Conservancy Staff
Patrick McCluskey
Executive Director
For the past decade, Patrick McCluskey has been responsible for the daily operations of the Conservancy. He reports directly to the Chairperson and Board of Directors. He is charged with the development and execution of fundraising strategies to support the Conservancy’s mission and goals. He is also responsible for establishing and maintaining internal controls to preserve Conservancy assets, authorize and record transactions, and ensure the accuracy of financial statements.
Patrick provides leadership, support and guidance to the Conservancy’s hundreds of volunteers, and assists with the implementation and management of all programming, ranging from the Adopt-a-Bench program to the Gracie Square Art Show.
He is passionate about continuing to strengthen the Conservancy’s commitment to all those who help make the Park and Conservancy treasured neighborhood gems.
Prior to joining the Conservancy staff, Patrick worked in retained executive search and global mobility for top tier financial services and consulting firms. His professional background includes training and experience in international human resources, policy creation and administration, and organizational management. Patrick also serves on the board of several community based non-profits in the tri-state area.
Breeana George
Horticulture Manager
Breeana George works full time, year-round, to identify and execute projects to restore and further improve the health of existing landscaped areas. She is responsible for documenting and assessing all plants and implementing routines for their care and maintenance.
Breeana works closely with the volunteer Gardening Committee, Conservancy Zone Gardeners, neighborhood volunteers and NYC Park’s personnel to carry out new and ongoing projects.
Bee started her career in Seattle, Washington where she was born and raised. She interned for four years doing restoration in the Duwamish Greenbelt, Seattle’s last standing forest. While working for the Nature Consortium she attended South Seattle College to obtain her Associates Degree in Horticulture. Bee studied in Ireland to learn traditional European gardening practices as well as here in the US to learn plant merchandising, floral design and landscape management. She moved to NYC in 2015 and spent the past three years working for Riverside Park Conservancy.
Breeana is committed to making our small public park a cleaner, greener and more enjoyable space for the community.
Ann Meschery
Director of Public Events
Ann Meschery serves as the Director of Public Events at Carl Schurz Park Conservancy. In this capacity she is responsible for producing the Summer Sounds Concert Series, Sunset Film Festival, Gracie Square Art Show and the Holiday Tree Lighting and Caroling Celebration.
From 2001 till 2008 Ms. Meschery was General Manager of the American Russian Youth Orchestra (ARYO), a cross-cultural collaboration with Russia. Prior to that, her lengthy career in advertising included senior positions with Campbell Media Alliance, Bates Worldwide and McCann-Erickson.
She has participated, for 25 years, with the New York City Opera Volunteer Corps and is its immediate past President. For ten years she served on the Board of Directors of Opera Volunteers International, an organization that provides resources and mentoring to opera company volunteers. She has also been a community activist since arriving in New York City, participating in numerous political campaigns, serving as a member of Community Board 8 and on the staff of the late State Senator, Roy Goodman.
She holds a certificate in Arts Administration from New York University
Crystal Woblan
Horticulture Associate
Crystal Woblan is our part-time, year-round Horticulture Associate. She started her career managing an indoor plant shop later becoming a florist and floral designer for a high end luxury floral events company based in Astoria, Queens.
Designs have been featured in Harper's Bazaar magazine, The Knot, and Vogue. Crystal’s passion for plants led her to Carl Schurz Park Conservancy where she cares for and maintains the plants throughout the park as well as works closely with the zone gardeners.
Crystal also manages the Conservancy's instagram account. In addition, she is the volunteer coordinator and responds to all volunteer inquiries.
Since starting at CSPC her passion for horticulture has grown. She is now enrolled in the horticulture program at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
Crystal’s passion for plants doesn’t stop at the park. She cares for an impressive collection of over 100 houseplants in her home. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors hiking or camping with her three dogs.
Luke Cohen
Operations Manager
Luke serves as the Operations Manager of Carl Schurz Park Conservancy. In his role, he is involved in day-to-day activities of the Conservancy ensuring all operations run smoothly and efficiently.
He works closely with Patrick, the Executive Director and the Board of Directors. He is responsible for assisting in the development and execution of fundraising strategies to support the Conservancy's mission, maintaining internal protocols to protect the Conservancy's assets, and organizing and ensuring the accuracy of financial documentation.
Prior to joining the Conservancy staff, Luke worked for media relations agencies across a number of B2B tech, consumer tech and CPG clients. He was born and raised in nearby Westchester county and is now based in NYC.
He’s passionate about helping the Conservancy’s mission of creating a better place for the next generation to enjoy the outdoors and building deeper community ties.