Meet the Team
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 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 (she/her)
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.
Jay Leutze
Senior Advisor to the Board
Jay joined the SAHC team in 2004 as a member and then chair of the Land Protection Committee. Prior to that he led hikes on Big Yellow Mountain for SAHC members. He served on the SAHC Board of Trustees from 2007 to 2012, and again from 2013 to 2019, and as board president. He currently serves the board as senior advisor while continuing to support the Land Protection Program and the Roan Stewardship and Nature Experience programs. He also leads our government relations effort, working on policy and funding for our state and federal projects. He grew up in Chapel Hill and Avery County. He holds a BA in English Literature from UNC-Chapel Hill and a law degree from UNC School of Law. He is the author of Stand Up That Mountain.
Land Protection and Stewardship
Kyle Shute (he/him)
Land Protection Associate
kyle@appalachian.org
Kyle joined SAHC in 2022. He graduated from the University of Maine in 2017 with a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and from Clemson University with an M.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology in 2020. While at Clemson he conducted his Masters research on habitat ecology of threatened bat species, with a focus on private lands in coastal South Carolina. Kyle now works for SAHC’s Land Protection Team coordinating landowner inquiries about private lands conservation.
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.
Jess Laggis
Farmland Protection Director
jess@appalachian.org
Jess leads our efforts to conserve farmland. A native of Swannanoa, she grew up on the campus of Warren Wilson College and enjoyed roaming nearby mountains. She earned a BS in neuroscience and a BA in Spanish from Furman University in 2006. Her sense of adventure led her to study and work abroad before returning home to farm in these mountains. Jess joined our staff in 2017, after serving almost 3 years as the Director of the Blue Ridge Forever land trust coalition.
Hanni Muerdter
Conservation Director
hanni@appalachian.org
Hanni joined SAHC in 2007 and currently manages land and easement acquisitions in our Balsam and Smoky Mountains focus areas (Haywood, Jackson, southwest Buncombe and southern Cocke County), as well as stewards conservation easements. As conservation director, she focuses on SAHC’s long-term conservation planning and is the liaison between land protection and stewardship departments. Hanni grew up in Haywood County. She previously worked for 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. In 2016, Hanni was named the Rising Leader of the Year by the North Carolina Land Trust Council.
Sarah Sheeran
Stewardship Director
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 Director, she oversees the organization’s program of monitoring and managing our conservation easements and properties we own, 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.
Chris Kaase
Stewardship & GIS Manager
kaase@appalachian.org
Chris joined SAHC in 2019 to assist with our growing stewardship responsibilities. He is from the southern Appalachians and has conservation experience that includes stewardship roles with the Blue Ridge Conservancy in Boone, NC and the Congaree Land Trust in Columbia, SC. Chris holds a M.A. from the Department of Geography and Planning at Appalachian State University and specializes in thinking about riparian ecosystems in the southeastern U.S.
Mike Szymkowicz
Stewardship Manager
Mike developed a love for outdoor places during his childhood in Upstate New York, often out on the rivers or exploring his family’s land. After earning a bachelor’s degree from The State University of New York at Potsdam, he relocated to Nashville where he became involved with The Land Trust for Tennessee (LTTN). For over eight years Mike helped lead LTTN’s statewide stewardship program by managing conserved lands, assisting landowners to navigate conservation easements, and annual monitoring. Mike joined SAHC in 2025 as the Stewardship Manager, helping to support SAHC’s growing program of conservation easements and SAHC-owned properties.
Highlands of Roan Stewardship
Marquette Crockett
Roan Stewardship Director
marquette@appalachian.org
Marquette joined SAHC staff in 2014, where she leads stewardship work on almost 14,000 acres of SAHC preserves in the Highlands of Roan. She received a BS in Biology from Lincoln Memorial University and an MS in Biological Sciences from East Tennessee State University, and she has over 20 years of wildlife management and planning experience, including working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a refuge biologist at Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, WV. Marquette coordinates multi-agency and volunteer efforts to restore and protect the globally rare grassy bald habitats found on Roan Mountain, and to manage habitat for declining bird species, including the Golden-winged Warbler. She currently serves on the steering committee for the Southern Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative. Marquette received the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s “Partner of the Year” award in 2020 and the North Carolina Wildlife Federation’s Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award for “Public Lands Conservationist” in May 2025.
Travis Bordley
Roan Technician
travis@appalachian.org
Travis Bordley was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina. Growing up, Travis was lucky enough to spend every summer in the Western North Carolina hiking in the mountains, plunging into shady creeks, and developing a deep connection with the land. He received a BS in Environmental Science from UNC-Asheville. There he developed his love for the natural world and also a passion for photography. Travis has worked with SAHC since 2016 as an AmeriCorps member, as the Roan Naturalist, and outings leader. As the Roan Technician, Travis works to incorporate all his past experiences into one position to best take care of the Roan Highlands.
Development and Engagement
Anna Kuhlman (she/her)
Director of Development
Anna most recently served as the Interim Director of Philanthropy for the ACLU of Florida. Prior to that, she held various roles at institutions such as the Morean Art Center, University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, and Appalachian State University, Hayes School of Music & Arts and Cultural Programs. Anna received a Bachelor of Arts from Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville and a Master of Fine Arts from Webster University, and she holds the designation of Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE). Originally hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, Anna has a passion for travel, indulging in spicy cuisine, exploring the beauty of the NC mountains, and fishing in the Gulf of Mexico and the mountain waters of North Carolina and Tennessee.
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 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 (she/her)
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.
Emma Goldrick (she/her)
Development & Communications Manager
Emma previously worked as the Director of Development Operations for four and a half years at Montreat Conference Center, and before that as a student affairs associate in the Yale College Dean’s Office after studying Geology and Geophysics at Yale College. She is excited by SAHC’s long history of protecting and stewarding the mountains and lands she loves. In her free time, Emma enjoys walking on the Beaucatcher trails, swimming at the downtown YMCA, eating pizza at White Labs, and cheering at Asheville Tourists games.
LaKyla Hodges (she/her)
Community Engagement and Education Manager
LaKyla was born and raised in Durham, NC. She has had a lifelong passion for nature and community. These passions led her to Warren Wilson College where she completed a degree in Environmental Studies with a concentration in education. Since moving to Asheville, she has worked with the WNC Nature Center, MountainTrue, AmeriCorps. As the Community Engagement and Education Manager, LaKyla works to connect communities to nature.
Erin Goodpaster (she/her)
Outreach Program Manager
Erin is a Robbinsville, NC native and grew up backpacking and camping in the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness where she developed a deep love for the Appalachian Mountains. While obtaining a BA in Communication from Berea College, she planned and led rock climbing, canoeing/kayaking, caving, backpacking, and front-country camping student trips for the Outdoor Recreation Program. This role instilled a passion for leading outdoor programs. After graduating college, Erin obtained a job with Western Carolina University’s Project Discovery-Talent Search Program, which serves students in rural WNC by providing college access services. While in this role, she helped develop and lead experiential education programs and multi-day bike expeditions. She joined the SAHC team in August 2025 and is excited to begin leading outings and connecting more people with nature. You’ll most likely catch Erin mountain biking at Tsali or enjoying a trail run with her pups.
SAHC Community Farm
Chris Link
Community Farm Manager
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.
Kirin Battaglia
Events and Weddings Coordinator
events@appalachian.org
Kirin is a mother of two who prides herself on being able to raise her children while doing what she loves in the events industry. She received her certification for Event Coordination and has six years of experience as an event/wedding coordinator. Kirin says, “Events are my happy place. Seeing everyone come together to celebrate a special occasion and all the love that is shared, it brings me so much joy.” In her spare time she enjoys taking the kiddos outside and going on new adventures. During the summertime they can usually be found in some sort of body of water; swimming is their favorite thing to do!
Seasonal Stewardship Technicians
Josie Cohen
Seasonal Stewardship Technician
Josie is a 2022 graduate from Fordham University in New York. Josie was an Environmental Stewardship intern with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks & Recreation. She has experience writing land management plans, managing non-native invasive species and conducting ecological restoration. Her thesis, “The Colonial Legacy of Public Lands: Exploring Extractivism in the Bears Ears Region“, examined the role extractivism and land grabs on public lands play in violating the basic human rights of many Indigenous populations. Josie served as an AmeriCorps member with SAHC for the 2024-25 term.
Connor Hovendon
Seasonal Stewardship Technician
Connor just graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME, but he grew up in Hendersonville, NC and volunteered with Asheville Greenworks and Manna FoodBank. He is a former Project Conserve AmeriCorps member at Conserving Carolina, where he completed a summer of service managing trails, performing non-native invasive plant management and participating in river clean-ups. More recently, Connor was a Bowdoin College Summer Fellow at Kennebec Estuary Land Trust in Bath, ME where he performed a variety of GIS, citizen-science and habitat restoration duties. Connor served as an AmeriCorps member with SAHC for the 2024-25 term.
