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.
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.
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.
Pauline Heyne
Director of Philanthropy
pauline@appalachian.org
Pauline joined SAHC in 2013 to increase our fundraising capacity by connecting with passionate donors. 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.
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.
Lauren McTigue
Connecting People with Land Associate
lauren@appalachian.org
Lauren joined our team in 2017 to manage facilities on conservation properties and help advance our goal of ‘Connecting People with Land.’ Formerly from New Jersey, she made the move to Asheville to put down roots and is excited to share her passion for conservation. Lauren previously served as the Outreach and Agriculture Coordinator with Grow It Green in Morristown NJ. She brings with her years of experience in Ecotourism, environmental education, and program development.
AmeriCorps
Anona Miller
Project Conserve AmeriCorps Stewardship & Volunteer Member
Anona will return for a second year in this position. She is from South Carolina and graduated from Appalachian State in 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.
Cate Jaffe
Project Conserve AmeriCorps Stewardship & Volunteer Member
Cate joins us from Oregon. She graduated from the University of Oregon in Biology and Environmental Science, where she has recently been researching farmland microbe conditions and seed production. She’s also worked with the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide and Audubon.
Trey Talley
Project Conserve AmeriCorps Land Protection & Education Member
Trey has been living and working and living in Chapel Hill, where he obtained his Master of City and Regional Planning degree. Most recently, he’s been a research assistant at the Environmental Finance Center, and also worked at the Urban Partnership Bank. Trey received his undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago.
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Emily Adler
Project Conserve Conservation Education & Volunteer Outreach Member
Emily brings an extensive background in outdoor education, leading outdoor trips in Florida for the University of Central Florida and in the Alaska backcountry. She also finished a semester with the National Outdoor Leadership School in the Rocky Mountains.
Michelle Durr
CTNC AmeriCorps Roan Highlands Volunteer & Outreach Member
Michelle grew up in Florida, spending vacations in Western North Carolina. She is a recent graduate of Eckerd College with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School. Most recently, Michelle worked as a Unit Leader and Counselor at Camp Arrowhead in Lewes, DE and a FoodCorps Service Member at the Kona Pacific School in Hawaii.
