RANDY TATE - VICE CHAIRMAN

Randy is a retired conservation biologist that worked in natural resource conservation and management for 35 years starting with a field research job for the MA Heritage Natural Program studying short-eared owls and northern harriers on Nantucket Island. This was also his graduate school research project for a Master's degree in Biology (1989) from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. His undergraduate degree was from Clemson University (1975). He last worked for the Longleaf Alliance for 8 1/2 years coordinating the Ft. Stewart/Altamaha Longleaf Restoration Partnership. He formerly worked for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources as the Natural Resource Program Manager for Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites Division. Before joining GA DNR, Randy worked for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) for 20 years in four different positions from the FL Keys to Rhode Island. The last 10 years with TNC, Randy was Director of Science and Stewardship for the Georgia Chapter of TNC. He has participated in prescribed burning and fire management throughout his career and was a federally certified RxB2 Burn Boss. He was president of the GA Prescribed Fire Council in 2017. He is native of the lowcountry and was born and raised in Ridgeland, SC. He is currently retired and lives in Savannah, GA. 

Carol Denhof - TREASURER

Carol has been with the Longleaf Alliance since January 2011 and assumed the position of President on November 1, 2019. As President, she leads the organization in its mission to ensure a sustainable future for the longleaf pine ecosystem through partnerships, landowner assistance and science-based education and outreach. In her former position with The Alliance as Understory & Media Coordinator, Carol was resonsible for activities ranging from facilitation of longleaf ecosystem restoration to implementation and coordination of outreach and education efforts of The Longleaf Alliance. Her specific job duties include, but are not limited to, promoting development of understory plant materials for restoration, researching understory related restoration issues, providing technical assistance to landowners and natural resource professionals, developing written materials and oral presentations, developing the quarterly Longleaf Leader magazine, managing the Longleaf Alliance website, and promoting the organization through social networking media. Previously, Carol worked for eight years as the Conservation Coordinator at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. During her tenure at the Garden, Carol managed projects that focused on the conservation of rare plant species throughout the southeastern United States. Her work involved plant propagation, population reintroduction and augmentation, habitat restoration, and habitat management. Prior to her time with the Garden, Carol worked as a Plant Ecology Research Technician at the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center in southwest Georgia where she studied the understory diversity of longleaf pine wiregrass habitat. She earned her B.S. and M.S. in Biology from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. Carol is a native of Blakely, Georgia and currently lives on St. Simons Island with her husband and their two children.   

erin cork

Erin is a wildlife biologist with Georgia DNR’s Wildlife Conservation Section. Erin completed her M.S. in Wildlife Ecology from The University of Georgia, where she studied habitat associations and management considerations for rare amphibians in longleaf pine communities. She has worked on amphibian conservation projects since 2013, which is around the same time she began to take an interest in the native plant communities that she explored in South Georgia’s forests, wetlands, and sandhills. She is currently the Conservation Chair for the Coastal Plain Chapter of the Georgia Native Plant Society and has recently established a Coastal Georgia chapter of the citizen-science amphibian monitoring program FrogWatch. 

ROB SUTTER

Rob Sutter is a Conservation Ecologist with expertise in the development of strategic plans for natural resources (species, ecosystems) and conservation entities (land trusts, wildlife agencies). Rob has worked for 40 years in the conservation field, 20 of those as the Regional Ecologist in the Southern U.S. for The Nature Conservancy. Before that he was the Endangered Species Botanist for the state of North Carolina and the first coordinator of the state’s Plant Conservation Program. He is now the principal of Enduring Conservation Outcomes, an ecological and conservation consulting firm in Savannah GA. His undergraduate and graduate degrees are from Duke University.

Rob has worked on a wide range of conservation projects. Currently, in partial retirement, he is facilitating a landscape conservation plan for the islands of Maui Nui, Hawai’i; identifying flyway scale strategies for the Midcontinent Shorebird Conservation Initiative (the geographic equivalent of the Atlantic Flyway Plan), and developing a watershed plan for the Virgin River in Nevada. Past projects have include facilitating the development of strategic plans for the Longleaf Pine Implementation Teams in SC, GA, FL, and AL, Shortleaf Pine Initiative, Kenai Peninsula Fish Habitat Partnership, Arizona and South Carolina Chapters of The Nature Conservancy, and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. More locally he facilitated the development of the strategic management plan for St. Catherines Island, updated the beach light ordinances on Jekyll Island, facilitated meetings for the NOAA Coastal Resilience Assessment for the Savannah River Watershed, and co-authored the founding plan for America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative.

Rob lives in Savannah GA with his wife Alison McGee, an ecological forester. He enjoys biking, hiking, birding, traveling, history, architecture, gardening, music, and coffee, wine, and good food. His stepdaughter, Nina, just completed her Masters in Natural Resources at UGA and will be working in Savannah.

Amy Schuler

Amy loves spending time in nature, photographing, hiking, biking, and exploring with her two beautiful daughters and husband. She is particularly fascinated with the flora and fauna of our coastal environment and our human impact on it. Amy’s undergraduate degree is in Environmental Studies and her graduate degree is in Biology; both degrees are from Youngstown State University (YSU).

Amy moved to Georgia from Ohio over 14 years ago and has been enjoying it ever since! Before moving to Georgia, Amy was a naturalist at Mill Creek MetroParks (MCP) in Youngstown, OH for over seven years. At MCP, Amy conducted hikes, kayaks, bike rides, programs and workshops covering the flora and fauna of the park for children and adults. She also assisted in land development plans and invasive species control. She has also served as a web editor for the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 in San Francisco, CA and as an environmental scientist for Environmental Services & Consultants in Youngstown, OH. As a consultant, Amy conducted Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments (ESA’s), environmental remediations, and wetland delineations.

Amy successfully completed work on a two year grant Coastal Incentive Grant from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources at Savannah State University (SSU) as a lab manager/research assistant in the Marsh Vegetation Research Lab (MVRL) in the Department of Natural Sciences. At SSU, Amy conducted research on the biology of smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), the dominant grass found in salt marshes in the Southeast.

Amy has taught high school Advanced Placement Biology at Youngstown State University (YSU) and has had several contract positions through YSU teaching elementary students about nature. Amy has also taught various science classes at Savannah State University, Columbia College, University of Phoenix, Central Texas College, and South University. She currently works as the science lead and full-time instructor at Point University teaching science courses. In addition, she teaches several science classes at St. Leo University.  

Amy also served as the lead botanist for an invasive species Bioblitz at Ft. Pulaski National Monument in the fall of 2013 and volunteered in the summer of 2014 for the Caretta Research Project, monitoring nesting loggerhead sea turtles on Wassaw Island National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. More recently, she helped to plant native groundcover for a restoration project of a longleaf pine / wiregrass community at Wormsloe Plantation in Savannah. Amy currently serves as the volunteer coordinator for Friends of Sapelo (FOS) with the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve (SINERR). 

Amy has proudly served as the Education Coordinator at Coastal WildScapes since 2014.

ASHBY WORLEY 

Ashby Nix Worley joined The Nature Conservancy as their Coastal Climate Adaptation Director in November 2016, where she works with coastal partners and communities to bring nature-based solutions to help address coastal hazards in order to build a more resilient Georgia Coast.

Ashby has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science from Mercer University and Master of Science Degree in Environmental Science, specializing in Wetland studies, from Louisiana State University. Ashby has worked as a coastal scientist in the coastal Georgia region for over 10 years, working for the Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resources Division and the University of Georgia in conducting long term ecological research, oyster restoration, water quality monitoring and marsh studies. From 2013-2016, she served as the Executive Director of the non-profit organization Satilla Riverkeeper, where she worked with local communities on environmental outreach, education, awareness, advocacy and policy.

Ashby currently serves on the Georgia DNR’s Coastal Advisory Council and recently served as the chairman for Coastal WildScapes. Ashby is a Certified Floodplain Manager since November 2017.

RALEIGH KITCHEN 

Raleigh graduated from the University of Georgia in May 2013 with a BS in Ecology. Her time studying in Athens, as well as internships and jobs during that time solidified her desire to find a job in a field where she could let her passions of conservation and education soar.

After graduation, Raleigh worked over six years as the lead Naturalist on Sea Island where she ran the sea turtle conservation program on the island as well as many wildlife education programs for guests and members. Today, Raleigh works in membership and educational outreach for the St. Simons Land Trust. There, she is able to inspire others to conserve, protect and connect important lands and waters on St. Simons.

Raleigh lives on St. Simons Island and enjoys spending her free time with her husband as well as romping through the maritime forests of our barrier islands with camera in tow.

THOMAS ANGELL

Thomas Angell is a native of Savannah, Georgia and a graduate of the School of Environmental Design at the University of Georgia. In 1995, after seven years as a Landscape Architect in the firm of Robert Marvin & Associates, he founded his own firm, Verdant Enterprises. He specializes in ecologically-sensitive environmental design, landscape architecture, and site planning.

In addition to the Coastal WildScapes board, he was a founding member of the Walterboro Tree Protection Committee and has served on several architectural review boards in the area. He is also a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the South Carolina Native Plant Society, the Lake and Watershed Association, the Exotic Plant Council, the Coastal Conservation League and the Nature Conservancy.

Thomas is an avid gardener and lectures frequently on the subject of native plants. He has been a featured speaker at the Georgia Southern Botanical Gardens, University of Georgia, the Cullowhee Native Plant Conference, and at numerous Garden Clubs and Master Gardener classes.