Jason Pelton is a Licensed Professional Geologist and has been with the Department for 20 years, having worked 17 years with the Division of Environmental Remediation and three years with the Division of Materials Management.  Prior to joining the Department, he worked nine years as a hydrogeologist in the consulting industry and as a groundwater management planner for Schenectady County where he assisted with the management of a Sole Source Aquifer.  Jason was recently promoted to the Director of Remedial Bureau D where he supervises staff managing the cleanup of the U.S. Navy and the Northrop Grumman Bethpage Facility sites, Onondaga Lake, Hudson River, and emerging contaminant sites across New York State.  Jason received a Master of Science degree in Hydrogeology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1998, a Bachelor of Science degree in Water Resources from the State University of New York at Oneonta in 1995 and an Associates in Applied Science in Ecology and Environmental Technology from Paul Smith’s College in 1992. 

Kristi Granzen is an Assistant Geologist in the Division of Environmental Remediation and a project manager for remediation activities associated with the Navy’s Bethpage Facility, the Onondaga Lake site in Syracuse, and other inactive hazardous waste sites across central NYS since early 2022.

Prior to work at the NYSDEC, Kristi was an honors student at Stony Brook University where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology in 2021.

Sarah Johnston is a geologist in the Division of Environmental Remediation where she is responsible for managing the investigation and cleanup of the Navy and the Northrop Grumman Bethpage Facility sites on Long Island and Onondaga Lake sites in Syracuse. Sarah previously worked in environmental consulting at CHA in Albany, New York, where she worked on a range of environmental, hydrogeologic, solid waste management, and geotechnical projects.

Sarah received a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from Union College in 2002, a Master of Science degree in Geology from Oregon State University in 2005, and Master of Arts degree in Geoscience from Princeton University in 2008.

Melanie Gárate, a Senior Associate at the Consensus Building Institute, is an experienced bilingual facilitator and mediator primarily focused on oceans & coasts, climate adaptation & mitigation, and environmental injustices. She designs and facilitates complex public participation and multi-stakeholder engagement processes to address socio-environmental conflicts in the U.S. and Latin America. 

Melanie holds an M.S. in Marine Ecology and Climate Change from the University of Rhode Island, where she obtained an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to study mangrove ecology and perform community outreach in Puerto Rico.  She is a trained mediator, in accordance with Massachusetts General Law Chapter 233 § 23C.