Three local residents joined the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center’s Board of Trustees on March 10.

Trad Dart, Eileen C Duggan and Stacy Eder Smith join the board, which oversees the operation of the nature center. Their collective backgrounds bring diverse career experience and valuable knowledge to our mission of connecting people nature.

Trad Dart, a lifelong resident of Mystic, has been in the food and hospitality industry for more than 40 years having graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and apprenticed at the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia. Trad is passionate about local history and giving back to the community. He is active in the Union Baptist Church, Coastal Lodge 57, Stonington Grange, and Stonington Cemetery Association, currently sits on the Board of Trustees at the Denison Homestead. 

Stacey Eder Smith is a resident of Guilford, CT with a Masters in Elementary Education from UNH, a Connecticut teaching certificate, and a Human Ecology degree from College of the Atlantic. She is a Master Gardener though UCONN and is part of the Eder Family Foundation and Circle Seedlings.

“As a human ecologist I love to educate others and foster appreciation about nature, gardening, pollinators, and how to leave less of a footprint. In addition, I get excited when I have the opportunity to connect non-profits to one another in order to achieve common goals,” she said. As a former board member of and current member of the Board of Advisors for the Guilford Land Conservation Trust and the Long Island Sound Funders Collaborative, Eder Smith brings great knowledge of habitat management.

Eileen C Duggan, a Waterford resident and senior leader with Suisman Shapiro, received her Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from Yale University and Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia. She is a member of the Connecticut and New London County Bar Associations, and in 2020, Eileen Duggan was recognized by the Connecticut Super Lawyers list for her work in local and municipal law; for which no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected for this honor. She is a passionate about sports, animals and local business, actively serving on the boards the U.S.S. Groton Sail Foundation as well as the Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce.

The Board of Trustees of the Nature Center also includes:

President Karen L. Stone
Vice President Dorrit Castle
Secretary Richard B. Steele
Treasurer Rowland Stebbins II

Claudia Bachmann-Bouchard
Jess Brown
Stanton Ching
Steven Dodd
Jason Guyot
Jennifer Herbst
Fatima Matos
Robert Martin
Rebecca Nolan
Ana M. Schneider
Steve Solley
Fred Ziegler