Prior to moving to Princeton in 2003, Steve founded and led the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association (ECWA) in Durham, NC. With degrees in botany and water quality, Steve has served Princeton in multiple capacities. During his years as the first resource manager for the Friends of Princeton Open Space, he conducted plant inventories and led workdays and nature walks at many of Princeton's parks and nature preserves. He was a longtime member of the Princeton Environmental Commission, spearheading a new Environmental Resource Inventory for the town, and served as chair of the Princeton Shade Tree Commission. As a member of the board for Princeton's Mountain Lakes House, he helped increase energy efficiency and solve runoff issues.
Steve has led the effort to save and rehabilitate the Veblen House and Cottage since discovering them during a walk through Herrontown Woods in 2007. A professional jazz musician and amateur actor in the Onstage Seniors ensemble, he maintains various blogs on nature, sustainability and climate change, including more than 1000 posts at PrincetonNatureNotes.org. He is inspired by the broad and deep legacy Oswald Veblen left in Princeton, American academia, and the world. Much of his research about Veblen House and the extraordinary people who have lived there over the past century is published at VeblenHouse.org. He has received various awards, including the 2013 Governor's Jefferson Award for his environmental advocacy.
A graduate of Univ. of Pennsylvania and Princeton University, Ahmed is a prominent architect in Princeton. Before forming Azmy Architects LLC, Ahmed was the principal architect at HACBM Architects, Engineers and Planners, and CUH2A. Ahmed is also a leader in the Rotary at district and local levels. He brings to the project a passion for rehabilitating Veblen House, and a hands-on approach that complements his expertise in design and planning.
Scott has been deeply engaged in community organizations since leaving corporate life over a decade ago. Recently he served as chair of The Watershed Institute’s board of trustees and as chair of Princeton’s municipal Citizens Finance Advisory Committee. Scott’s business career was in corporate finance, but his real love was always in working in the woods. His undergraduate degree is in forestry; his yard is filled with raingardens and native wildflowers.
Inge has a goal to help botanists, who she calls "Physicians of the Earth," to translate what they know into easily understood information for people to learn and enjoy.
Hope Van Cleaf Hope is a multi-media artist and founder of Creative Fingerprint, an organization dedicated to fostering positive change and growth through art. Her past experience in communications and fundraising has broadened her scope and understanding of many facets of business, which are blended into Creative Fingerprint. She is now retired from Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts, allowing her time to pursue Creative Fingerprint's mission: to provide unique, judgment-free workshops where art facilitates team building, enhanced communication, personal development, and well-being, effectively bypassing ego and hierarchical barriers to enable genuine and meaningful change.
Founding Board Members
FOHW was founded in 2013 by three Princeton residents: Steve Hiltner, Kurt Tazelaar, and Sally Tazelaar.
Beginning in 2013, Sally worked with her future husband and fellow founding member, Kurt Tazelaar on weekends and during the summer to clear and mark long neglected trails in Herrontown Woods and Autumn Hill Reservation--more than 200 total acres. Along with Steve Hiltner, Kurt and Sally formed the core of what became FOHW. Kurt and Sally received the 2013 Sustainable Princeton Leadership Award for their work to reopen trails.
