Oct 21, 2026
Elaine Smith is the Executive Director of Tanglewood Nature Center in Elmira, NY. Tanglewood has been a non-profit since 1973. Their mission is “To lead and support education and preservation efforts in our region to achieve a heightened awareness, understanding, and caring for our natural environment.”
They educate over 30,000 people/year and they have a museum with hands on exhibits, live animals and over 9 miles of hiking trails. Their main building is 12,000 square feet and was built in 2003. Their 2,000 square foot lodge building was built in 2015 and includes 36 solar panels. Both facilities are used for education and rentals. They will be opening a $5,000,000 Treetop Walkway in May of 2027, which will be a spectacular place for education and tourists.
Elaine has been working at Tanglewood for 24 years. She began her career at Tanglewood as a Naturalist, then Director of Education, and for the past 20 years, as Executive Director. As most Executive Director's of a smaller non-profit, her work tasks are many—grants, fundraising, HR, facilities, marketing, programming...you name it—whatever needs to be done!
Elaine holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from SUNY Brockport in Brockport, NY and a Master’s in Biology from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. Before joining Tanglewood, She worked as an educator at the Genesee Country Museum Nature Center in Mumford, NY, and at the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News, Virginia. In addition to her nature center career, Elaine has been teaching various science courses at the college level since 1995, including classes at Tidewater Community College and Elmira College. For the past 7 years, she has been teaching Sustainability online at Maryville University of St. Louis.
Along with teaching, Elaine, serves on the Board of Directors of Finger Lakes Wine Country, the Chemung County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, and am the Vice-President of the Expanded Learning Network of the Southern Tier’s (ELNoST) Advisory Board.
Elaine has 3 kids and 2 step-kids—all grown and living life. She also has 2 grandchildren. She loves time with family, working out daily (running, walking, gym, weight-lifting), reading, and enjoying her zoo-at-home— 2 cats, 1 dog, 4 fish and lots of outdoor birds that she feeds daily. She also likes to bake in the fall and winter, and is a HUGE lifetime Buffalo Bills fan. "GO BILLS!"