Officers

Robert Reynolds, President

Bob earned his master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and retired in 2006 after a career in Public Health specializing in community alcohol problems both in the United States and internationally. In 2003 Bob and Linda purchased riverfront property in Shepherdstown, and signed a conservation easement with the Potomac Con­servancy to permanently protect the property. Since moving to Shepherdstown on a full-time basis in 2005 Bob has served as a Jefferson County Planning Commissioner, the Board of the Shepherdstown Men’s Club, and the Board of the Friends of the Shepherdstown Riverfront. Bob is a long-term member of several national advocacy organi­zations, and a Life Member of the Sierra Club.

Gary Heichel, Vice President

Gary Heichel is retired from the faculty of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was Professor of Plant Physiology and Department Head of Crop Sciences for 14 years. Earlier in his career, he was a research scientist for the U. S. Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service at St. Paul, Minnesota, an Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota, and a research scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven. A native of Wisconsin, Gary was raised on a farm in Iowa, received his B. S. degree from Iowa State University, and received his graduate degrees from Cornell University. Gary and his wife, Iris, moved to Berkeley County, WV, after his retirement in 2004. Locally, Gary has served as Secretary and Chair of the Board of the Potomac Headwaters Resource Conservation & Development Region, Inc.; as President of the Board of Whiting’s Neck Farm Estates HOA; and as a member of the Board of the Shepherdstown Rotary Club.

Mina Goodrich, Secretary

Mina retired in 1999 after a long career in health care with the Department of Veteran's Affairs, both in Martinsburg and Washington, D.C. A native of Shepherdstown, she has been a member of PVAS since its early days. She previously served as Secretary from 2001 to 2004. Mina has also been active on the boards of the Friends of the Shepherdstown Library, the Jefferson County Animal Welfare Society and the Shepherdstown Men's Club. She also volunteers regularly at the Shepherdstown Library. She has a Bachelor's degree in Social Work from Shepherd University and an M.B.A. from Frostburg State University in Maryland.

Lex Miller, Treasurer

Lex has been a Shepherdstown resident since 2004 and joined PVAS in 2008. Before retiring in 2002 he was the Research Actuary for Watson Wyatt and Company, an employee benefits consulting firm, for whom he worked for 22 years. Prior to his actuarial career, he was a mathematics teacher in the public schools of Montgomery County, Maryland. Since retiring, he has been active in the AARP Tax-Aide program, serving as District Coordinator for the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia from 2005 to 2008. He is also active in the Shepherdstown Film Society and Good Shepherd Caregivers. He earned a B.A. in Mathematics from Lehigh University and an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Maryland. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.

Peter Smith, Immediate Past President

Peter retired in 2002 as director of public affairs for the Association of American Universities, a post he held for 15 years. Previously he had worked as a journalist and served as press secretary to three different U.S. Senators. He joined the PVAS Board in 2004 and chaired a Board Development Committee that developed a 2005 plan for restructuring the organization. He has a longstanding interest in conservation issues and is a member of The Nature Conservancy. Locally, he is a member of the Shepherdstown Rotary and has also served on the boards of the Friends of the Shepherdstown Library and the Shepherdstown Men's Club. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

At-Large Board Members

Donald E. Briggs, At-large Board Member

Don is the administrator of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail program. Based in Harpers Ferry, the program is partnership between the National Park Service, the states of Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia to develop a system of trails between the mouth of the Potomac and the Allegheny Highlands. Previously, Don managed technical assistance, special studies and planning projects for the National Park Service in the Mid-Atlantic States. He holds a B.S. in Natural Resources from Ohio State University and two masters from the University of Wyoming, one in American Studies and another in Community and Regional Planning. He has also held various volunteer positions, including chair of the Public Lands Committee of the Jackson Hole Alliance for Responsible Planning and President of the Shepherdstown Elementary Association.

Clark Dixon, At-Large Board Member

Clark A. Dixon, Jr. is retired from the National Park Service (NPS) with 34 years of supervisory and management experience as Supervisory Park Ranger, Nature Center Director, Park Manager (superintendent), and Regional Program Manager. As a Park Manager and Superintendent he oversaw four National Parks during his career. Since retirement in 2003, Clark has taken up other pursuits including substitute teaching in Jefferson County, WV schools. Clark has served over 45 years (youth and adult) in leadership roles with the Boy Scouts of America and has served other youth organizations in varied adult leadership positions.

Leigh Jenkins, At-Large Board Member

Leigh has lived fulltime in Morgan County, WV since 1989, after moving there from the Washington, D.C. area. She was raised in El Paso, Texas where she was an active member of the Trans-Pecos Audubon Society. She worked as an Environmental Specialist for Gifford-Hill and Company, a cement corporation, in Texas before moving to the Washington, D.C. area. She presently teaches Advanced Placement Biology and Advanced Placement Environmental Science, as well as Advanced Biology, at Berkeley Springs High School in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. She is a member of the Morgan County Master Gardeners and also active in the Potomac Valley Master Naturalist Program. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Texas A & M University and a Master of Arts in Sociology from the University of Texas at El Paso. She returned to Shepherd College in 1994 to receive her teaching certification in Biology and is currently a candidate for a Master of Arts degree in Science Education/Curriculum and Instruction at Shepherd University.

Heather McSharry, At-Large Board Member

Heather has been fascinated with the natural world since she was a little girl growing up in Salt Lake City, Utah, where her father took her hiking and camping and taught her to identify birds. She went to college at Utah State Univer­sity, graduating first in her class in the Wildlife Management program there. After graduate studies in Zoology, she took a job as an Endangered Species Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. During her 15 years with USFWS, Heather worked in several parts of the country and specialized in work on large ecosystem restoration projects, including Hawaiian rain forests, the Everglades and the Missouri River. She lives in Shepherdstown.

Sandy Sagalkin, At-large Board Member

Sandy has been the Chairman of the PVAS Birding Committee since its inception in 2011. During that time, he has increased the numbers of bird walks to approximately four times a month during most months of the year, initiated the Ruth Ann Dean Annual Birdathon, and, as Chairman, oversaw the creation of the PVAS Birding Trail Map for the four county PVAS coverage area. He writes a monthly column, “View from the Eagle’s Nest” that appears in the PVAS newsletter. He has recognized the need to develop in younger people, especially children, an interest in birds and bird conservation, and is working through the Birding Committee to develop more for that age group. Sandy has been retired for four years. He practiced law for the federal government, for the State of Alaska, and in private practice, in Alaska and Washington, DC. He has served on boards of directors of Alaska environmental organizations as well as at the national level. He is married to Monda, and has two grown children, Nick and Amy.

Lou Scavnicky, At-large Board Member

Lou retired in 2009 from a recent six-year position as a construction project manager in the healthcare field. Previously he retired from a 25-year career with AT&T. In 1996 Lou and his wife, Jackie, bought their retirement property along the Opequon, built a home there in 2006, and moved from Maryland to Berkeley County in 2007. Lou has had conservation in his blood since he was a young adult growing up in rural, western Pennsylvania. At 21 he bought a 100-acre farm in northwestern Pennsylvania and with help planted about 5,000 trees; that started it all. He and Jackie are both Berkeley/Jefferson County Master Gardeners. Lou is a PVAS Master Naturalist, successfully completing the program in 2011 and is currently in his second term as President of the Eastern Panhandle based Opequon Creek Project Team. Lou completed his undergraduate degree in Business at the University of Pittsburgh and secured a Masters in Project Management from George Washington University in Washington. He is a finish carpenter, building many one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture. He and Jackie are now enjoying their retirement along the Opequon with activities which include canoeing and kayaking, fishing, bicycling and gardening.

Kathy Stolzenburg, At-Large Board Member

Kathy is currently a Realtor and co-owner of Eastern Panhandle Realty. Her professional career has included event planning for two nonprofit healthcare organizations and almost a decade in nonprofit fundraising with The Nature Conservancy. She has been a member of the Board of the Association of Donor Relations Professionals and has served as a volunteer licensed wildlife rehabilitator. She lives in Shepherdstown with her husband William, a natural history author. She received a Bachelor's degree in psychology from George Mason University in 1986.

Jane Vanderhook, At-Large Board Member

Jane is retired from a career as a Computer Systems Software Designer. She previously served on the PVAS Board as Treasurer from 2004 to 2008. She is an active community volunteer and has served on the boards of Jefferson County Youth Soccer League, Country Day School and her homeowners' association. She holds a degree in Experimental Psychology.