Meet the Board

Board of Directors

Stephen Hiltner (president)

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 composer, a former member of the community theater group Onstage Seniors, and a writer/performer of climate theater, he maintains various blogs on nature, sustainability and climate change, including more than 1500 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.

Angelique Olmo (Treasurer)

Angelique became involved with FOHW when she received an an event email for May’s Café. An avid coffee drinker and sweets lover, she could not resist the lure of a café in the ‘Woods. She is an independent researcher, management and strategic development consultant and a local substitute teacher. She is interested in governance, resource development and stakeholder cooperation related to non-profit organizational development and sustainability. She supports local environmental sustainability efforts and programs that promote learning from nature and strengthen community engagement.

Inge Regan, MD (right) is an emergency department physician, originally trained in family medicine. Inge grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania, and is committed to helping people learn to become stewards of their local environment. In 2022, Inge created the social "Invasive Species of the Month Club," and more recently the "Princeton Salamander Crossing Brigade." She manages several of FOHW's events, and has collaborated with Princeton Public Library to create local nature photo-cards for the library's explorer backpacks. Inge heads FOHW's annual Earth Day event and she is responsible for the wildflower photos and signage at the Botanical Art Garden. Her idea of putting a pingpong table in the barn is part of the surprise and delight people feel when they come to Herrontown Woods.

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.

Ben Schaffer

Ben came to Princeton University in 2007 as an undergraduate, studying math and physics, and graduating in 2011. He first became acquainted with Herrontown Woods as a trail runner during that time, frequently clearing debris and restoring stream crossings, though somehow managing to avoid crossing paths with Steve and the FOHW proto-organization. He's remained in the area ever since, obtaining a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2018, with a focus on mathematical ecohydrology (the modeling of plant-soil-water interactions), while also regularly working as a freelance theater technician and bike mechanic. Since connecting with FOHW in 2019, he's worked to maintain the trails and on a variety of projects, including the gazebo installation in the Barden. He joined the board in October 2025, and is currently focused on trail maintenance, invasive species removal, and stabilization/rehabilitation of the preserve's structures.

Advisors

Pallavi Nuka 

Longtime Vice President of FOHW, Pallavi stepped down from the board in October, 2025, but is remaining involved as an advisor. She became involved with FOHW when her Girl Scout troop began participating in workdays at the preserve. She is associate director of the Center for Public Policy & Finance at Princeton University with a professional background in international development and environmental policy. An advocate of smart and inclusive growth, she is interested in municipal and regional issues related to land use, sustainability, and planning. She believes in making the outdoors accessible to all in the community. She continues to bring enthusiasm as well as operational know-how to her involvement with FOHW and other local organizations.

Other advisors include Bill Jemas, Clifford Zink, and past board members Peter Thompson and Scott Sillars.

Founding Board Members

FOHW was founded in 2013 by three Princeton residents: Steve Hiltner, Kurt Tazelaar, and Sally Tazelaar. 

 

Sally and Kurt 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. 

Kurt in particular worked tirelessly to improve trails and clear large areas of invasive shrubs and vines that had grown over historical features and had blocked vistas. Sally worked as an art teacher for East Windsor Regional Schools. Sally also collaborated with her husband on documentary videos. She maintained the FriendsOfHerrontownWoods facebook page for many years. Kurt was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019, but after initial treatment was able to resume his work at Herrontown Woods for a period, completing the purple trail and envisioning other improvements. An obituary in Town Topics documents his remarkable life and contributions to the community, and a letter-to-the-editor by Steve elaborates on the legacy he left behind at Herrontown Woods.