Summer 2025 Roan Stewardship Team
We welcome two new seasonal team members – Virginia and Camila – to the 2025 summer Roan Stewardship team. Long-time Roan/outings staff member and talented photographer Travis Bordley returns as the seasonal Roan Technician. Roan Stewardship Director Marquette Crockett leads the team.
Virginia Ward
As the Roan Naturalist, Virginia will work on public education and stewardship along the Appalachian Trail in the Roan Highlands. She grew up in Fairview, NC, at the base of Hickory Nut Gorge. From horseback riding to hiking to rock climbing, her love for the outdoors began young and only strengthened with time. Virginia is currently pursuing a B.S. in botany at the University of Maine and working in a research lab investigating the relationship between red spruce mycorrhizal fungi and the current threat to spruce trees across the east coast and Appalachian range. Her career started in the Southern Appalachians, working with the plant ecologist on the Blue Ridge Parkway to conduct rare plant monitoring efforts aimed at preserving fragile ecosystems. From this work, she was awarded the George and Helen Hartzog Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. SAHC hosts the Roan Naturalist with support from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, and the TN Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club. Virginia is excited to assist SAHC’s conservation and interpretation efforts this summer; she will return to Maine in the fall to continue her studies.
Camila Rodriguez
A Stanback Fellow from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, Camila is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and comes from a Colombian family. She studied Sustainable Development at Columbia University and, after working on wildfire-related projects with NASA FireSense and pursuing other environmental work in sustainability and green real estate, decided to return for a Master of Environmental Management at Duke University. She is working on geodatabase development for SAHC lands that will assist staff with hurricane recovery and habitat management work, applying her background in GIS and remote sensing. In her free time, Camila enjoys skating, cooking, bartending, and spending time with her mixed terrier, Joey. She is excited to explore North Carolina and spend time in the mountains.
Congratulations, Marquette!
Roan Stewardship Director Marquette Crockett was named Public Lands Conservationist of the Year in the NC Wildlife Federation’s 60th Annual Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards. Marquette is in her 11th year working to safekeep this imperiled mountain region. She leads efforts to restore forests of red spruce and wide open grassy balds that attract visitors from around the world. She also works to keep those visitors from trampling the very ecological treasures they’ve come to enjoy and helps ensure the stunning Gray’s lily will continue to bloom in the Roan.
We’re thrilled to see her efforts honored with this award!
