planning, and community engagement. Just like the marine animals she studied as a graduate student, she has been migrating upriver throughout her career, spanning research on sea turtles in Florida, shrimp fisheries in North Carolina, strategic planning and policy for marine reserves in California, and coastal protection in New York State.
Akins has a Master of Science in ecology from the University of California, Davis, and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She is a certified ADA Coordinator and Trainer in a broad range of diversity, equity, and inclusion issues. Read her article on page 14 the June/July 2023 issue of DEC’s Conservationist magazine to learn more about accessible recreation on New York State lands.
