Partner Employees
Partner Employees help us extend our reach. NRCS works with partner organizations to increase staff resources and get more conservation on the ground. These partner employees provide assistance in two ways: with specific resource concerns and with program promotion and conservation planning.
Statewide Support for Specific Resource Concerns
We have partner employees who work with NRCS soil conservationists to help provide expertise to address specific resource concerns throughout New Jersey:
through a partnership with The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and New Jersey Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Kelly Gill provides technical support and training to NRCS, other conservation agencies, and farmers on the topics of pollinator conservation and native plant restoration. A Pennsylvania native, Kelly completed coursework towards a Master’s Degree in Entomology at Iowa State University. There, she conducted small plot and farm scale research on the development of best practices for conserving beneficial insects in Iowa's agricultural landscape.
Contact Information:
USDA-NRCS
1971 Jacksonville-Jobstown Road
Columbus, NJ 08022
Office: 609-267-1639 x 110
Fax: (855) 305-7200
Email: Kelly@xerces.org
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
4828 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Portland, OR 97215
Office: 503.232.6639
Fax: 503.233.6794
For information on how to conserve pollinator habitat visit:
http://www.xerces.org/pollinator-resource-center/
http://www.nj.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/whip/Pollinators.html
through a partnership with US Fish and Wildlife Service and New Jersey Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Elizabeth (Beth) Freiday, a Certified Wildlife Biologist by The Wildlife Society, works in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service to design and implement habitat restoration via the Wetland Reserve Program, as well as the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife program. Elizabeth can offer private landowners assistance with conservation planning and helps landowners identify the most appropriate conservation programs to reach their goals. Elizabeth specializes in building new partnerships with landowners, government agencies and non-government organizations that result in restoration plans and outcomes that maximizes benefits for people, wildlife and the environment.
Elizabeth holds a Bachelors of Science in Wildlife Biology from Clemson University, Clemson South Carolina, and a Master’s of Science in Forestry from the University of Kentucky, Lexington Kentucky. Prior to her service with the federal government, Elizabeth worked for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resource, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, and the NJ Audubon Society. Elizabeth brings an extensive knowledge of avian ecology and over 10 years of experience in wildlife planning and management to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Contact Information:
US Fish and Wildlife Service
927 North Main Street
Pleasantville, NJ 08232
Phone: 609-382-5263
Email: elizabeth_freiday@fws.gov
These partner employees provide support in targeted areas of New Jersey.
- Kara Hasko, Agriculture Conservation Specialist
Partner: Morris County Soil Conservation District
Works from NRCS office in Hackettstown 908-441-7526 or kara.hasko@usda.gov
- Christian Bench, Agricultural Specialist
Partner: North Jersey RC&D
Works from NRCS offices in Hackettstown and Frenchtown, 908-483-2358 or christian.bench@usda.gov
- Nicole Porter, Wildlife Biologist
Partner: NJ Conserve Wildlife Foundation
Works from NRCS offices in Hackettstown and Frenchtown, 908-441-7524 or nicole.porter@usda.gov
- Eric Romaine, Civil Engineering Technician
Partner: North Jersey RC&D
Works from NRCS office in Hackettstown, 908-441-7510 or eric.romaine@usda.gov
- Eric VanBenschoten, Watershed Agricultural Outreach Specialist
Partner: Sussex County Municipal Authority
Works in Hackettstown NRCS service area, 973-579-6998 x 111 or evanbenschoten@scmua.org
- Dan Reynolds, Assistant Watershed Protection Specialist
Partner: NJ Water Supply Authority
Works from NRCS office in Frenchtown, 908-483-2361 or daniel.reynolds@usda.gov
- Kelly Steimle, Agricultural Resource Specialist
Partner: NJ Department of Ag
Provides statewide assistance, working from NRCS office in Frenchtown, 908-483-2357 or kelly.steimle@usda.gov
- Alicia Huber, Agricultural Outreach Specialist
Partner: North Jersey RC&D
Works from NRCS office in Frenchtown, 908-483-2351 or alicia.huber@usda.gov
- Patricia Hollerbach, Program Assistant
Partner: Burlington Soil Conservation District
Works from NRCS office in Columbus, 609-534-9466 or Patricia.Hollerbach@usda.gov
- Arianna Efstatos, Civil Engineering Technician
Partner: Cap Atlantic Soil Conservation District
Works from NRCS office in Woodstown, 856-823-3150 or arianna.efstatos@usda.gov
- Briana Nagengast, Agriculture Conservation Specialist
Partner: Cape Atlantic Soil Conservation District
Works from NRCS office in Vineland, 856-285-7687 or briana.nagengast@usda.gov
- Rebecca Watson, Agriculture Conservation Specialist
Partner: Cape Atlantic Soil Conservation District
Works from NRCS office in Vineland, 856-285-7672 or rebecca.watson@usda.gov
- Brittany Dobrzynski, Stewardship Specialist – South
Partner: NJ Audubon
Works with Vineland and Woodstown, 856-285-7669 or brittany.dobrzynski@usda.gov
- Luis Almeyda, Farm Assistant
Partner: Cape Atlantic Conservation District
Works with Cape May Plant Materials Center, 609-465-5901 or luis.almeyda@usda.gov
updated March 6, 2020
