About Dominic

Dominic Frongillo is the youngest elected Councilmember in the Town of Caroline, New York.

Dominic Frongillo made history in 2005 when, at age 22, he became the youngest person ever elected to the Town Council in Caroline, New York. He now also serves as his county's youngest-ever Deputy Town Supervisor.

As a seasoned member of the youth climate movement, Dominic has worked locally to globally, most notably as a U.S. youth delegate to the United Nations climate negotiations in Cancun in 2010, Copenhagen in 2009, and Bali in 2007. In Copenhagen he delivered a statement from over 100 young elected officials from 30 states calling on President Obama and Congress to renew America's leadership in clean energy.

He founded and leads Energy Independent Caroline, an organization dedicated to local energy independence, which in 2008 delivered one energy-saving light bulb to over 1,400 households in just three hours, the largest effort of it's kind in rural New York. Dominic was a regional coordinator for Power Shift 2009 and 2011 -- the nation's largest national summits on youth clean energy action, is trained by Al Gore as a climate presenter for The Climate Project, and was selected by Governor Paterson's office to help develop New York State's far-reaching 2050 Climate Action Plan.

Dominic currently works as Community Energy Educator and advisor to the Tompkins Energy Conservation Corps with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, and coordinator of CALS Green at Cornell University. Dominic is a published author and serves as a national trainer for the Young Elected Officials Network.

Dominic speaks with Nobel Laureate Al Gore about launching a clean energy economy in the United States

Local Leadership

Dominic is active in leadership in locally and statewide.

New York State Climate Action Plan, Integration Advisory Panel

Cornell Cooperative Extension, Statewide Energy and Climate Change Team

Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative, Steering Committee

Tompkins County Greenhouse Gas Plan, Steering Committee

Town of Caroline, Deputy Supervisor

Caroline Website Advisory Committee, Chairperson

Energy Independent Caroline, Liaison and Secretary

Caroline Planning Board, Liaison

Tompkins County Council of Governments, Liaison

Inter-municipal Recreation Partnership of Tompkins County, Former Chairperson

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, Former Board of Directors

Curriculum Vitae

Dominic has a diverse set of experiences in community organizing, education, policy, planning, and research. Some major work and academic experiences are listed below.

ENERGY POLICY

Energy Independent Caroline | 2005 - Present
Co-founder and acting chair, Caroline, NY

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County | 2009 - Present

Community Energy Educator

New York State 2050 Climate Action Plan | 2010 - Present

Integration Advisory Panel and Residential-Industrial working group

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change | 2007, 2009, and 2010
SustainUS Delegate to Bali, Indonesia; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Cancun, Mexico

DEVELOPMENT POLICY

Caroline Town Council and Deputy Supervisor | January 2006 - Present
Councilmember, Caroline, NY

Program in International Nutrition | March 2006 - June 2008
Research Assistant, Cornell University

Tompkins County Planning Department | Fall 2005 - Fall 2006
Planning Project Assistant, Ithaca, NY

HUMAN ECOLOGY RESEARCH

College of Human Ecology | August 2004 - May 2005
Senior Honors Thesis, Cornell University

Department of Design & Environmental Analysis | Spring 2003 - Fall 2004
Research Assistant, Cornell University

COMMUNITY ORGANIZING

Association of Communities Organized for Reform Now | May - July 2003
Assistant Organizer, Brooklyn, NY

Institute for Central American Development Studies | May - August 2004
Development Intern, San Carlos, Costa Rica

TEACHING

Department of Design & Environmental Analysis | February 2007 - July 2007
Teaching Assistant, Ecological Literacy and Design

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Trainer and Member, Young Elected Officials National Network 2008 - 2011

Appointed Member, New York State Climate Action Plan Advisory Panel 2010 - 2011

Elected Member, Tompkins County Democratic Committee 2006 - 2011

Member, SustainUS National Youth Network for Sustainability 2005 - 2010

Featured Guest, DSA Presents Television, Ithaca NY 2008, 2009, 2010

Speaker, Adirondack Youth Climate Summit, Tupper Lake NY 2009, 2010

Keynote Speaker, 4-H Career Explorations, Cornell University NY 2010

Keynote Speaker, Youth Energy and Environment Expo, Canton NY 2010

Trainee, Generation Waking Up facilitator training, Colorado 2010

Chairperson, Energy Independent Caroline Town Action Committee 2006 - 2009

Board of Directors, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County 2008 - 2009

Keynote Speaker, Youth Energy and Environment Expo, Canton NY 2010

Delegate, United Nations Convention on Climate Change, Copenhagen, Denmark 2009

Coordinator, Central New York Delegation to Power Shift 2009

Panelist, Economic Crisis Forum, Ithaca NY 2009

Chairperson, Recreation Partnership of Tompkins County 2007 - 2008

Delegate Alternate, New York State Association of Towns Conference 2007 - 2008

Presenter, Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Ed. 2008

Keynote Speaker, Little Live Earth, Greenville NY 2008

Keynote Speaker, Low-Income Forum on Energy, Albany NY 2008

Speaker, State of the Planet course, Cornell University 2008

Delegate, United Nations Convention on Climate Change, Bali, Indonesia 2007

Plenary Speaker, Community Forum on Energy, Ithaca College 2007

Participant, Powershift: national youth climate change summit 2007

Participant, Pathways to a Sustainable World Conference, Rochester NY 2007

Participant, Oikos Convergence on Sustainable Enterprise, Cornell University 2007

Delegate, United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development 2006

Participant, Ithaca Car Share Summit, Ithaca NY 2006

Secretary, Farmworker Advocacy Coalition, Cornell University 2004 - 2005

Activist, Save Redbud Woods Working Group, Cornell University 2005

Organizer, Ithaca United Soccer Club Dryden adult team 2005

Volunteer, America Votes door-to-door voter participation drive 2004

Participant, Rural & Migrant Ministry statewide farmworker solidarity tour 2003

Presenter, Democracy Matters student education presentations 2003

Trainee, Empathic Assistance and Referral Services counselor training 2002

PUBLICATIONS

David Pelletier, Purnima Menon, Tien Ngo, Edward A Frongillo, and Dominic E Frongillo. (2011) “The nutrition policy process: The role of strategic capacity in advancing national nutrition agendas.” Food & Nutrition Bulletin, Volume 32, Supplement 2, June 2011 , pp. 59S-69S(11)

Jung Lee, Edward A Frongillo, Maria A Keating, Lauren H Deutsch, Jaclyn Daitchman, and Dominic E Frongillo. (2008) “Targeting of home-delivered meals programs to older adults in the United States.” Journal of Nutrition For The Elderly, Volume: 27, Issue: 3-4, 2008, pp. 405-415

Dominic Frongillo

A New Generation of Leadership