Teatown Lake Reservation, the 1,000-acre nonprofit environmental education center and nature preserve that stretches into Ossining and Yorktown, will host its annual A Night in the Woods Gala at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx on Friday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. The theme of this year’s gala is “Cultivating the Future,” reflecting a transformative moment for Teatown as it undergoes a campuswide transformation, advancing its mission to inspire the community to lifelong environmental stewardship.
The gala will honor Teatown Trustee Ziporah Janowski and environmental attorney and Teatown general counsel Daniel Riesel for their commitment to Teatown’s mission. Environmental Conservation Police Officer Emilio Zullo will receive the 2026 Teatown Trailblazer Award, recognizing a young leader whose early experiences at Teatown inspired a lasting commitment to environmental stewardship.
“This is an incredibly exciting time for Teatown as we are building upon more than 60 years of land protection and conservation to bring new, enhanced, and more accessible experiences to the people of Westchester County and inspire the next generation of environmental stewards,” said Kevin Carter, Teatown’s executive director. “As we look toward the future, we are deeply grateful for this year’s gala honorees, whose generosity, leadership, and commitment to conservation and environmental education help make this important work possible.”
Janowski is a long-term member of the Teatown board and a neighbor. After working in corporate litigation, she helped grow a summer camp business for children and adults nationwide. She is also a certified healthy chef, cookbook author, and artist with work exhibited throughout the Hudson Valley. She serves on the Board and Speakers Bureau of the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center and held leadership roles with the Financial Women’s Association of New York, the InterOrganization Network, and Temple Israel of Northern Westchester.
A Croton native, Riesel serves as senior counsel at Sive, Paget & Riesel, P.C. He has more than six decades of experience in environmental law, including service as an assistant U.S. attorney and chief of the Environmental Protection Unit for the Southern District of New York.
Zullo first came to Teatown as a summer camper and later returned as a camp counselor and environmental educator, which helped to shape his passion for conservation. After earning a degree in biology from Quinnipiac University, he joined the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as an environmental conservation police officer, helping protect the state’s natural resources and communities through enforcement and public education.
In October 2025, Teatown broke ground on a 22,000-square-foot, $26 million campus transformation. The project includes a new 5,400-square-foot Education Center; a renovated Nature Center; and an accessible and ecologically enhanced pedestrian campus with reconfigured access and operations.
Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available at teatown.org/gala.
