A Board of Directors governs the organization. Each director brings unique prospective, knowledge, and experience to the organization. Our directors are geographically diverse, represent farmland preservation, cave conservancy, the practice of law, fiscal management, and professional experience at the local, state, and national levels in conservation work.
Andy is currently serving as the Board President. He is also the Industrial Park and Regulatory Affairs Leader for Dow Chemical’s West Virginia Operations. Andy also serves on the boards of Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha & Putnam and United Food Operation. Throughout his life, Andy has treasured spending time in many of West Virginia’s special places, from catching crawdads in small creeks to contemplating the Milky Way from Dolly Sods. His hobbies include hiking, running, skiing, paddle sports and photography.
Joy M. Oakes’s career in conservation and preservation campaigns includes advancing policies and practices at local, state and federal levels, preserving natural and historic sites from inappropriate development, and building advocacy capacity by stewarding diverse coalitions.
She retired in 2021 after a career that includes serving as the National Parks Conservation Association’s (NPCA) senior Mid-Atlantic director, the Sierra Club’s senior Appalachian staff director and California grassroots organizer, and the National Audubon Society’s national clean air organizer.
– At NPCA, she helped establish and for a time, led, NPCA’s clean air for parks and people campaign to defend and expand clean air protections under consideration by the U.S. Congress, and to encourage successive administrations to implement multiple policies to protect human and ecological health. Joy was a leader in Maryland’s Healthy Air campaign, which in 2006 secured the nation’s strongest state legislation to reduce air pollution including carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants. She was a leader in campaigns to require power plants to reduce smokestack pollution. In addition, NPCA and partners agreed to a settlement to their challenge of the Longview power plant’s permit application that established the Appalachian Stewardship Foundation, which funds projects to reduce harms from pollution.
– At Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania battlefield, Gauley River, Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry, Manassas, New River Gorge, Valley Forge, Wilderness battlefield, and elsewhere, Joy was a leader in successful campaigns (2001 – 2021) to protect nationally significant lands in and adjacent to national parks from inappropriate development.
– Joy was a leader in campaigns to expand existing and establish new national parks, notably to expand Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in 2004, to establish Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park in 2002, and to establish Fort Monroe National Monument in 2011.
– In the 1990s Joy led a campaign to preserve a richly biodiverse forest in Maryland on the Potomac River downstream of Washington, D.C. The campaign catalyzed enactment of Maryland’s landmark “Smart Growth” program, established the 2,200-acre Chapman State Park and expanded Mattawoman State Natural Environmental Area.
– In addition to building and nurturing diverse campaign coalitions, in 1997 Joy helped found the Coalition for Smarter Growth in the greater Washington, D.C. region. In 2009 she was a founder of the Choose Clean Water coalition, which advocates for clean water policies and practices in the Chesapeake watershed.
A native of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Joy has deep roots in rural culture with a practical interest in regenerative agriculture. She and her husband, Tom Cassidy, have two sons. Joy enjoys being with her family, exploring and learning about history, culture and the natural world, gardening for native plants and animals at her Arlington home, and volunteering at church.
Gabe is the WVLT’s current Treasurer. He is also the audit director and partner with the public accounting firm of Blair and Company, CPAs, and works with not-for-profit entities and individuals providing accounting, consulting, audit, and review services, and specializes and HUD housing and federal grant recipients. He has previously served on different boards, but is currently only serving on the board of WVLT. His hobbies include tennis, live music, fishing, and traveling.
Dave currently serves as the Executive Director of the Woodlands Development Group, a Community Development Corporation serving three counties in the rural mountains of north central West Virginia. In this capacity he manages programs related to community planning, housing construction, neighborhood and downtown revitalization, and small business lending and support. Dave also brings a wealth of experience in nonprofit organizational development, strategic planning, land use planning, and water resource protection. Dave is a graduate of Kenyon College with a B.A. in English. He is a Certified Planner, and has completed several continuing education courses in sustainable and land use planning, negotiation strategies, and research methodologies.
Calvert is a long-time board member and former president of the West Virginia Land Trust. She also serves on the board of the Appalachian Mountain Advocates, on the Mideast Regional Council of the National Parks Conservation Association, and the Dean’s Council of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She is a former board member of NatureServe and the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, former chairman of Sunrise Museums, and former Conservation Chairman of the Garden Club of America. She enjoys sports, hiking, birding, travel and reading. She is the mother of four daughters and one son.
Ted is a Wheeling, WV native. Upon graduation from Yale University, Ted and his wife Calvert moved to Charleston where they raised their five children. As the Co-CEO for Stone and Thomas Department Store, and as a member of Charleston City Council and board member of Charleston Renaissance Corporation, Ted was at the forefront of efforts to revitalize downtown Charleston. In his retirement years, he continues to work tirelessly to promote land conservation and environmental causes. He has served on numerous boards and committees, including but not limited to the West Virginia Outdoor Heritage Conservation Fund, The Mountain Institute, The Nature Conservancy, National Parks Conservation Association, Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Sunrise Museum, The Clay Center, and United Way. He enjoys hiking, birding, skiing and snowshoeing. In his spare time, he and Calvert travel extensively having visited all seven continents at least twice.
Chap is a Senior Manager at Arnett Carbis Toothman PLLC and one of the WVLT’s founding board members, serving terms as the organization’s President and Treasurer. He now chairs the organization’s Land Protection Committee. He is a Certified Public Accountant in West Virginia, a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager, and a Certified Treasury Professional. He earned a B.S.B.A. in Accounting cum laude from West Virginia University and an M.B.A. from the University of Charleston.
He works in the Financial Institutions Group at Arnett Carbis Toothman, providing auditing and management consulting services to community banks in West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky. His membership in professional organizations includes the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the West Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, for which he has served as President of the Charleston Chapter and Chairperson of the Financial Institutions Interest Group, the Association for Financial Professionals, and the Institute of Internal Auditors. Chap’s other community activities include Rotary Club of Huntington as well as service on the West Virginia Board of Treasury Investments, and the West Virginia JumpStart Coalition for Financial Literacy.
Jackie is employed at the West Virginia Office of the Attorney General as a Deputy Attorney General. She is a former board member of Mountain State Justice and the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy where she also served as an officer. For 18 years Jackie also represented the public interest as a member of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Advisory Council. Her hobbies include her pets, reading, spending time in Pocahontas County, WV, travel and photography.
Dr. Harris received a bachelor’s in chemistry and Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Illinois. He joined the faculty at West Virginia University in 1972, conducting research and teaching graduate and professional students. Currently, he is Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry at the WVU School of Medicine. Through grassroots efforts in Trout Unlimited (TU), Dr. Harris has been an advocate for environmental protection and wilderness designation to protect cold water fisheries, especially in West Virginia. He has served in leadership roles in the local TU chapter and the TU State Council, and was National Leadership representative from West Virginia. He also served four years as Secretary and then Chairman of the National Leadership Council of Trout Unlimited, a national conservation organization. He served on the Board of the West Virginia Rivers Coalition and was Chair of the Board for the Appalachian Stewardship Foundation, formed as a mitigation fund established as a permit condition for the Longview Power Plant (Monongalia County). The Foundation provides grants to support trout habitat restoration and also renewable energy projects in West Virginia. Larry was a member of Morgantown’s Green Team and is an appointed member of the West Virginia Governor’s Public Advisory Council of the Department of Environmental Protection. He is based in Morgantown.
Charlie is a native of Charleston. Upon graduation from Yale University and the University of Virginia Law School, he worked as a Clerk for the Honorable James M. Sprouse of the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Following his clerkship, Charlie practiced law in New York City for several years and then returned home, where he practiced law for the next 35 years with Jackson Kelly PLLC and focused his practice on commercial real estate development, mergers and acquisitions, financings, and economic development projects. Charlie served as an at-large representative on the Charleston City Council for 12 years until 2007, and has served on a number of community boards and committees, including The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, Sunrise Museum, the Charleston Area Alliance, the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences of West Virginia, the Charleston Area Medical Center Foundation, the West Virginia State Bar, and Temple Israel. He enjoys gardening, reading, travel and hiking. Charlie and his wife, Sandy Murphy, have two children, Anne and Will, and one grand-dog.
Lewis has a passion for the family farm and its deep history. Following graduation from the College of Charleston in South Carolina, he worked on a thoroughbred farm in Lexington, Kentucky. In order to secure a more financially stable career, he pursued another long-standing family tradition — the practice of law. Following his graduation from Ohio Northern University’s Petit College of Law, he practiced law in Lexington for seven years. He then moved back to his hometown of Charleston, West Virginia to become the Vice President of Operations for several land holding companies, and ultimately help revive the family farm and its salt-making practices. Food and cooking have become a passion for him, and something he truly enjoys sharing with his children and with his wife Paige Stith Payne. Paige and Lewis have been married for 16 years and have a son Davis and a daughter Cameron.
Nina has been a resident of Charleston since 1965. She is active with various environmental activities in the community, other nonprofit board positions over the years include The Nature Conservancy, Kanawha Pastoral Counseling Center, CAMC Foundation, and the Clay Center. Nina has horses, chickens and a couple of “pound puppies” in her backyard. She is passionately dedicated to clean air and clean water and is a compulsive recycler!
Bren is the Litigation Director at Mountain State Justice, Inc., a non-profit legal service firm that provides legal advocacy on behalf of low-income West Virginians to ensure access to the civil justice system for the vindication and protection of their rights. He is also a Board Member and Treasurer of Appalachian Mountain Advocates, and Treasurer for St. John’s Episcopal Church, in Charleston, WV. His hobbies include hiking, snowboarding and golf.
Bradley acts as Director of Legal Services and Administrative Counsel to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. In personal life, Bradley is dedicated to expanding outdoor opportunities in Southern West Virginia, serving as the President of the Kanawha Valley Trail Alliance (KV Trails) and the West Virginia Interscholastic Cycling league (WV NICA). He also serves on the board of the Kanawha State Forest Foundation and is an active member of its Trail Committee. Bradley believes that expanding access to outdoor experiences can improve the quality of life in every community. His hobbies include mountain biking, snowboarding, skiing, hiking, and camping with his wife and two daughters.
John has a strong background in Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, bringing this expertise to our board of directors. He currently serves on the board of Partnerscapes (partnerscspes.org) and is the Vice President of the Mountaineer Chapter of Trout Unlimited. John has served on other boards including: Tygart Valley Lions Club, Elkins Pool Committee, and Elkins Chapter of Ducks Unlimited. John has been an Orvis-endorsed fly-fishing guide since 2010 for Elk River Touring Center in Slaty Fork, WV and also guides at Harman’s Cabins. He’s also an avid waterfowl hunter that trains retrievers and loves to introduce young hunters to the sport. He has coached for over 40 years and continues to coach the Randolph Area YMCA Swim team (RAYS). John has been married to Jean Lowry Schmidt since July 1981, with two adult children and two grandchildren. John and Jean enrolled nearly 43 acres of their forest in the Family Forest Carbon Program in 2023 and an additional 11 acres is enrolled in a combined Partners for Fish and Wildlife (USFWS)/EQIP (NRCS) project to provide pollinator habitat and improve forest health via the removal of non-native invasive shrubs.
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