Meet the Groupies
Staff
Robert S. DeLuca
President
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Robert S. DeLuca has served as President and CEO of Group for the East End since 1992. He holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from Fordham University and an M.S. in Environmental Science from the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse. Prior to joining the Group, Bob worked as both a Biologist and Senior Environmental Analyst with the Suffolk County Office of Ecology and taught environmental advocacy and policy as an adjunct professor for Long Island University, Southampton, for over 15 years. Bob began his career with the Group in the mid-1980s as an Environmental Analyst. In this role, Bob developed the Group’s first environmental outings and community education programs.
Email Bob
office: 631-765-6450 ext. 213 | cell: 631-495-0601
Steve Biasetti
Director of Environmental Education
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Steve began his tenure with the organization in 1989 as an environmental analyst and currently manages all aspects of the Group’s environmental education programs in the classroom and in the field. He earned a B.A. in biology from College of the Holy Cross and an M.E.M. in forest resource ecology from Duke University. Steve’s interests include wildlife-watching, outdoor recreation, sports, and travel.
Email Steve
631-765-6450 ext. 205
Jennifer Hartnagel
Director of Conservation Advocacy
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Jenn began working for the Group in 2007. She graduated with a B.A. in geography from James Madison University and earned an M.S. in environmental science from the State University of New York's College of Environmental Science and Forestry. As the Group’s director of conservation advocacy, she attends public hearings, submits written comments on development proposals, and has led several conservation projects. Jenn enjoys camping and hiking with her family, loves her dogs, and has run multiple marathons.
Kristina Lange
Director of Membership
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After earning a B.S. in business management from Ithaca College and a decade of working in financial services, Kristina started a new career in not-for-profit marketing and fundraising. She moved “out east” in 1999 and became director of marketing & communications at the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons. Since joining the Group in 2011, Kristina has led many fundraising efforts and is editor of the organization’s newsletter.
Always up for an adventure, she has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, bungy-jumped in New Zealand, gone trekking in Nepal, and sky-dived on Long Island. She loves animals and the quiet, natural beauty of Shelter Island.
Email Kristina
631-765-6450 ext. 216
Anita C. Wright
Assistant Director of Environmental Education
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Anita earned a B.A. from Tufts University and an M.S. in environmental education from Antioch University, New England. She worked for six years as an outdoor educator and assistant program director for Boston University Sargent Center in New Hampshire, where she taught environmental education and guided high-ropes courses, rock climbing, and wilderness trips. Since joining the Group in 1998, she has developed and taught environmental education programs in the classroom and in the field for schools, youth and community groups across the five East End towns. Anita is a food, music and nature enthusiast and is happiest when she’s outdoors hiking, biking, paddling, and gardening.
Email Anita
631-765-6450 ext. 206
Taralynn Reynolds
Director of Outreach
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With an M.S. in conservation biology from Columbia University, Taralynn served as an environmental educator at the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York; studied endangered primates in the rainforests of Madagascar; and worked with high school students in the Galapagos Islands to create wildlife habitat and monitor plant growth. More recently, Taralynn taught biology and environmental science at BASIS International School in Shenzhen, China, where she encouraged students to become stewards of the environment. Taralynn joined the Group in 2019 to lead the organization’s outreach programs. She is passionate about native plants and pollinators, and is a member of the Suffolk Alliance for Pollinators (SAP) and a board member of the Long Island Native Plant Initiative (LINPI).
Email Taralynn
631-765-6450 ext. 219
Rachel Bosworth
Media Relations Manager
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Rachel is a public relations and marketing consultant with a degree in Advertising and Marketing Communications from the Fashion Institute of Technology. After graduation, she completed an internship in New Orleans at Deveny Communications before coming back home to the North Fork, where she eventually opened a boutique communications and website design firm, RB Collaborative. With the Group, Rachel manages communications and the annual Swing Into Summer benefit auction.
Marina DeLuca
Environmental Associate
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Marina graduated with a B.S. in biology and a B.A. in music from Union College, where she was named a University Innovation Fellow through Stanford University’s entrepreneurial fellowship program. She studied in England and backpacked through Europe and Morocco, which inspired her love of travel and birdwatching. Marina began working for the Group in 2019 and has spoken passionately in defense of the environment at town hall hearings, monitored the local horseshoe crab population, and advocated for dark sky legislation and compliance. She’s an outdoor enthusiast, budding singer-songwriter, and a performer at open mic nights.
Kristen Bashen
Conservation and Advocacy Specialist
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Kristen graduated from Syracuse University with a B.A. in international relations and biology. She spent her four years taking classes at both S.U. and SUNY ESF, allowing her to experience different academic perspectives, exploring upstate New York with the S.U outing club, and living in France for a semester. Kristen interned with the Group in the summer of 2022 and returned after graduating in 2023. Aside from protecting the environment of the East End, her main focus is to try new things and figure out who she is as an environmentalist. She is interested in marine ecosystems, traveling, dinner parties, and finding her next book.
Board of Directors
Katherine Leahy Birch, Chairman
William Ryall, Vice Chair
Stuart Goode, Treasurer
Susan Abdalla
Kimberly Allan
W. Marco Birch
Kristen Briner
Louis Bevilacqua
Andrew Goldstein
Nestor Gounaris
John Shea
Kimberly Smith Spacek
Marisa van Bokhorst
Mary Walker
Donna Anne Winston