FrederickNewsPost.Com

Sustainability director takes 'nuts and bolts' approach

Originally published March 15, 2009

By Karen Gardner
News-Post Staff

Hilari Varnadore speaks during a meeting with the Frederick County Commissioners recently. She is head of the new Frederick County Sustainability Commission.

In high school, Hilari Varnadore was voted "Most Likely to Save a Tree."
So it should come as no surprise to those who knew her then that she is now Frederick County's director of sustainability.

"I think I'm hugging a tree, actually, in the photo," Varnadore, 34, said of that designation she received in her senior year at Frederick High School. Back then she was Hilari Benson.

Varnadore grew up on Thurston Road, and moved back to Frederick after college to become the executive director of Community Commons.

Last year, the Frederick County Commissioners decided to create an Office of Sustainability. "We do have an environmental focus," Varnadore said. "We're looking at the big picture."

The new office, which opened in January, will focus on awareness, education and vision. "A major component of sustainability is you need to make sure you are bringing all people on board," she said.

"We're trying to forward an environmental agenda. These initiatives will take into account a sustainable community, a happy community, living within our means and providing an environment where we can prosper."

Her job was funded shortly before the county announced a freeze on new positions, except those considered necessary.

The job has an economic component: find ways the county government, as well as local citizens, can save energy, and find ways the county can do things better the first time around.

"We all want a better quality of life," she said. "Everyone wants clean air, clean water and a healthy community. We need to do stream cleanup and trail maintenance in areas that are underserved."

Environmentalism is considered a polarizing issue, but it shouldn't be. "I'm not a black and white person," she said.

"You can't solve problems that way. Things resonate differently with different people. I try to break it down to the nuts and bolts, and find common ground."

That was the philosophy she applied to Community Commons, where she served as executive director from 2000 to 2006. The organization's goal is to encourage people to be caretakers of nature, because it benefits the community as a whole. Community Commons focuses on the watersheds of the Monocacy River and Catoctin Creek.

She was the organization's first full-time director. She became a planner for Frederick County in 2006, focusing on the Walkersville -Woodsboro region. "They knew I came from a conservation and environmental focus," she said. One of her accomplishments was a water resource plan for the region. Another was an updated comprehensive plan for Woodsboro , the first in 32 years.

Varnadore's parents, whose Maryland roots date back 12 generations, moved to Frederick County from Montgomery County before she was born. They were searching for a rural place to raise their family. Her dad is a bricklayer. "Built to last was his concept," she said. "Make it right the first time, use sustainable materials the first time."

She graduated from Unity College in Maine, with a bachelor's degree in environmental policy. She earned her master's degree at Northern Arizona University in rural geography. That is where she also met her future husband, who is a stay-at-home dad. He takes care of their daughter, and Varnadore is expecting a son in May.

In Arizona, she worked on community planning in small towns. These remote communities were affected by ranching, forestry, mining, and an influx of urban residents who built second homes. "I come from the common-man, rural-issues perspective, understanding the interaction between people and place, and how the environment impacts our lifestyle," she said.

Varnadore has received praise from many corners. "When we were looking to fill this position and I heard Hilari had applied, I could not have been happier," Frederick County Commissioner Kai Hagen said.

Commissioner John L. Thompson recalled canoeing down the Monocacy River with Community Commons when Varnadore was director. He liked the organization's focus on philanthropy, not government, for support.

Ron Hart, county administrator, said after a presentation by Varnadore on county environmental initiatives, "I can't believe Hilari's gotten all this done in a very short period of time."