Staff
Mark Shelley - Director
I am just a country boy from what was then the small town of Waynesboro, Virginia -- where the Blue Ridge shot straight up out of my backyard and provided no shortage of adventures.
When I was a young lad, my mother informed me that there was Mic Mac Indian in my blood lines. Apparently, my Great, Great, Great Grandmother (way back) wandered too far off of the beaten path and got mixed up with a white man -- a French fur trader. Armed with this knowledge, I was able to run through the woods quicker and quieter. This was the spark that established a personal connection with the natural world.
After Air Force and school, I joined the world of the working stiffs and spent over 10 years managing, marketing and consulting for hotels and resorts all across the nation. The turning point for me was an incident with a distraught guest (in downtown Los Angeles, no less) who was missing a towel in her room. No offense to anyone in the hotel industry, but it forced me to think about how important what I was doing was within the larger scheme of things.
Why couldn't I use my experience from the business world and apply it to not-for-profit organizations who are trying to make the world a better place? I went back to school to shore up my "science" and to start a new career where I hoped the bottom line had more to do with ensuring healthy communities and the resulting quality of life that that provides. Certainly, these organizations could benefit from being run like a business.
And so, I find myself working for the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition -- coordinating, collaborating and communicating with some of the greatest people working on forest policy in the Southeast. It is a great opportunity to bring folks together and strengthen the efforts of conservation efforts throughout the region. I have spent over 10 years working with organizations, communities and individuals who are genuinely interested in protecting the legacy of our southeastern forests.
I have come full circle - still to running in the woods and striving to protect and restore them for generations to come. Living in WNC for over eight years has been a homecoming. When it comes time, I will let my own son know that he has Native American ancestry. Hopefully, I will have played a major role in providing him forests that he can run through.
I trust that this country boy has done his Grandmother proud.
Hugh Irwin - Programs Director/Conservation Planner
Hugh Irwin has been SAFC's Conservation Planner and Geographical Information Systems expert since 1995. He received his B.A. in Physics and Math from Vanderbilt University. He holds an M.S. in Forestry (Forest Ecology) from the University of Tennessee. He has held numerous volunteer positions with the Sierra Club including Tennessee Chapter Chair, Conservation Chair, and Forestry Committee Chair. He was one of the founders of the Sierra Club's Southern Appalachian Highlands Ecoregion Program, and was also one of the founders of Cherokee Forest Voices, which monitors activities on Cherokee National Forest. He has worked for over twenty years in public lands issues, particularly relating to southern Appalachian biological diversity. Irwin's interests have increasingly focused on long-term biodiversity issues and the development of regional and landscape conservation proposals to protect and restore the Southern Appalachian's rich biological heritage. Irwin has authored and co-authored a number of published works relating to bioreserves, biodiversity, and the region's remarkable biological values.
Mark Miller - Virginia Wilderness Organizer
coming soon...
Joshua Kelly - old growth field coordinator
I was born in the Spring Creek section of Madison County, NC and my earliest memories are of playing in the forests and streams near my family home. My sense of place and connection with nature have always been an important source of growth and renewal for me, and as a way to better understand the natural world, I pursued and received a degree in biology with a focus on botany from UNC-Asheville.
During my studies I had the fortune to accompany my botany professor, Dr. H. David Clarke, on two plant collecting expeditions to the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana, and follow up by identifying many of the specimens at the National Herbarium of the Smithsonian Institution. Studying botany in these ancient highlands of South America, with their unusual concentration of endemic species and highly relictual flora, deepened my appreciation for and understanding of the Southern Blue Ridge. It turns out my native highlands also draw much of their diversity from being a crossroads and refuge for a diverse mix of northern and southern flora and fauna.
Also during my college years I became interested in the places in the mountains that were the least impacted by human activity. Exploratory trips to rugged and remote locations led me to places that seemed untouched. When I learned of the field work and historical research that Rob Messick was doing to verify the existence of primary forest in the Southern Blue Ridge, I was fascinated and inspired. So, upon completion of my undergraduate studies, I was generously supported by the New Leaf Fund to collaborate with Rob Messick and SAFC in compiling an inventory of old-growth forest on public lands in the Blue Ridge. So, my adult years have so far mirrored by childhood: I continue to play in the forests and mountains I have always loved, in search of the highest quality forests in our region. When I find them, I describe and document them, and hope that by doing so and sharing what I find with the public, that permanent protection of all old-growth forest in the National Forests of the Southern Blue Ridge can be achieved.
Jeff Hunter
Recently I joined SAFC as our Tennessee Field Organizer. Let me tell you a bit about myself.
Growing up in New York State, I split time between my Mom's house in suburban Rockland County, and my Dad's cabin in rural Greenwood Lake. At 'the lake', I learned to hike, fish, shoot, swim, ice skate, forage for berries, and enjoy the great outdoors. It was truly a paradise for a young person. While the area around the cabin has remained relatively unchanged over the years, watching the woods and wetlands around my Mom's home become transformed into shopping malls and subdivisions had a profound effect on me.
As time passed and I grew into adulthood, I found myself working as a Manager for the telephone company. In 1989 my wife Suzanne and I, along with our four daughters, relocated to Warwick, New York - just over the hill from Greenwood Lake. In the 90s when I learned of plans to build 14,000 homes and 8 million square feet of commercial office space in nearby Sterling Forest, I was inspired to act. My experience as a volunteer forest activist had a profound effect on me; especially when we were successful in our efforts to protect all of Sterling Forest. During this period, I also became involved with the effort to protect tropical rainforest ecosystems, and got to spend time with forest activists from around the world. These were inspiring times.
In 2000, I fulfilled a long held dream when I walked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. That experience set into motion my exit from the corporate world. When I received my bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies from SUNY Empire State College in 2002, I was finally in a position to align my values with my career. In 2003 we relocated to Chattanooga, and I accepted a five year position with American Hiking Society as their Southeast Trail Programs Director.
My time with American Hiking was fun and challenging. During those five years I worked with an array of dedicated volunteers and hiked many hundreds of miles in our National Forests here in the southeast. I also had the pleasure of working in partnership with SAFC staffers Hugh Irwin and Joshua Kelly. I was struck by their professionalism and deep knowledge of, and love for the forests of southern Appalachia. When the opportunity presented itself to become a member of the team, I didn't hesitate.
Over the coming months, I'll be working with individuals, organizations and communities to implement the SAFC's conservation vision here in Tennessee. As part of that effort, I'll be leading a series of day hikes and overnight trips in various Wilderness areas in east Tennessee. I hope that you'll consider joining me on one or more of these outings. Together, we can experience the beauty of the Great Forest, and work together to secure its lasting protection. I look forward to seeing you out on the trail!