Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway Gets New Executive Director

The Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway has a new executive director. Brigitte Carty, who had been a heritage area project manager with the organization since 2007, is now its executive director.

Delegate Mary Ann Lisanti held the executive director position at the nonprofit organization since 2003, Patch previously reported.

The Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway promotes natural, cultural and historical resource conservation through public-private partnerships, advocacy efforts and a trail system on land and water. It manages a designated Maryland State Heritage Area that spans 12 miles from the Conowingo Dam to the head of the Chesapeake Bay at the Susquehanna River.

Run by a board of directors, the conservation organization has three paid staff members and is funded by donations and grants. Currently, the heritage area manager position is open, now that Carty has been promoted.

Two board members are listed on the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway's website July 15 — President Allen Fair and Vice President Sarah Colenda — with two positions, those of secretary and treasurer, vacant.

The nonprofit's board of directors held a unanimous vote July 11 to determine that Carty would be the executive director, according to the Cecil Whig, which broke the news.

Lisanti is currently a state delegate, although other lawmakers called for her resignation in February after she was accused of using a racial slur in conversation with another legislator.

A chorus of community members and lawmakers called for her resignation but Lisanti refused to give up her office, so the House of Delegates determined the alternative was an official censure, which passed, 136-0. A censure is an official condemnation of one's actions that is one step below expulsion in terms of disciplinary actions taken in the Maryland General Assembly, The Baltimore Sun reported. Usually it follows an investigation or some sort of ethics complaint, neither of which occurred in this case.

• MD Lawmakers Censure Delegate Mary Ann Lisanti: Report
• Delegate Lisanti Should Resign: Hogan, Glassman, ACLU, More
• Harford State Legislator Apologizes For Using Racial Slur