Board of Trustees
SAHC Staff

SAHC Board of Trustees

Trustees are elected by the Conservancy’s general membership for a three-year term. After an initial term, a trustee may be re-elected to a second three-year term, but may serve no more than two consecutive terms. Current Board Members are:

• Michael B. Andry, Asheville, NC
• Gary Barrigar, Johnson City, TN
• Carol T. Coffey, Knoxville, TN
• Judy Coker, Maggie Valley, NC
• Joe DeLoach, Jonesborough, TN


• Kathryn Gubista, Asheville, NC
• Robert C. Hart, Piney Flats, TN
• Lindsay Hearn, Asheville, NC
• Bill Jones, Asheville, NC
• Witt Langstaff, Jr., Minneapolis, NC
• Tom Laughlin, Johnson City, TN
• Jay Leutze, Minneapolis, NC
• Bill Lowndes, Asheville, NC
• Laura McCue, Arden, NC
• David Ramsey, Erwin, TN
• David Smith, Arden, NC
• Laura Way, Penland, NC
• Lach Zemp, Asheville, NC<>/li>

Carl Silverstein, Executive Director

Carl

Carl Silverstein joined the staff as Executive Director of the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy in July 2000.

• Previously served as Campaign Coordinator of the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition.
• Received a Bachelor of Art Degree from Stanford University and graduated from the University of Alabama Law School.
• Practiced law in Seattle, Washington, before moving to Asheville, NC, in 1995.
• Carl, his wife, Bonnie, and their son, Will, and their daughter, Oona, enjoy hiking and camping in the southern Appalachian Mountains.

Kristy and her dog, Porkchop

Judy

Kristy Urquhart, Associate Director
Kristy Urquhart has been Associate Director for the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy since 1997 and has served on the staff since 1991.

• Graduated from King College with a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Business/Economics.
• Engaged in orchard management work and had her own apple tree pruning business in Ithaca, New York.

Judy Murray, Stewardship Director
Judy Murray received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Florida State University in 1960 and relocated to Kingsport, Tennessee.

• Worked as an analytical chemist at Tennessee Eastman Company for eight years.
• Received a Masters of Science Degree in Ecology with an emphasis on wildland management.
• Founding Member of the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.
• Served as volunteer Land Stewardship Coordinator. In 1980, she became a SAHC staff member as the Stewardship Director.
• Life Member of the Appalachian Trail Conference and the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.
• Member of the National Areas Association, the Trout Unlimited, the Tennessee Ornithological Society and the Friends of Roan Mountain.

Cheryl and her dog Zuko

Cheryl Fowler, Operations Director
Cheryl Fowler joined our staff as Operations Director in 2001. She is from Waynesville, North Carolina.

• Completed an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Commercial Art and Advertising Design from Southwestern Community College of Sylva, NC.
• Worked in the printing and design industry for five years before deciding to start her own graphic design business.
• Cheryl and her dog, Zuko, enjoy exploring the beautiful North Carolina mountains and she is looking forward to helping preserve and maintain the area.

William Hamilton, Farmland Program Director

William and his family

William joined our staff in 2005, and is focusing on farmland preservation efforts in Buncombe, Haywood, and Madison Counties.

• Previously served as the Natural Resources Crew Field Supervisor at Warren Wilson College
• Graduate of Warren Wilson College and North Carolina State College of Natural Resources
• Owns and operates a portable sawmill, based on Hickory Nut Gap Farm in Fairview, NC
• William enjoys life with his wife Molly and daughter Addison Anne. He also enjoys basketball, hiking, and the rural life that our region affords

Michelle Pugliese, Land Protection Director Michelle Pugliese joined Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy as its Land Protection Director in November 2007. Previously she:

Michelle and her dog, Lucy

• Worked as the Director of Land Protection for St. Simons Land Trust on St. Simons Island, Georgia from 2002 until moving to Asheville in 2007.
• Graduated from Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences with a Masters of Environmental Management in 2002.
• Worked as an environmental consultant for Clayton Group Services in Massachusetts from 1998 until 2000.
• Received a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Lafayette College in 1997.

Michelle loves to hike in the mountains with her dog, Lucy, and is thrilled to be working to preserve the spectacular landscapes of Western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.

Hanni Muerdter, Stewardship and Conservation Planning Director

Hanni

• In 2006-2007, Hanni worked in stewardship and land protection for High Country Conservancy in Boone, NC through AmeriCorps Project Conserve . Also through AmeriCorps, she wrote and oversaw the creation of Blue Ridge Forever's Conservation Vision, a regional conservation plan for the Southern Blue Ridge.
• Previously worked and/or interned at: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Neil Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa, and for the Student Conservation Association.
• Received her bachelors in biology & environmental studies from Oberlin College, OH.
• Hanni likes to hike, swim, act in plays, and enjoy mountain life.

David Flood, Stewardship and Conservation Planning Director

David

Seasonal Ecologist
SAHC also hires a Seasonal Ecologist for three months(June through August) every year.

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