POTOMAC VALLEY AUDUBON
SOCIETY
OFFICERS AND BOARD
MEMBERS
2007-2008
OFFICERS
Peter Smith,
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.
Nancy Kirschbaum, Vice
President
Nancy taught elementary school in Baltimore County, Maryland for thirty years. She recently
retired, moved to West
Virginia, and joined the PVAS Board as Program Chair in
2005. She is an active birder and is a member of the Maryland Ornithological
Society and The Nature Conservancy. She has a Master's degree in Education from
Johns
Hopkins University.
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.
Jane Vanderhook,
Treasurer
Jane is retired
from a career as a Computer Systems Software Designer. She joined the PVAS Board
in 2004 and has been Treasurer since that time. 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. Currently she is the AYSO
National Director for Youth and Women Referee Development. She holds a degree in
Experimental Psychology.
Diana Mullis, Immediate Past
President
Diana has worked
with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and US Geological Survey for 37 years.
Her 23-year dedication to the Potomac Valley Audubon Society includes service as
president from 2000 to 2006. She has also long served as the organization's
wildlife rescue coordinator.
BOARD MEMBERS
Alice Barkus, At-large Board
Member
Alice
and her husband, Neal, are native West
Virginians from Charleston. They built a house in Jefferson County in 1998 and have been active in the
local community since that time. Alice served on the board of the United Way of
Jefferson
County from 2003 through
2005 and is currently Secretary of the board of the new United Way of the
Eastern Panhandle. She is
also a member of the board of the American Conservation Film Festival, which is
based in Shepherdstown. She has an undergraduate degree from Denison University in Ohio, and a Masters in
Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
Wayne Braunstein, At-large Board
Member
Wayne has been a
member of PVAS for nearly 20 years. He is a past editor of the chapter
newsletter and served two terms on the Board of Directors in that capacity. He
is currently a member of the PVAS Board Development Committee. He has also
served on the PVAS Yankauer Committee and as a volunteer for various activities
over the course of the years. In addition to his work with PVAS, he volunteers
with the Friends of the Peter Burr Farm, Inc., a local living history museum, in
an effort to restore and preserve an historic site and to offer the legacy of
living history to the residents and greater community of the eastern panhandle.
He is a secondary education teacher by profession who is certified in business
and information technology. He and his wife are supporters of many conservation
projects and organizations, both national and regional in scope. He has a BA in
Secondary Education from Shepherd University, a BS in Business
Administration from the University of Maryland, University College, and a Master's in Computers in
Education from Shenandoah University.
Susan Brookreson, At-large Board
Member
Susan is a
founding member of PVAS who has held various positions in the organization,
including the presidency. Over the past year, she served on the PVAS Board
Development Committee and as the liaison between the PVAS Board and the Yankauer
committee. She has been a National Audubon member and avid birder since the
1970's. She is also a member of The Nature Conservancy, the West Virginia
Environmental Council, and the National Wildlife Federation. She is an art
educator by profession and recently was education director at the Martinsburg
Arts Centre. She has a
Bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland and a Master's from West Virginia University.
Clark Dixon, At-large Board
Member
Clark retired from the National Park Service
in 2003 following a long career with the agency that included postings in
West Virginia,
Maryland,
Washington, D.C., Arkansas, New Jersey, and Georgia. The
positions he held included Resident Youth Worker, Recreation Specialist, Park
Technician, Supervisory Park Ranger, Nature Center Director, Park Manager
(superintendent), and Program Manager for the Southeast Region Career Internship
Program. He currently works as a substitute teacher in Berkeley and Jefferson
County School Systems. His interests include gardening, nature study, camping,
and backpacking. He has a
Bachelor's degree in Secondary Education from Shepherd University.
A. R. (Rob)
Hoxton, At-Large Board Member
Rob is president
of Hoxton Financial, Inc., a financial planning firm with offices in
Shepherdstown, Winchester, and Chambersburg. Prior to joining the firm, he worked with
American International Group (AIG), a financial services provider in New York City. He is a
graduate of North
Carolina State
University and of the
Certified Financial Planning Professional Program of the College for Financial
Planning in Denver
Colorado.
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 is currently enrolled 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.
Georgia
Jeppesen, At-Large Board Member
Georgia
is employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Conservation Training Center as an Education Specialist in the
Division of Education Outreach. She has worked in the environmental education
field for over 20 years including a conservation nonprofit, state education and
natural resources agencies, and as an independent contractor. She has been a
member of PVAS since moving to West
Virginia in the late 1990s, and has served on the
Yankauer Advisory committee for the past five years. She received a Bachelor's
degree from the University of Utah in the biological sciences and a
Master's from Florida State
University in Science
Education/Curriculum and Instruction.
John Reisenweber, At-Large Board
Member
John is an
Executive Banker at Centra Bank in Martinsburg. Previously, he was District
Representative to Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) from 2002 to 2007.
Prior to 2002, he was a Senior Consultant with Booz-Allen and Hamilton, a Buyback
Specialist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, a Fisheries Specialist
with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and a Research Assistant
at Duke
University's Marine Lab in
Beaufort, NC. He is a member of the Martinsburg Rotary
Club and has served on the boards of a variety of major local organizations,
including the Region 9 Economic and Planning Development Council, the
United
Way of the Eastern Panhandle, and the Berkeley County
Development Authority. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Washington and Lee University and Master of Arts in Political
Science from Oregon State
University.
Carolyn
Thomas, At-Large Board Member
Carolyn is a
visiting assistant professor at Shepherd University in the Department of Health,
Physical Education, Recreation and Sports. She is an avid gardener. She has a
Bachelor's degree in zoology from University of Maryland, a Master's degree in Physical
Education from the University of Montana and a Master's in Teaching from
Marshall
University. She began work
toward a Ph.D. at West
Virginia University in 2006.