David A. Kahley

Mr. David A. Kahley is the Co-founder and President & CEO of The Progress Fund, a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with assets of $55 Million. The Progress Fund serves western and northern Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, and western Maryland. It was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Greensburg, PA. In 2007, The Progress Fund helped develop the concept of Trail Towns and then launched the Trail Town Program®, which was the first economic development program in the nation to capture the potential of rail-trail based recreation. In the on-going development of the Program, The Progress Fund established a Real Estate Development Initiative in 2010 which purchases and rehabilitates key commercial and residential properties to spur neighboring development in Trail Towns. The strategy and investments made in West Newton, PA were recognized by a “Placemaking Award for Excellence” from the Urban Land Institute in Pittsburgh in 2015. David has 42 years of professional experience in community planning and economic development. Previously, David was Senior Associate for TDA, a transportation planning consulting firm based in Seattle, Washington which specialized in alternative forms of
transportation for private and public developers. David also served as Executive Director of the Bellevue (Washington State) Transportation Management Association, a public/private partnership of real estate developers, the City of Bellevue Washington, and King County Metro to encourage the use of alternative modes of transportation for urban commuters. Also, in Washington State, David was Executive Director of the Main Street Project of Port Townsend, a historic coastal seaport that effectively used tourism to revitalize two Victorian-era nationally registered business districts. Earlier in Pennsylvania, he was the Assistant to the President and Property Manager of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, a non-profit organization which developed and operated Station Square, a major mixed-use (retail, office, hotel and restaurant) development along Pittsburgh’s downtown waterfront. David currently resides in the City of Greensburg, Pennsylvania and is Chairman of its
Planning Commission.

Join local tourism offices highlighting The Salty Southern Route and how they market the common denominators. For more information about the route see: https://www.saltysouthernroute.com/

Ashley Covington

Judy Winslow

Theresa Earles

Pat Bernshausen

In 1929, DuPont (now Corteva) built a manufacturing site for Rayon along the banks of the South River in Waynesboro. At the time, mercury was used as a catalyst in the production of Rayon. In 1976, DuPont discovered mercury contamination in the soil on the plant site and began working with regulatory agencies, academia, and stakeholders to study and monitor mercury in fish, water, sediment, and soil in and in the South River watershed. In the late 1990’s, the city of Waynesboro Parks and Recreation department began developing  a greenway master plan to connect all of its riverfront parks and downtown. Parks and Recreation and Corteva worked closely over the past decade to blend and balance remediation while constructing miles of walking / biking trails along the banks of the South River. With over 60,000 people a year using the South River Greenway it has been one of the most successful projects the city has undertaken. Transforming the negative impacts of pollution, into a vibrant community greenway took trust, patience and cooperation. Michael R. Liberati, Principal Project Director Corteva Environmental Remediation and C. Dwayne Jones, Director of Parks and Recreation will be on hand to discuss the project.  

C. Dwayne Jones, Director of Parks and Recreation

Since arriving in Waynesboro 28 years ago, Dwayne has been a passionate advocate for the city and its transformation from an industrial town to a vibrant, outdoor oriented city with hospitality at its core. While operating as the Parks and Recreation Director, he has led the city-wide effort to develop parks, trails and blue ways as regional destinations.

Mike Liberati, Project Director, Corteva Agriscience

With 40 years of experience managing large and complex environmental remediation projects across the country.  Stakeholder involvement and collaboration has been a key success factor in many of his projects, including landfill closures, groundwater treatment, and waterway restoration.  He is a graduate of the UVA Natural Resources Leadership Institute and received engineering degrees from the University of Delaware.

Kathy Stewart

Kathy Stewart is the Main Street Manager for St. Paul Tomorrow, Inc.  Her work in downtown revitalization includes business development and support, historic preservation, beautification, and tourism. Most important, is how all these things work together to enhance the quality of life for residents and create a great visitor experience.

Andrea Hicks

Andrea Hicks is the Marketing and Social Media Coordinator for the town of St. Paul and a local business owner. Andrea owns The Coffee Station located in downtown St. Paul. The Coffee Station is a full service hand-crafted coffee shop and bakery, with a venue, located upstairs. 

Nick Proctor, Community Outreach Manager. The Nature Conservancy

Nick Proctor joined the Clinch Valley team in February 2022. He leads the program’s outreach efforts, including community support and capacity building and volunteer recruitment and stewardship activities aimed at connecting people to nature as a cultural and economic asset worth protecting for generations to come.    

Blake Salyer

Blake Salyer is the Innovation and Ecosystem Manager at UVa-Wise. He has had the opportunity to assist new and growing startups in SWVA while supporting and building the community around them.

Scott Bowen

Scott Bowen is a native of Lee County, Virginia and began his career with Virginia State Parks as a seasonal maintenance ranger at Natural Tunnel State Park after graduating from Lincoln Memorial University in 2000. He began his full time employment with State Parks in 2001 as a Park Ranger Law Enforcement at Lake Anna State Park. From 2003-2010, Scott served as Chief Ranger Maintenance, Chief Ranger Visitor Services and Assistant Park Manager at Claytor Lake State Park. In July of 2010, he promoted to the Park Manager position at Hungry Mother State Park, and in 2013 transferred to become the Park Manager at Wilderness Road State Park. In late 2019, Scott accepted the Park Manager position for the newly created Clinch River State Park in Wise and Russell Counties. Additionally during the pandemic, Scott was asked to serve dual roles as the Park Manager for both Clinch River and the Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park in Big Stone Gap from 2020-2022. Scott is looking forward to what great opportunities the future has in store for the Clinch River Valley and Southwest Virginia.

Roy Flanagan

A 1996 Graduate of Ferrum College with a BS in Agriculture and a minor in Business. After college Roy worked for the local Southern States store for four years, then was farming full time until accepting the Conservation Specialist position with Virginia Dare SWCD, where he worked for over 8 years. Roy has been the Agriculture Extension Agent for Virginia Beach since February 2012. In his spare time, he and his wife farm a little over 200 acres consisting of grain crops, sweet potatoes, vegetables, u-pick strawberries, and raise turkeys. Roy is a Virginia Certified Nutrient Management Planner, and a licensed VDACS Commercial and Private Pesticide Applicator.

Susan Sink

Susan Sink has spent most of her 65 years rattling stereotypes. She’s a Franklin County farm girl that earned her bachelor’s and master’s in business administration, a Christiansburg local who for more than a dozen years worked full-time in Washington, D.C. She’s presented papers in Hong Kong, earned millions of dollars for national organizations. She’s often been the only woman in the room during her years of fundraising for universities and nonprofits. Yet every October she welcomes some 30,000 people to her 125 acre farm to pick pumpkins, meander through a corn maze and snuggle bunnies. Sink owns a farm yet can’t drive a tractor. She owns a brewery yet cannot brew beer. She doesn’t need to. What Susan Sink, owner and manager of Sinkland Farms — a pick-your-own pumpkin farm, brewery, and wedding and event venue — has is vision. And drive. Curious? Come to the session to learn more!

Tiffany Haworth

Tiffany Haworth joined the Dan River Basin Association (DRBA) in 2011 and her work touches the entire Basin - building partnerships, advocacy for the protection of our natural resources and multi-state and national initiatives. She works closely with the entire DRBA Team to develop and implement programs that will protect and preserve the natural and cultural resources in DRBA’s 16-County, bi-state watershed through education, recreation and stewardship. Tiffany's 25+ years of experience ranges from the corporate to the academic to the nonprofit sectors and focuses on strategic marketing, fund development, collaborations and start-up community initiatives. She has received several national awards for her communications and community initiatives and has presented at conferences all over the country. Prior to DRBA, she worked with United Way and as a capacity consultant and corporate philanthropy consultant for clients internationally. Tiffany is an avid hiker and paddling enthusiast.

Brian Williams

Brian is the Virginia Program Manager for the Dan River Basin Association and has been with DRBA since 2008.  A Virginia SOS certified water monitor with a background in wildlife biology, water quality, conservation, fisheries, construction, animal husbandry, education and wildlife preservation, he works with community partners on conservation, restoration, master planning and asset-development projects throughout the Dan River Basin.  Brian also manages DRBA's recreation programs which include identifying, planning and constructing parks, river accesses and trails. His favorite programs involve working with youth and introducing people to the rivers and trails in our region. You'll find Brian on a river in our region every chance he gets. 

Sheryl Agee

Sheryl Agee is a Henry County native born and raised. She serves as Senior Operating Officer for the Harvest Foundation, a nonprofit organization established in 2002 by the sale of Memorial Hospital. The Foundation is a long-term catalyst, advocate, and investor with community partners working to build a community where everyone shares in the promise of a Martinsville Henry County that is healthy, prosperous, and vibrant. Sheryl’s role at the Foundation allows her the opportunity to work on strategy development and evaluation, as well as engage with local organizations and partners to identify opportunities to build hope and empower residents to bring positive change to their community. On a more personal level, she enjoys tackling DIY project, spending time gardening, including a fascination with herb gardens and nature’s natural healing remedies. 

Heather Barrar

Regional Trails Program Director, Friends of the Lower Appomattox River

Heather is trained as a forester and arborist, but has spent most of her career as city planner making connections across all sectors to address community concerns and improve the quality of life for all.  At the Friends of the Lower Appomattox River, she works in a regional role to address active transportation, land conservation, economic development, environmental stewardship and climate change by building the Appomattox River Trail & park system.

Brandy Cramer

Brandy Cramer serves as Program Officer for Community & Economic at The Cameron Foundation, a health legacy foundation that supports the work of nonprofits, local government, and faith organizations across the Tri-Cities area. She manages a diverse portfolio across several fields of interest, with particular depth in community and economic development. She also leads a number of large-scale, proactive initiatives for the Foundation, and is responsible for supporting an ambitious effort to link 25 miles of contiguous trail along the Lower Appomattox River through six jurisdictions in the Foundation’s service area. 

Cramer’s professional experience in the field of philanthropy spans over 14 years. Prior to joining The Cameron Foundation in 2010, she worked for the national organization Grantmakers for Children, Youth and Families. She holds a master’s degree in social work from Virginia Commonwealth University, with a concentration in social work administration, planning and public policy, as well as a certification in nonprofit management from Duke University.