Meet the staff of CTNC ...

Standing, l-r: Sarah Wilson, Rusty Painter, Reid Wilson, John Bell, Edgar Miller, Margaret Newbold, Barry L. Williams, Richard Broadwell
Kneeling, l-r: Wendy Howard, Margaret Lillard, Kathy Naujoks, Lisa Creasman, Jan Pender
Not pictured: Alberto Alzamora

Reid Wilson, Executive Director
(x11, reid@...)

Reid has been CTNC's Executive Director since March 2003. He is responsible for leading the organization and managing its operations, including land trust services, government relations, land protection, public relations and fundraising. In 2001 and 2002, he was a public affairs consultant to environmental groups in Washington, DC. Prior to that, he served for nearly eight years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, including from 1998-2000 as the agency’s Chief of Staff. He was national Political Director of the Sierra Club from 1989-1993. He has a B.A. in Political Science and Biology from Grinnell College in Iowa. Reid and his wife, Karen Rindge, live in Raleigh with their son, Drew, and daughter, Savannah.

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Margaret Newbold, Associate Director
(x14, margaret@...)

Margaret joined CTNC in 1997.  She is primarily responsible for managing internal operations, land trust relations, land protection activities, and special projects including the diversity program and creative financing initiatives. She is deeply committed to making CTNC’s work more inclusive and relevant to all communities throughout the state. Margaret received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Masters degree in Public Administration from North Carolina State University. She was a fellow in NCSU’s Natural Resource Leadership Institute 1997 class, has her real estate license, and serves on the Wake County Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee. Prior to coming to CTNC, Margaret was the Associate Director of the Environmental Resource Program at UNC-CH where she focused on sustainable development issues. For more than a decade before entering non-profit work, Margaret worked in the private sector, publishing an international adventure travel magazine and managing and developing multipurpose athletic facilities throughout the state. She feels lucky to have been able to weave her three favorite passions - travel, fitness and nature - into her working world. Margaret spent time in Tibet and Nepal in 2002, trekking to Everest Base Camp and renewing her commitment to help protect North Carolina’s unique natural heritage and special places. She returned to Nepal in October 2009 and hiked the Annapurna circuit.

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Alberto Alzamora, staff accountant
(x23, alberto@...)

Alberto fills the full-time staff accounting position shared between CTNC and Triangle Land Conservancy. Alberto is a graduate of the University of Miami with 20 years of accounting experience.  Before moving to North Carolina with his family in 2006, Alberto was the director of accounting for the Miami Museum of Science.  Alberto was born in Cartagena, Colombia, and came to the United States when he was 10 months old. He spent his childhood in Maryland and then moved to Miami. He has traveled extensively throughout Central and South America, including Irazu Volcano in Costa Rica, secluded beaches in Venezuela, and all parts of Colombia. Alberto and his wife, Jaqueline, live in Raleigh with their daughter, Maria; their parakeet, Jack; and their dog, Lulu. Alberto enjoys reading, travel and movies when he is not doing land trust accounting work.

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John Bell, development director
(x13, john@...)

John joined CTNC's staff in 2004. A native Western North Carolinian, John oversees fundraising activities, focusing primarily on major gift initiatives, including planned giving and foundations. Before coming to CTNC, John raised funds for numerous charitable groups including a civil rights foundation, an AIDS services organization, a health clinic, a homeless shelter and low-income housing. John began his career as an urban planner in Boston before returning to the South after a decade in that city. He attended Guilford College where he met his wife, Judy Whisnant, and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill. Today, John and Judy live in Chapel Hill with their black Lab, Dasher. They have a son, Nate, and a daughter, Lucy. On weekends, John can often be found hiking and bicycling along the rural roads of Orange and Alamance counties, or along the South Fork of the ancient New River in Ashe County.

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Richard Broadwell, land protection specialist (Boone)
(828-989-8010, richard@...)

Richard joined CTNC in January 2008. He helps develop and implement CTNC’s land protection activities in the western part of North Carolina while also helping to facilitate land protection by local land trusts and other conservation partners. Prior to working with the Conservation Trust, he was a land protection specialist with the Triangle Land Conservancy, based in Raleigh. Richard holds a master’s in forestry and a master’s of environmental management from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. He received his bachelor of science degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Richard lives in Boone and enjoys hiking, kayaking and traveling in his spare time. His office address is 290 Queen St., Boone, NC 28607.

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Lisa Creasman, conservation projects manager
(x18, lisa@...)

Lisa started working at CTNC in December 2003, facilitating land protection projects between the state’s local land trusts and the State of North Carolina’s mitigation program. Since that project was completed, Lisa has coordinated various programs and grants on behalf of the NC land trust community, including the Upper Neuse Clean Water Initiative.  Lisa received her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Tennessee in her hometown, Knoxville, and a master’s in marine science from Louisiana State University. After working at a U. S. Army Corps of Engineers research facility on wetlands issues, Lisa served for a year as a technical assistant on environmental issues for Governor Roemer of Louisiana. In 1991 she started working for The Nature Conservancy of Louisiana, where she stayed until moving to North Carolina in 2000. Lisa and her husband, Steve Underwood, and daughter Abbey love to hike and camp with their two dogs when they’re not busy watching Abbey’s soccer games.

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Wendy Howard, finance director
(x19, wendy@...)

Wendy joined CTNC in January 2004 and manages the financial affairs of the organization, overseeing CTNC's fiscal records, accounting practices, and financial relationships with other conservation partners. Wendy is a CPA with more than 15 years’ experience working with non-profits in public accounting and industry. Wendy successfully completed the 2008 Conservation Finance Camp at Yale University, through Yale’s Center for Business and the Environment. In addition, Wendy has been awarded a Certificate in Effective Grants Administration from the North Carolina Office of State Auditor. A proud soccer/hockey/baseball mom, Wendy enjoys spending time with her husband, Stephen, and their two sons, Jacob and Ian. 

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Margaret Lillard, communications director
(x12, mlillard@...)

“M2” left a 25-year journalism career to join CTNC in November 2007. In more than 19 years with The Associated Press, she reported on everything from presidential elections to natural disasters to Olympic and NHL ice hockey, and spent eight years as an editor and supervisor at The AP's world headquarters in New York. She now handles media relations, publications and online outreach for CTNC and helps the state's local land trusts with communications. Margaret - an Army brat born at Fort Bragg - is an avid hiker helping to build the Mountains to Sea Trail across North Carolina, a member of the Yates Mill Associates Board of Directors, and an ice hockey player and coach. She lives near historic Yates Mill with her Australian shepherd, Kali.

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Edgar Miller, government relations director (Lexington)
(o-336-793-8219, c-336-688-2651; edgar@...)

Edgar represents North Carolina’s 24 land trusts before the North Carolina General Assembly and other state and federal agencies. Before joining CTNC, he worked as a lobbyist for the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington, DC, and also served as director of policy for the Washington-based National Recycling Coalition. Edgar began his public policy career with the North Carolina Governor’s Waste Management Board and holds a BA in Botany from Duke University and a Masters of Environmental Management from the Duke Nicholas School of the Environment. He is a member of the board of directors of the Conservation Council of North Carolina and the Conservation Political Action Committee. He lives in Lexington with his wife, Kivi, and their daughters, Avalon and Jianna. He led the successful effort to establish a Voluntary Agricultural District in Davidson County and chairs the Davidson County Cooperative Extension Advisory Council.

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Rusty Painter, land protection director
(x16, rusty@...)

Rusty oversees collaborative projects that CTNC undertakes with other North Carolina land trusts, as well as CTNC’s land protection efforts along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Rusty holds a Masters in Forestry and a Masters of Environmental Management from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Wake Forest University (’93). In his spare time, he enjoys activities with his wife and son including hiking, canoeing, and mountain biking. His passion for conservation stems from a lifelong enjoyment of outdoor activities like these.

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Jan Pender, development associate
(x10, jan@...)

Jan joined CTNC in 2000 and is responsible for advancing conservation in North Carolina through partnerships with corporate interests. Prior to working at CTNC, Jan worked in foundation and corporate development at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment and was Director of Education for Legacy, a statewide environmental education program in Alabama. Jan holds a B.S. degree in education from Kansas State University and a M.S. degree in geography from the University of Alabama. She also studied the European Union on a Rotary Club scholarship at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England. Jan and her husband, Tom, have two daughters, Anne Ross and Abby.

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Barry L. Williams, diversity project coordinator
(x21, barry@...)

Barry joined CTNC in January 2008. He is responsible for coordinating and implementing a multi-faceted initiative that aims to foster increased diversity and inclusiveness in the people, policies, and practices of the conservation movement. Barry received his undergraduate degree in print journalism from Hampton University, where he was a Presidential Scholar, and a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Chancellors’ Scholar. After law school, Barry completed a fellowship with the UNC Center for Civil Rights, where he focused on community inclusion and economic development. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Southern Coalition of Social Justice and is a member of the North Carolina State Bar. The Greensboro native has also been a staff writer for the High Point Enterprise. He enjoys helping those in need, traveling, adventure, music, movies, performing arts, and sports.

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Sarah Wilson, office & membership administrator
(x17, sarah@...)

Sarah joined CTNC in July of 2007. She grew up in Raleigh and has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Meredith College. She has worked as a legal assistant at a local law firm and as a legislative assistant to state Sen. Joe Sam Queen. Currently, she also works at Great Outdoor Provision Company. Sarah enjoys running, backpacking and playing with her lovable boxer/lab mix, Sadie.

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