John Oster, Executive Director

 After graduating from Hamilton College in 1972, John’s roles included environmental and community organizing in Albany and organic farming in the Berkshires. During the 1980s he served as Assistant Commissioner with the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal before returning to Rochester, where he joined the affordable housing industry.

In 2000 John founded and came to work for Edgemere Development. He and his teams have developed or redeveloped thousands of homes and apartments throughout New York and neighboring states.

The conjunction of the natural and built environments is central to his work and life. In 2020 he formed the Carbon Forestry Trust to acquire marginal lands, plant and nurture woodlands, and accelerate carbon sequestration. Partially retired in 2023, he was appointed as the Trust’s first Executive Director.

John is also the founder and past president of the Choroideremia Research Foundation, an international medical research foundation, and of Common Farms, an intentional community in Poestenkill, NY.

External Team Members

Foresters -Keister Consulting, Inc.

 Keister Consulting, Inc. is a forestry consulting company and WBE (Women-Owned Business Enterprise) centered on a scientific, long-term approach to preserving natural resources and improving residual forest quality, led by Founder and Principal Forester, Susan J. Keister. She has a Bachelor of Science from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Environmental Science and is a member of the Executive Board of ESFPA, Empire State Forest Products Association, a non-profit organization for businesses and individuals dedicated to improving the business climate for the forest products industry and management of New York's Forests. She is an American Tree Farm Inspector and an active member of the Society of American Foresters, focused on the ongoing developments regarding climate change and issues related to carbon sequestration, regulation and appropriate resource management. 

 Keister Consulting, Inc. is also led by Mark W. Keister, Forester, Certified Pesticides Applicator, and New York State DEC Forester. Mark is responsible for forest health and pest issues, GIS ; mapping of existing trail/access locations, management plan preparation and execution, and timber sale administration. He is a graduate of  SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry and has a Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University. Mark is a member and instructor of the Empire State Forest Products Association and a member of the New York State Christmas Tree Growers Association. 

 The team also includes Robert A. Wink, is a Forester at Keister Consulting, and a Professor, Environmental Conservation and Horticulture, at Finger Lakes Community College. Robert has a Ph.D. in Environmental Forest Biology (Forest Entomology) and bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry and is supported by Barbara C. Shafer, GIS Specialist.  

Communications- Jackie Mangione

Jackie Mangione is the Communications Director, contributing to the Trust’s organizational advancement strategy with a particular focus on outreach, communications and grant writing. She has worked for prominent global corporations including Eastman Kodak, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, and had her own public relations agency in New York City for eight years. She was the Regional Communications Director for the American Heart Association overseeing Rochester, Buffalo and Erie, PA and currently works at LaBella Associates. Jackie is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications. 

Attorneys -Cannon Heyman & Weiss, LLP

Cannon Heyman & Weiss, LLP is a boutique law firm located in Albany, NY and Buffalo, NY with substantial experience in public and private financing transactions, including municipal finance and tax credit syndication transactions. Prior to and since forming CHW, members of the firm have provided counsel to clients in the areas of affordable housing and community development law, including the syndication of various federal and state tax credits, other tax incentives, and a variety of securitized debt instruments such as tax-exempt bond financing. Cannon Heyman & Weiss, LLP is committed to providing high-quality legal representation to all segments of the affordable housing and community development industry.

Accountants- Flaherty Salmin, CPAs

Flaherty Salmin, CPAs is a full-service professional firm of Certified Public Accountants serving national Affordable Housing clients, Monroe County area businesses, and individual clients. Tim Flaherty is the Managing Partner of Flaherty Salmin CPAs and oversees the affordable housing practice of the firm, consulting on low-income-housing tax credits and other affordable housing programs throughout the development process.  He graduated from St. Bonaventure University and currently serves as a finance committee member of Action for a Better Community (ABC), is a board member and director of event fundraising for the ABC Foundation, board member of the Wilson Commencement Park and Sojourner House and Treasurer and Executive Board Member of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH).