July 23, 2021
Patapsco Heritage Greenway (PHG) is excited to announce the addition of two new staff members. Diana Roman will be joining us as our new Environmental Program Manager on August 23. For the last five years, Diana has worked at Irvine Nature Center in Owings Mills, where she currently serves as Manager of Public Programs, Naturalist and Summer Camp Director. A Maryland native, Diana has a BA in Biology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and an MS in Environmental Science from the University of Maryland, College Park’s Department of Marine, Estuarine and Environmental Sciences where she completed her thesis, “The effect of Hurricane Sandy on New Jersey Atlantic Coastal Marshes Evaluated with Satellite Imagery.” Diana has been an environmental educator for over ten years and completed several Maryland DNR courses, including Project Wild, Project Wet, and Project Learning Tree. She has conducted several large tree planting and wetland reconstruction projects through Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, Irvine Nature Center, and SeaCamp, Inc. Diana is also a lifetime Girl Scout, outdoor enthusiast, sports lover and rugby player. Diana looks forward to working with our partners and volunteers across the Patapsco Valley in leading environmental and educational initiatives that protect and preserve the Patapsco watershed.
Mandy Richardson DeLeo will join us as our new Water Quality and Environmental Program Coordinator. Mandy will start part-time on July 26 and transition to full-time on August 30. Mandy brings a diverse range of field experience to the position, having served as a 7th grade science teacher in the Howard County Public School system for six years, seven years as a scientist with Tetra Tech and two years as a community organizer with Maryland Save Our Streams. Over the last several years, Mandy has been deeply involved with her local PTA, serving as president and environmental committee co-chair. Mandy holds a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies (Environmental Science) from UMBC and an MS in Biology from Towson University where she completed her thesis, “The effects of urbanization on the reproduction and lipid cycling of the stream fish, Blacknose dace (Rhinichthys atratulus).” Mandy is excited to support PHG’s community-based environmental education programs and expand our water quality monitoring program, which is supported through a grant from the Howard County Office of Community Sustainability.