Press release:
The Genesee County Cornell Cooperative Extension Board of Directors has selected Christopher Crawford as their Executive Director to lead the 100-year-old organization.
Chris Crawford, Ph.D., MUP, is currently a Lead Science Advisor in New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Bureau of Environmental Science and Engineering. As such Crawford works in the Bureau’s Building Water System Oversight program, which provides regulatory oversight of more than 5,000 cooling tower systems in New York City.
Prior to working in New York City, Crawford worked in a rural Upstate New York local health department providing technical assistance and regulatory oversight to more than 200 public water systems, while working to address technology and policy issues across the department. Crawford also spent time working in the U.S. Virgin Islands with the Department of Planning and Natural Resources and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Kingdom of Tonga.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, attended law school at SUNY at Buffalo, received a Master of Urban Planning from SUNY at Buffalo and a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts in Boston in Environmental, Coastal and Ocean Science.
Board President Colleen Flynn said “CCE of Genesee County enjoyed several years of exceptional leadership under Bev Mancuso and we greatly appreciate the assistance of Robin Travis as interim director following Bev’s retirement. We are looking forward to welcoming Dr. Christopher Crawford and his family to Genesee County. His education, experience and leadership style will complement the many talents of Extension's knowledgeable staff and dedicated volunteers.”
"I am looking forward to working with the people, organizations, and community of Genesee County as Executive Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension's Genesee County office,” writes Crawford. “Looking back on my career and varied organizations I have worked with, I have seen the real-world differences that can be made when communities and universities come together.
"I'll strive to work closely with both the community and Cornell to identify vital issues, generate solutions and build the relationships necessary to ensure successful and sustainable implementation."
Crawford will begin his role on Nov. 5th. For more information on Genesee County Cornell Cooperative Extension, please visit genesee.cce.cornell.edu.
