Directors & Officers

Michael Aurelia - President

Mike served as the Director of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency, Town of Greenwich, CT until his recent retirement. He currently works as an environmental consultant. Mike received a BS in Geology from The Johns Hopkins University and an MS in Geological Science from Brown University. He joined the AF Board in 2003. Mike is a Certified Wetlands Scientist and has served on the national Society of Wetland Scientist’s Certification Committee. He has been a board member of the Stratford CT Conservation Commission, the CT Audubon Council, and the CT Assoc. of Conservation and Inland Wetland Commissions. He has been a Scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America in Greenwich for over ten years. He has served as president of Aton Forest since 2007.

Glenn D. Dreyer - Vice President

Glenn has been a member of the AF, Inc. Board since it was formed in 1990. He is the Charles and Sarah P. Becker ’27 Director of the Connecticut College Arboretum (New London, CT), Executive Director of the College’s Goodwin-Niering Center for Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies, and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Botany. He received his BS in Ecology from the University of California, Davis, and his MA in Botany from Connecticut College. Glenn met Dr. Egler in May 1981 when beginning his MA Thesis work on vegetation patterns on electric transmission rights-of-way with Dr. William A. Niering. Although primarily an administrator, when time permits his research interests include long term vegetation changes, invasive species, and vegetation management. He is chairman of the Connecticut Notable Trees project, which documents large and history trees. He served as president of Aton Forest from 2001 to 2007.

Paul Lagel - Treasurer

Paul is currently a Tax Accountant with Chase Enterprises in Hartford. He joined AF, Inc. as Treasurer in 2001, and was elected to the Board in 2003. He earned his BS in Natural Resources Conservation from the University of Connecticut, and worked for three years in the early 1980s as Research Assistant in the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection’s Wild Turkey Restoration Project. After earning his accounting certification, Paul was self-employed as a tax accountant for many years. He has been involved in numerous conservation and hunting organizations, including Vice President of the Association of New England Field Trial clubs, the Treasurer of New Britain Field Trail Club, and Past President and Treasurer of the Yankee Bird Dog Club.

John P. Anderson, Jr.

Another original member of the AF Board, John began working as Frank Egler’s Research Associate at AF in 1981 and co-authored several papers with him. He received his BS in Natural Resources Conservation and his MS in Geography from the University of Connecticut. In 1992 he was named the Aton Forest Fellow, a position supported by a trust established by Dr. Egler to ensure that research and conservation activities continued at AF. In 2001 John became Aton Forest’s Executive Director. He has served on the Norfolk Conservation and Inland Wetlands Agency, the town’s Open Space Committee and the Norfolk GIS work group, a volunteer for the Norfolk Land Trust and Norfolk Coalition for Sound Growth, and serves on the boards of the Connecticut Conservation Association and the Connecticut Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation. His research interests include vegetation management, plant community dynamics, wildlife ecology and GIS (geographic information systems). He served as vice-president of Aton Forest from 1990 to 2000, and president from 2000 to 2001.

Carol R. Lemmon

Carol recently retired as Deputy State Entomologist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. She earned her BS and MS degrees in Biology at Southern Connecticut State University and joined the AF as Secretary in June 2003 and Board Member in November 2003. An all-round field scientist, she was primarily concerned with the regulation and certification of the state’s nursery and beekeeping industries during her years at the Station. She is the author of a number of professional papers concerning entomology and ornithology. Carol is the President and Co-founder of the Connecticut Butterfly Association, Vice President of the Connecticut Botanical Society, and is a board member of the Connecticut Ornithological Association and the Branford Inland Wetlands Commission.

William Urban

Bill received his BA in History and Political Science from Moravian College. Other studies included Russian, Business and Economics. Bill is also a founding member of AF, Inc, and has been the Executive Director of the Connecticut Conservation Association since 1984. He is a certified Professional Wetlands Scientist who served as Chairman of the Ansonia Inland Wetlands Commission from 1976 to 1997 and has been Chairman of the Ansonia Conservation Commission since 1982. He is involved in many conservation and social service organizations including The Boy Scouts of America, The Connecticut Agricultural Station Associates (founding secretary and board member), and the National Audubon Society. Bill has been a member of the board since 1990, and served as Vice-President from 2001 - 2006.

Shelly Harms - Secretary

Shelley became Secretary of Aton Forest in 2005 and was elected to the board in 2007. She received a B.A. from Carleton College and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. In 2001 she moved to Norfolk after retiring from her position as Chief Privacy Officer for Verizon Communications. Shelley is a federally licensed bird-bander and has led the MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity & Survivorship) and breeding bird point count projects for Aton Forest since 2002. She is an Executive Editor and Board member for the Norfolk Now community newspaper, President of the Winchester Land Trust, on the Board of the Norfolk Coalition for Sound Growth, and a member of Norfolk's Natural Resources Inventory and Farmers Market committees. She also serves as Counsel to the Medina, Torrey, Mamo & Camacho law firm.