Penn Soil RC&D Council Leadership Transition

Sue Nielsen of Warren County was hired by Penn Soil RC&D Council in February of 2024 to start the transition of taking over as the new Executive Director for the council. Sue started training with the current Executive Director, Wes Ramsey, in March of 2024 to start the process of Wes retiring after serving in that position since 2011.

Prior to starting with Penn Soil, Sue had recently closed her family daycare and preschool she had owned and operated for nearly 23 years while raising her three children. While running this business, she earned her degree in Early Childhood Education from Clarion University to add to her degree in Humanities from JCC which emphasized accounting, psychology and photography. Since then, Sue has become certified as a kayak and water safety instructor through the American Canoe Assoc. as a Level 2 River, Level 2 Coastal and Adaptive kayak instructor. Other accomplishments include becoming certified in wilderness and remote first aid to build on the standard first aid credentials, certification as a Master Watershed Steward through Penn State Extension, becoming a Special Olympics Coach and certification with Swim Angelfish to teach swimming to children and adults with special needs at the Warren YMCA. Sue also teaches learn to swim lessons at the Warren YMCA and serves as the coordinator of the Rainbow Swim program for individuals with special needs.

Sue began volunteering in the Warren community about 20 years ago with her children's Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, serving as the President of the Warren PTO, volunteering with the Warren Moose Club, the American Cancer Society, Struther's Library Theater, the Jamestown Community Nature Center ( Jamestown Audubon), the Warren YMCA at the Kinzua Tango Races as on-water safety, teaching the kayaking badge at the Chief Cornplanter Council of Boy Scouts summer camp and more. Much of her volunteer time over the last 10 years has included serving on the committees that organize the Allegheny Reservoir and Allegheny River Cleanups, joining the Board of Directors of the Conewango Creek Watershed Assoc., organizing the Conewango Creek and Chautauqua Lake Cleanups, and over the last 4 years, becoming a Master Watershed Steward through Penn State Extension and volunteering with outreach and education on environmental and water issues.

Drawing upon her training as a kayak instructor, Sue started organizing free community water safety days and partnering with other local agencies and organizations to host several before Covid hit. Plans are underway to resume these events with more partners and expanding them into the other seven counties that Penn Soil RC&D serves.

Sue is excited to join the Penn Soil RC&D team and has many ideas for new projects, carrying forward existing or past projects and events supported by Penn Soil RC&D and is interested in new community improvement project ideas from the 8 northwestern PA counties that we serve. New project ideas are welcome and can be submitted through on our Contact page (see tab above) through the Penn Soil RC&D Council website or by calling the office at 814-726- 1441.