Carl Silverstein
Executive Director
carl@appalachian.org
Carl joined the SAHC staff in 2000. He graduated from Stanford University in 1984 with a BA in History, and the University of Alabama Law School in 1988. Carl practiced law in Seattle before moving to Asheville in 1995. Carl serves on the Buncombe County Land Conservation Advisory Board and on the Claims Committee of Terrafirma Risk Retention Group. Terrafirma is a charitable risk pool created by the national Land Trust Alliance to insure its members against the legal costs of defending conservation interests.
Kristy Urquhart
Associate Director
kristy@appalachian.org
Kristy Urquhart has been Associate Director for SAHC since 1997 and has served on the staff since 1991. She graduated from King College with a BA in Business/Economics and worked in orchard management in Ithaca, NY, before moving to Asheville in 1991. Kristy is very active with the Asheville Humane Society.
Lisa Fancher
Finance Compliance Director
lisa@appalachian.org
Lisa joined the SAHC staff in 2011. She has a BSBA in Accounting from Mississippi College, and has 15 years of for-profit experience, including 9 years in the area of consumer finance. She relocated to western NC in August 2010. Lisa oversees the financial accounts of the organization.
Land Protection and Farmland Program
Michelle Pugliese
Land Protection Director
michelle@appalachian.org
Michelle joined the SAHC staff in 2007. Michelle previously served as the St. Simons Land Trust Director of Land Protection. She graduated from Lafayette College with a BA in Biology and from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University with a Masters of Environmental Management degree. Michelle manages the organization’s land and conservation easement acquisitions.
Chris Link
Community Farm and Food Program Associate
chris@appalachian.org
Chris manages the operations on the Community Farm, working to grow the infrastructure and the Beginning Farmer Incubator Program. Originally from the eastern shore of Maryland, he holds a degree in planning & landscape architecture from Clemson University. Previously, Chris farmed on a year-round CSA community land trust farm in New England and a small, bio-intensive farm in Bostic, NC.
Stewardship
Hanni Muerdter
Stewardship & Conservation Planning Director
hanni@appalachian.org
Hanni joined SAHC in 2007 and oversees the organization’s program of monitoring and managing our conservation easements and properties we own. She grew up in Haywood County, NC. Hanni previously worked for High Country Conservancy (now Blue Ridge Conservancy) in Boone, NC through AmeriCorps Project Conserve; Great Smoky Mountains National Park; Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park; and Neil Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa. She received her B.A. in Biology & Environmental Studies from Oberlin College, OH. She holds a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University and a Geospatial Technology Certificate from Asheville-Buncombe Technical College.
Marquette Crockett
Roan Stewardship Director
marquette@appalachian.org
Marquette was raised on a farm near Cumberland Gap, TN and received her MS in Biological Science from East Tennessee State University. For the past 8 years, she has been the Wildlife Biologist of the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Davis, WV. She was a founding member of the Central Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative, a multi-agency group working to restore high elevation spruce-fir forest. Marquette joined SAHC in 2014 and facilitates SAHC’s Roan stewardship program and serves as the primary land steward on SAHC-owned preserves in the Roan.
Sarah Sheeran
Stewardship Associate
sarah@appalachian.org
Sarah joined our Stewardship staff in 2014, but has served on the Land Management Committee since 2010 and has been a long-time volunteer. As Stewardship Associate, she monitors conservation easements, manages SAHC-owned land outside of the Roan Highlands and assists landowners with caring for their property’s natural resources.
Sarah previously received her BS in Biology from James Madison University and her MS in Ecology from UNC-Chapel Hill. With a background in plant conservation and horticulture, she previously worked as a plant ecologist for a local environmental consulting firm and later served as Director of Education and Conservation at an outdoor recreation and adventure company.
Development and Engagement
Cheryl Fowler
Membership Director
cheryl@appalachian.org
Born and raised in Waynesville, NC, Cheryl completed an Associate of Applied Science degree in Commercial Art and Advertising Design from Southwestern Community College of Sylva, NC in 1994. Cheryl worked in printing and design, and operated a graphic design business before joining the SAHC staff in 2001. Cheryl coordinates membership our membership program materials, planning and implementing special events, and public outreach.
Angela Shepherd
Communications Director
angela@appalachian.org
Angela joined the SAHC staff in 2010. She graduated from the University of South Carolina with a BA in Public Relations, spent 9 years in graphic design for advertising publications, and earned MA in Geography with a Planning Concentration from Appalachian State University. Angela coordinates SAHC’s media relations as well as online and printed communications tools.
Pauline Heyne
Donor Relations Manager
pauline@appalachian.org
Pauline joined SAHC in 2013 to increase our fundraising capacity and launch our major giving program. Previously she worked at Arizona State University Foundation as Assistant Director of Women & Philanthropy and as the Development Coordinator at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Pauline received her Bachelor of Arts in Communications at Kent State University and her Masters of Public Policy at Arizona State University.
AmeriCorps
Ben Linthicum
Project Conserve AmeriCorps Stewardship & Volunteer Member
Ben recently graduated from Warren Wilson College (Environmental Studies) and biked across the country to collect stories about environmental impacts. He previously interned at the EPA and Pisgah Legal Services and has been involved in many environmental and social justice efforts. He helped with the divestment of Warren Wilson’s endowment. Word on the street says he plays a nice banjo tune.
Anona Miller
Project Conserve AmeriCorps Stewardship & Volunteer Member
Anona is from SC and went to Appalachian State (Environmental Biology and Ecology), where she was a member of the Blue Ridge Conservancy Student Club. She previously was a biological science tech for the Blue Ridge Parkway and a National Science Foundation Research Fellow in MA, helping with an urban sustainable tree replanting program. We’ve heard she has some entertaining travel stories.
Spencer Scheidt
Project Conserve AmeriCorps Land Protection & Education Member
spencer@appalachian.org
Spencer just completed a term as one of our AmeriCorps Stewardship & Volunteer Associates and is now moving to land protection. Originally from California, Spencer went to UNC Chapel Hill for Biology and was a local instructor at the Mountain Trail Outdoor School. Spencer likes climbing, playing music, cooking from his garden, and is fast on his feet.
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Haley Smith
Project Conserve Conservation Education & Volunteer Outreach Member
haley@appalachian.org
Haley is returning for a second year in this position. A native of Asheville, Haley attended Washington and Lee University in VA to complete a dual degree program, earning a BS in Biology and a BA in Environmental Studies. Haley likes dogs of many kinds and volunteers for Brother Wolf, knows the best ice cream in town, and plays a great game of soccer.
Travis Bordley
CTNC AmeriCorps Roan Highlands Volunteer & Outreach Member
travis@appalachian.org
Travis is a recent graduate of UNC Asheville with a BS in Environmental Studies. He is a documentary filmmaker and previously interned with us, creating short films to inspire support of SAHC. Travis has loved and explored the Highlands of Roan all his life. In this new Americorps position, he will recruit and educate volunteers from diverse communities including civic groups, schools, church groups, and outdoor enthusiasts to conduct on-the-ground habitat restoration projects in the Roan Highlands.
