Since joining the AHDC leadership team in 2021, Kambo supports the center’s vision, oversees strategic planning, manages its professionals and administers its finances. He has played an instrumental role in ensuring the center delivers high-impact diagnostic services and public health support across New York state and beyond.
Kambo has more than 15 years of experience in strategic planning, management and organizational operations. After earning a master’s in urban and regional planning from Queen’s University in Canada, he served as Director of Planning and Community Development at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Schuyler County. He later became the Director of Development for the City of Powell, Ohio, before returning to Cornell and joining the AHDC.
In his new role as Associate Dean of Finance and Administration, Kambo will collaborate closely with the Dean and CALS leadership by spearheading long-range sustainable financial planning and providing expertise on issues related to the management of financial resources, human resources, equipment, facilities and administrative computing services.
“I am honored to join CALS,” Kambo said. “Having started my career with Cornell Cooperative Extension, this feels like coming home. I’m excited to support our outstanding faculty, staff, and students as we further the college’s mission and make a positive impact on communities near and far.”
Kambo’s appointment follows the retirement of Peter Paradise, a longstanding leader of the CALS community who held the position of associate dean for the college since 2018.
“I want to express my deep gratitude to Peter Paradise for his outstanding leadership and dedication during his tenure,” Dean Houlton said. “Peter’s contributions have been instrumental in strengthening our financial and administrative operations, and we are incredibly thankful for his service to CALS.”
As Associate Dean, Paradise strategically stewarded the college’s financial, human, physical and information resources—overseeing an annual budget exceeding $500 million and managing more than 500 buildings and 17,000 acres statewide. Beginning his 34-year career at Cornell as an Environmental Engineer, Paradise has grown alongside the university, working across both endowed and contract colleges and within leadership roles spanning engineering, facilities and capital projects.
“Serving CALS and Cornell over the past three decades has been one of the great privileges of my career. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to work alongside so many talented and dedicated colleagues to advance the college’s mission. Together, we’ve built a strong foundation that I’m confident will support CALS for years to come.”
