Moore to oversee Natural Resources in Vermont

Altamont native Julie Moore was named Tuesday as Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, according to a release from Vermont’s governor-elect, Phil Scott.

The daughter of Judy and Joseph Slack, of Altamont, Moore is a 1992 graduate of Guilderland High School.

“When she was in second grade, she came home from school and said, ‘We took a test and it said I should be an engineer but I already knew that.’ What girl knows that in second grade?” her mother marveled.

Later, when Moore got a degree in engineering from the University of Buffalo, “There were no girls in her classes,” said Slack. She went on to earn a master of science degree in environmental science and policy from Johns Hopkins University. She is a registered professional engineer in both Vermont and New Hampshire.

Not only did Moore know she was going to be an engineer at an early age, she also was a leader from an early age.

In 1985, when she was in sixth grade, she told her mother, “I’d like to go to the board of education meeting tonight to speak up for the sixth grade.” Slack explains, “There was a work-to-rule order so teachers weren’t working outside the classroom. The kids didn’t like their activities being cut. Julie was president of the student council.”

After that, Slack said, she regularly attended board meetings. Moore became a school board member in Vermont where she lives now and Slack followed suit in Guilderland.

Moore is currently the Water Resources Group Leader at Stone Environmental, an environmental consulting firm, a post she has held for nearly six years. She also brings 15 years of additional environmental project management experience to her new post, including six years of previous experience with the Agency of Natural Resources, where she led the state’s efforts to reduce phosphorus pollution in Lake Champlain and managed a budget of more than $4 million.

Moore also served as the primary agency liaison to related programs at the agencies of Agriculture, Food & Markets, and Transportation, and routinely provided testimony to the Vermont Legislature.

Additionally, Moore has volunteered in various capacities with organizations dedicated to improving Vermont’s water resources, including as chairwoman of the Friends of Northern Lake Champlain Advisory Council.

“I am looking forward to working with Governor-elect Scott, my new colleagues in the cabinet, and the dedicated employees of the Agency of Natural Resources,” said Moore in the release, “to promote and protect Vermont’s natural resources, working landscape and the recreation assets that we value as Vermonters and attract millions of dollars in tourism visits each year.”

— Melissa Hale-Spencer

More Community news

  • DELMAR — The third annual Biking, Burgers and Beverages celebration is set to roll on July 17, rain or shine.

    It will run from 4 to 7 p.m. along the Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail.

    The free event is hosted by the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce.

  • This was a ceremony of both celebration and farewell — not only for the graduates but for their superintendent of nearly 15 years, Marie Wiles; for a school board member of 18 years who taught for decades before that at Farnsworth Middle School, Gloria Towle-Hilt; and for half of the keynote-speaker team, longtime high-school social-studies teacher and soccer coach, Michael Kinnally.

  • GUILDERLAND — Community Bank has opened a new branch, in Guilderland, at 1791 Western Ave.

    The bank plans to add branches off Wolf Road in Colonie and at the Schenectady-Mohawk Commons Plaza in Niskayuna, bringing its branch count to 13 locations within the region.

The Altamont Enterprise is focused on hyper-local, high-quality journalism. We produce free election guides, curate readers' opinion pieces, and engage with important local issues. Subscriptions open full access to our work and make it possible.