Meet Our Board Secretary, Neldria Staton

Neldria Staton, Board Secretary

Board Secretary Neldria Staton believes that Cazenovia Recovery’s success will benefit from building more public and private community relationships to “put a face” on the agency as a provider of vital services to individuals in recovery.

Cazenovia Recovery is grateful that Neldria has shared her talents on the Board of Directors since 2011 and that she is an advocate for and a dedicated “face” of the agency among her professional contacts.

A U.S. Army Veteran and a civil engineering graduate of the University at Buffalo, she is the owner of Essential Solutions, which offers construction management, safety analysis, and professional development. She enjoys designing and building projects that span the civil engineering divisions – construction, transportation, hydraulics, environmental, and structural. “I’m never bored,” she said.

Thinking as an engineer, she focuses on details in her work and in her Board service. “Details mean everything to me,” she stated. “The details of a bridge hold it together. If you don’t establish a solid foundation, what you are building won’t be sustainable. Sustainability is the key to engineering and that is transferable to any industry, any effort.”

Neldria came to Cazenovia Recovery’s attention through Board member Andrea Mujahid-Moore, her longtime friend. Serving on our Board appealed to Neldria because she knew her perspective of “liking the nuts and bolts of things” would be welcome.

Our Board Quality Assurance Committee

She recalled her first Board meeting: “It was on short notice and I came dressed in orange gear and all muddy. Everyone could tell I work in construction.”

She soon became an active Board member. Signing on to the Quality Assurance Committee, she visits various sites, meets supervisors and hears feedback from residents. “I love the agency; I love Recovery Day; I really respect Executive Director Sue Bissonette and her leadership,” she said. “This is a very interactive, caring, and compassionate Board.”

Neldria is eager to help recruit new Board members and acclimate them to participate fully in the agency’s mission and vision.

Cazenovia Recovery’s programs and services are necessary, she said. “We are breaking cycles, patterns, and behaviors. Our Trauma–Informed Care takes a positive perspective to moving forward. I really believe in Cazenovia’s creative management. I want to see it thrive and succeed.”