 |
| New Haven RR's Canal Division |
|
A Short Bio/Blurb about Craig Della Penna
He is the Executive Director for Northeast Greenway Solutions, which is small consulting firm set up to help bring cogent solutions to communities developing rail trails and greenways. NEGS collaborates with engineering companies, communities or grass roots trails organizations to assist in their development. NEGS specializes in getting communities to “YES” to the idea of a rail trail by collaborative charette type processes and high energy PowerPoint presentations that are specifically tailored to the locale or venue. NEGS’ inventory of slides of various design issues related to rail trail development is now over 8,000 slides—one of the largest databases in the U.S. Trained as mediator, Craig brings special skills to public meetings that ease tensions and make for a better public participation process. NEGS also produces a HTML newsletter/blog that goes out to over 11,000 advocates and decision makers in 12 states. http://www.greenwaysolutions.org
He is a REALTOR® working for The Murphys Realtors, Inc. in Northampton, Massachusetts—one of the most respected and largest independent firms in western Massachusetts. He specializes in antique houses and residential properties near to rail-trails or other greenways. He is consistently in the top tier of agents at the firm and in 2007, he was the 2nd top agent. Recently this unique niche practice was featured in a story in the National Association of Realtors Magazine’s Smart Growth section and seen by 1.3 million readers. It was also featured in a Sunday Boston Globe editorial. http://www.craigdp.com
Along with his wife Kathleen, he also operates Sugar Maple Trailside Inn, a bed & breakfast located in a carefully restored, 1865 farmhouse in Northampton’s village of Florence. The house sits eight [8] feet away from southern New England’s first municipally built/operated rail trail. This award-winning restoration was featured on HGTV’s Restore America and on Boston Channel 5’s evening magazine show, Chronicle. Their B&B was recognized in Yankee Magazine’s 70th Anniversary Issue on “The Best of New England”. http://www.sugar-maple-inn.com
He is the General Manager of Central Highlands Conservancy LLC, [CHC] which preserves former railroad corridor in Massachusetts by buying corridors that are in danger of being lost or sold off to adjacent landowners or inappropriate commercial developers. CHC then protects the corridor by holding it until the local land trust can purchase it through a long-term capital fund-raising campaign. CHC assists in the campaign and in extreme instances, will help create the land trust itself. CHC’s most recent project was in two central Massachusetts communities that included 3 significant bridges. One of which was the last of its type still standing the state – and would have most likely have been torn down if CHC hadn’t stepped up to preserve it. CHC sold this stretch of corridor and the bridges to a local land trust in June of 2007 for cost + plus expenses—no mark up. CHC will probably step forward to protect another 15 -18 miles by the end of 2010. http://www.chc-llc.org
For 20 years, he marketed rail freight and operated two of New England’s largest and most successful railroad owned, transloading facilities. From 1998-2004, he worked for Rails-to-Trails Conservancy as their New England Field Representative focusing on the legislative affairs end of building rail trails.
He is the author of four books and numerous op-ed pieces/guest editorials on the value of smart growth development, and rail-trails. In their 10th anniversary issue, THE RIDE MAGAZINE named him as the most effective advocate for bike and rail-to-trail issues on the eastern seaboard.
Having given over 750 lectures in 16 states and Canadian provinces, Craig is one of the country’s most sought after, energizing, motivational speakers on the economic development, tourism, and smart growth community development aspect of rail-trails and greenways, and their leveraging of small amounts of public dollars to redevelop forgotten or hidden lands into treasured places. He also works to train other REALTORS® as to the importance of these corridors in village and neighborhood settings. In 2007, he was the plenary speaker at the largest trails and greenways conference in the Northeast and presenting at other major conferences in both New York and California on the aspect of rail trails/greenways and real estate.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS
Governor’s Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Board
Co-chair of MassHighway’s Trails & Greenways Taskforce
Chair of the East Coast Greenway’s Massachusetts Committee
Coordinator for the MassCentral Rail Trail Coalition
former Board member Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce
Board Member for Mass DCR’s Massachusetts Recreational Trail Advisory Board
Board Member for Friends of Schell Bridge, Inc.
Member of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals
Member of the Congress of New Urbanism
Advisory Board Member of the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition [MassBike]
Professional Association of Innkeepers International
Professional Realtor® through the National Association of Realtors®
Member of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors®
|
