Election Notice

The Ohio Soil and Water Conservation Commission will cause an election of Supervisors of the Summit County  Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) to be held in accordance with Chapter 940 of the Ohio Revised Code. Individuals who own or occupy land within the Summit County Soil and Water Conservation District and are 18 years of age or older may vote for Supervisor.

There are three ways an eligible voter can cast a ballot:
  1.  At the SWCD office, 1180 S. Main Street, Suite 230 Akron, OH 44301, from 8/19/2026 until 9/16/2026 during normal business hours (7:30 AM – 4:00 PM); or
  2.  At the SWCD Annual Meeting, which will take place at Sarah’s Vineyard, 1204 W. Steels Corners Road, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44223 on 9/17/2026 from 1:00 PM to 2:00PM ; or
  3. Voting absentee from 8/19/2026 until 9/17/2026, by requesting the ballot application and election ballot from the SWCD office at the following address 1180 S. Main Street, Suite 230, Akron, OH 44301, by calling 330-926-2445, or email [email protected]. Absentee ballots must be received by the SWCD office before 9/18/2025 at 8:00 AM.                                                           
   Two Supervisors will be elected to a three‐year term commencing January 1, 2027 and ending December 31, 2029.

Current Nominees:

Thomas Arbour
Thomas “Tom” Arbour is an environmental scientist and Ai consultant who specializes in using artificial intelligence to help solve environmental problems. Born and raised in Summit County, Tom returned in 2021 after spending 18 years working for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in Columbus. He now lives in Tallmadge with his wife Megan and three children.
 
Tom has more than 25 years of experience in natural resources, including work in natural areas preservation, wildlife research, rare plant conservation, wetlands, GIS, public land management, recreation planning, and trail and water-trail development. He later served as Curator of Living Collections at Holden Forests & Gardens, where he helped guide the care and development of the plant collections at the Holden Arboretum and Cleveland Botanical Garden. Throughout his career, Tom has worked with stakeholders to complete complex conservation and natural resources projects. He holds a Master of Environmental Science from Miami University and a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Hiram College.
 
Tom has served on the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District’s Development Advisory Committee since 2022 and is currently a member of the Summit Metro Parks Biodiversity Working Group. He is seeking his first term on the Summit Soil and Water Conservation District Board because he has deep roots in Summit County and wants to help steward its soil, water, wildlife, and natural areas. He believes that people and nature can complement one another and that thoughtful, science-based conservation can protect natural resources while supporting healthy and thriving communities.
 
In his free time, Tom gardens with native plants, hikes and bikes on Summit Metro Parks trails, and fishes in the county’s waterways with his family.
Andrew Brown
I am a 49-year-old father of two, Theoren (22) and Gehrig (20) and I have been married to my wife, Deniele, for 26 years. In 1999 I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. During my time there I worked in the Biochemical Limnology lab under Dr. Robert Heath on several projects that dealt with phosphorus limitations in Lake Erie and its effects on algal blooms.
After graduation, I worked for Envisage Environmental in Brecksville as an air quality consultant. On the side, I was earning money as a tutor for high school sciences. This is where I found what I really wanted to do. In 2001 I received my Masters in the Art of Teaching from Kent State and began working for Crestwood Local Schools shortly thereafter as a Biology teacher.
In the past 25 years, I have worked to expand the offerings at Crestwood High School, developing 3 different experiential courses, Field Biology, Applied Environmental Sciences, and most recently, Horticulture. In the first two of those courses, students can take and receive college credit from Hiram College. In addition, I manage a 20x40 aquaponic greenhouse built through funds raised by my students, where students can experiment with different sustainable agricultural techniques.
In the past, I have advised two state-qualifying Envirothon teams, the first in Portage County history. In 2017, the team brought home a championship for oral presentation. In my free time, I play in three men’s baseball leagues, based out of Canton. I have learned an incredible amount in my first term as a board member and would love to continue to contribute.
Greg Zimmerman
​Mr. Zimmerman is an Aquatic Ecologist with 32 years of professional experience in Northeast Ohio and across the U.S., and he has been a resident of Summit County since 2011. He has a B.S in Environmental Biology from Hiram College, a master’s degree in Environmental Biology/Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from Kent State University, Certified Mollusk Professional (CMP) and an Association of Diving Contractors International commercial diving certification.
Greg is the Vice President of EnviroScience, Inc. (based in Sumit County) and oversees and manages the operations of the company he has been with for 30 years. He focuses on transportation (road, highway, rail, and river shipping/fleeting), and large, multitask projects where natural resources, endangered species and/or water quality need to be considered.
He has extensive experience with environmental permitting and Section 7 Endangered Species surveys and formal/informal consultations and NEPA support throughout the U.S. He also has experience in remote sensing / GIS studies of watersheds to support water quality studies and models.
He has designed and managed some of the largest T&E species survey and mitigation projects completed to date in the U.S., including the PennDOT mussel programmatic agreement and PennDOT Hunter Station Bridge Replacement which included year-long stormwater and water quality monitoring components (winning PA Governor’s Award), and 11 years working on Florida’s U.S. Supreme Court water rights litigation for the Apalachicola River watershed.
Additionally, he has managed over 20 Biological Assessments and more than 100 supporting studies for projects such as the ODOT Portsmouth Bypass, ODOT Western Management Unit Bat Mitigation, and a current ODOT statewide stream and wetland mitigation contract. He has worked as an associate instructor for Hiram College and is a reviewer for The Ohio Journal of Science. When he is not working or spending time with his wife Courtney and their two young boys, you can usually find him fishing for giant musky or at a Blossom concert.