Kelly McGovern
2000-2001
Northeast Region Venturing
Meet the Northeast Region
Venturing Officers' Association
Ian Arnold
NORTHEAST REGION VENTURING PRESIDENT
Ian Arnold joined Venturing at the age of 14 to explore the outdoors and take advantage of the amazing high adventure opportunities in the Venturing program. He is from Mayflower Council in Franklin, MA, and served most recently as the Northeast Region Venturing Officers' Association Vice President of Communication.
Ian is an Eagle Scout, earned his Pathfinder Award, and is currently finishing his Summit Award. He has been recognized with the Council, Area, and Regional Venturing Leadership Awards. Ian is a Vigil Honor member of Tantamous Lodge and an Apprentice rank Sea Scout. A participant at the 2017 National Jamboree, Ian looks forward to staffing the 2021 National Jamboree and hopes to see you at the Summit! Ian is a rising freshman at the University of Rochester, in New York studying Chemistry and Spanish.
Ian hopes to continue to improve communication by establishing a direct link from the Northeast Region VOA to the Northeast’s Councils and Crews by working alongside each Council’s Key 3 and the Northeast Region Executive Board.
Gordon Leary
NORTHEAST REGION VENTURING ADVISOR
Gordon Leary joined the Venturing program as an Associate Advisor in 2010. He joined the Boys Scouts of America as a Cub Scout in 1971, attained the rank of Eagle in 1981, and became Scoutmaster of his troop at age 21 in 1984. Gordon has served as a Crew Advisor, Council Venturing Officer Association Advisor, and most recently as the Northeast Region Area 6 VOA Advisor. Gordon has been a member of the Baltimore Area Council for his entire Scouting career.
Gordon is a Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow. He has received the Council, Area, and Region Venturing Leadership Awards as well as the Unit Award of Merit, District Award of Merit, and the Baltimore Area Council Silver Beaver Award. Gordon has staffed Powderhorn, VenturingFest, and multiple Wood Badge training courses. He has also staffed the last two Jamborees and will be on staff for the 2019 World Jamboree.
Gordon is the IT Manager of AMPORTS, Inc., an automotive imports and export processing company. His team manages 13 locations in the United States and Mexico. Responsible for the Company’s information technology needs, he oversees a staff of 10 programmers and technical personnel. Gordon is also on the Board of Directors for the IBM user group COMMON, an IBM-affiliated training and educational group which provides services to over 20,000 IT professionals in the United States.
Gordon’s goal is to help each Area build more VOAs and grow the Venturing program. He is passionate about the Venturing program and assisting the youth of the program to achieve their full leadership potential. Above all, communication to and from the entire organization is key to building a good program.
Lauren Comly
NORTHEAST REGION VENTURING VICE PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATION
Lauren Comly first joined the Venturing program at the age of 15 in order to learn leadership skills, participate in community service, and to go camping. She is from Columbia-Montour Council in Millville, PA, and served most recently as the Northeast Region Area 4 Venturing Officers' Association President.
Lauren is a Summit Award recipient and has been recognized with the Council, Area, and Regional Venturing Leadership Awards. She is also a member of Scouts BSA Troop 247. Lauren is a rising sophomore at Elizabethtown College, in Pennsylvania studying Biomedical Engineering with a minor is Interfaith Leadership Studies.
Francesca Imbrogno
NORTHEAST REGION VENTURING ASSOCIATE ADVISOR ADMINISTRATION
Francesca Imbrogna is from Theodore Roosevelt Council in Area 2. She has most recently served as the NER Area 2 VOA Advisor.
In her many dedicated years of service, she has also served as an Assistant Scoutmaster for Scouts BSA Troop 186, a Hornady Advisor, Assistant Advisor for Venturing Crew 577, and an Assistant District Commissioner. Francesca has received the Silver Beaver Award, a Doctor in Commissioner Science, a Hornaday Gold Badge Award, and a Region Venturing Leadership Award. She is a Vigil Honor member of Buckskin Lodge, a Master Educator for Leave No Trace, and has staffed both Wood Badge and NYLT.
Freedom Tansley
NORTHEAST REGION VENTURING VICE PRESIDENT PROGRAM
Freedom Transley first joined the Venturing program at the age of 13 to participate in the amazing high adventure opportunities in Venturing. He is from the Transatlantic Council in Lakenheath, England, and most recently served as the Transatlantic Council Venturing Officers’ Association President.
Freedom is an Eagle Scout, a Summit Award recipient, and has been recognized with the Council Venturing Leadership Award. A Vigil Honor member of Black Eagle Lodge, he has also earned the Venturing Ranger, Quest, and Trust Awards. He also a member of The British Scout Association and has earned the Queen’s Scout Award and the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award. Freedom is a rising freshman at the University of New Hampshire, studying Outdoor Education & Leadership.
Steven Lipnichan
NORTHEAST REGION VENTURING ASSOCIATE ADVISOR PROGRAM
A former Explorer, Steve joined Venturing shortly after the program’s 1998 launch, organized Greater Pittsburgh Council’s VOA, and served as that Council’s first CVOA president. Later, as a vice-chairman of the Greater Pittsburgh Council’s Venturing committee, he represented the Council when Area 4 first began to organize their AVOA. Most recently, he has served as Laurel Highlands Council’s Venturing Chairman and as Area Four’s Associate Advisor of Administration.
An Eagle Scout and Venturing Silver Award recipient, he has long been a promoter of all the opportunities Venturing provides to youth in the broader Scouting family and looks forward to serving the Region in their efforts to support our Areas and Councils in delivering a great Venturing experience to our youth.
Ryanne Fisher
NORTHEAST REGION VENTURING VICE PRESIDENT COMMUNICATIONS
Ryanne Fisher first joined the Venturing program at the age of 13 in order to follow in her brothers scouting footsteps and to attend the 2017 National Jamboree. She is from Washington Crossing Council in Hamilton, NJ, and most recently served as the Northeast Region Area 5 Venturing Officers’ Association Vice President of Communication.
Ryanne is a Summit Award recipient and a Brotherhood member of Ajapeu Lodge. She is a Life Scout in Scouts BSA, working on her Eagle Scout, as well as a member of Girl Scouts USA where she is working on her Gold Award. She has also been recognized with the Council Venturing Leadership Award and looks forward to returning to NYLT Leadership Academy Staff in Washington DC this summer. Ryanne is a rising senior at S.T.E.M. Academy and is dual-enrolled at Mercer County Community College.
Erik Saderholm
NORTHEAST REGION VENTURING ASSOCIATE ADVISOR COMMUNICATION
Erik Saderholm is from the Baltimore Area Council and joined the Scouting Program as a Tiger Cub in 2003. He became active in the Venturing Program in 2013 and has since held positions on the Council, Area, Region, and National VOAs. Erik has served as a Council and Area VOA Vice President, the Area 6 VOA President, and is a former Northeast Region Venturing President.
He is a recipient of the Eagle Scout Award, the Venturing Silver Award, the Founders Award, and the Council, Area, Region, and National Venturing Leadership Awards. He has served on Staff for NYLT and NYLT Leadership Academy. Besides his role as an Associate Region Advisor he also currently sits on the National Venturing Committee. Erik recently graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from the University of Maryland and is a current Finance Rotation Program Associate with Capital One.
Erik’s goal as an Advisor is to empower the youth of the Region to grow as leaders so that they can experience everything that this program has to offer.