Officers
President Vice President Treasurer Secretary
Leslee McCarty *
Meet our new members:
Thomas Haley joined us in the Fall of 2023. Thomas and his wife Wendi are helping monitor the river in the Pence Springs area.
Born in Kissimmee, FL, Thomas Haley Jr was destined to become one with nature. From his early years in Central Florida, to his teenage years in Tennessee, even his military years in Washington state and Iraq, he has strived to assist in the preservation and conservation of the environment.
Thomas moved to West Virginia in 2019 and proudly claims Greenbrier County as his one true home. While he has an extensive resume with so much to offer, he feels his determination and dedication to the preservation of nature is his primary purpose in life.
Margaret Worth, one of our newer board members, joined us just last Fall. She leads water quality team #2 in southern Pocahontas County, gathering water samples and recording meter readings from the Greenbrier River. Margaret is the librarian at Hillsboro in Pocahontas County. She loves to engage the kids from the elementary school in nature stories and activities.
Margaret is a lifetime resident of Pocahontas County. She graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in education K-8 and concentrations in Science and English. With experience teaching in all of the county schools and serving a short term on the Pocahontas County Board of Education, Margaret realizes the importance of education.
She is particularly interested in place-based education and environmental conservation. Margaret values her home in the Birthplace of Rivers, the Mongahela National Forest and the beautiful state parks, especially Watoga (Watauga) Beautiful River.
Tom Saladyga is a professor of geography at Concord University in Athens, West Virginia where he has been teaching courses in environmental geography and geographic information systems (GIS) since 2011.
As a researcher, Tom’s interests include Appalachian fire ecology and forest management, dendrochronology (tree-ring science), and environmental history. Over the last 20+ years, he has worked and conducted research in various locations across the eastern U.S., the Ozarks, and Mongolia.
Tom is also dedicated to providing applied research opportunities for his undergraduate students, including a project that resulted in the recognition of a previously undocumented old-growth forest at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve (Burnwood: A Legacy Forest). Originally from Pennsylvania, Tom has been a resident of West Virginia since 2007 and has traveled and explored extensively throughout the state. He lives with his family in Fayetteville, West Virginia.
Dr. Saladyga joined our Board of Directors in 2024.
Jenna Breeckner is originally from Columbus, Ohio. She received a bachelor’s degree in soil science from West Virginia University in May 2022.
After graduation, Jenna started working for Greenbrier Environmental Group, a local environmental consulting firm based in Lewisburg, WV. Her work involves assisting with redevelopment projects throughout the state, such as improving recreational access to the New River in Hinton, WV.
Jenna serves as a board member for the West Virginia Environmental Council, where she helps organize youth groups and college students from across the state to attend an annual environmental day at the State Capitol. Jenna is passionate about promoting effective environmental legislation that aims to protect, conserve, and restore West Virginia’s public lands and waterways. In the warmer months, she spends most of my free time swimming in the Greenbrier River with my dogs, and would like to ensure that it remains a sanctuary for the community and native wildlife to enjoy.
Ms. Breeckner joined our Board of Directors in 2023.
Roger Vannoy is a lifelong West Virginian, who, with his wife Sarah, their two two kids and two dogs, call Lewisburg, WV home.
Roger is a Registered Nurse and 15-year veteran of the healthcare industry who spends much of his time on the front lines of West Virginia’s opioid crisis. Roger is also a Marine Corps veteran.
Roger is currently running for the WV House of Delegates in the 47th district in Greenbrier County and part of Monroe County. “My family has been here for a long time – all my ancestors just about are buried here. It means a lot to me, this state does.”
Roger has have an interest in riparian buffers along the river and hopes to see tree planting projects initiated and as well as physically cleaning up the river, getting trash and tires out.
Mr. Vannoy joined our Board of Directors in 2023.