Board members include:
Rick Kohler, President
Phil Irwin, Vice President and Founder
Nina McKee, Treasurer
Jeff Christie, Secretary
Board members
Aleta Gadino
Marshall Jones
Joe Keyser
Ron Makela
Jim Manwaring
Bud Meyer
Jeanette Murry
Sam Quinn
- Rick Kohler (President) has served on the RLEP Board for 7 years and was elected president two years ago. He is interested in biodiversity, preserving open spaces and creating strong links for RLEP with other conservation organizations as well as the entire Rappahannock community. Rick works as a real estate broker in Washington, VA, with Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate III. Other information is available at www.rappahannocklife.com.
- Phil Irwin (Vice President) has lived in Rappahannock since 1960 and was the catalyst for the establishment of RLEP formed to oppose a new electric transmission line. He set up the inaugural meeting 15 December 1970 and served as president for 17 years. After 40 years, Phil is also currently on the board as emeritus member.
- Nina McKee (Treasurer)
- Jeff Christie (Secretary) has been visiting Rappahannock regularly for over 30 years to enjoy hiking and the outdoors, and has owned a house in the County with his wife, Paula, since 2002. He is interested in preserving Rappahannock’s natural beauty, open spaces and vistas. Jeff was a transactional attorney specializing in energy and infrastructure projects with a major international law firm until his recent retirement.
- Aleta Gadino became interested in environmental issues while living in CA in the 1970's and early 80's. She has been a supporting member of WWF, The Nature Conservancy, the National Park Foundation, Arbor Day Foundation, and many other organizations relating to natural resources and wildlife. Her love of nature began with camping trips in our western national parks with her family. Her love of gardening, and, later in life, earning an Associates degree in Horticultural Technology continued that connection as she relocated to Northern VA, and finally to Rappahannock County. She is a member of the Rappahannock County Garden Club and a Master Gardener volunteer. If the name Gadino sounds familiar, it may be due to the vineyard she and her husband have nurtured since 1990 and the wines they produce at Gadino Cellars.
- Marshall Jones (Projects Committee) first lived in Rappahannock in 1990 and commuted to his job with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in DC for many years. This is his fourth year on the RLEP board. He is taking the lead on the Green Infrastructure Initiative. Marshall is also interested in building the quality and quantity of the board and encouraging RLEP members to take on specific projects. Marshall works with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute at Front Royal and has a strong personal and professional interest in biodiversity and conservation, locally and internationally.
- Joe Keyser
- Ron Makela (Membership Committee) first became interested in conservation issues as a resident in Arizona in 1970s. Later he took this interest to Virginia Beach, where he worked with the fire department and was involved with planning and zoning issues. He is keen to see RLEP find a strong focus and raise its profile.
- Jim Manwaring with his wife Carolyn, lives on and operates a family beef cattle farm that has been in the family since 1948. He worked 30 years as a manufacturing engineer at the Teves plant in Culpeper. Jim feels that keeping family farms viable in the county is key to keeping the open spaces that we all love.
- Larry Bud Meyer (Communications Committee) a five-year resident of Rappahannock County, spent his earliest years on the family’s Holstein dairy farm in northeast Missouri. A career editor and newsman and foundation executive, he is president of Meyer Communications, a strategic communications consultancy for foundations and nonprofits. He retired in 2009 after 14 years as Vice President of Communications and Secretary with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, where he supervised the foundation’s brand and developed its online and print strategies. He is chair emeritus of the Communications Network. Prior to joining Knight Foundation, he spent 14 years as an editor and news executive with The Miami Herald, the last four as executive assistant to the publisher. He is a member of the Rappahannock Lions Club.
- Jeanette Murry (Communications Committee) recently completed a Masters in Sustainability Sciences and holds a Masters in Management (both from Australian Universities). She has developed learning programs in climate change and sustainability in her role as a Senior Knowledge & Learning Specialist at the World Bank. Jeanette is also a LEAD International Associate, a CERT member for Arlington and trained as a Virginia Master Naturalist.
- Sam Quinn (Projects Committee) is the conservation manager at the Farm at Sunnyside. He is qualified in and has a strong interest in landscape ecology and spatial modeling.