Staff
Stewards East • Beckley, West Virginia Office Staff
John-Michael Aurednik (he/him/his) is a native to West Virginia, born in Beckley and raised in Fayetteville. He grew up in the area hiking the Appalachians, swimming in the New and Meadow Rivers, and has deep ties to several communities in the Mountain State. After completing his undergraduate degree in English from West Virginia University he went back to school after a gap year to complete the Master of Public Administration program, graduating in December 2018. During that time, John-Michael also served as a two-term VISTA, helping to support a neighborhood organizing initiative in Fairmont, West Virginia, the creation of a new graduate certificate in community development policy and practice, and supported WVU’s student volunteerism advisory board. When he’s not in the office, John-Michael can be found running along the trails or a zipline tour through a local adventure outfitter.
John-Michael Aurednik
Program Coordinator
April (she/her/hers) has been involved in National Service Program Management since 2007 when she became the first staff member hired to lead what was then known as the Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team and is now known as Stewards. April holds an M.S. in Strategic Leadership and has a background in nonprofit development. April came to Conservation Legacy following her experience in private education, where she served as Assistant Dean at a college prep high school. There she managed and developed fundraising events, was responsible for student life and parental engagement, and created community service opportunities for the students. In her current role, April provides oversight and management for the delivery of quality programming and meaningful member experiences.
Highlights of April's tenure at Conservation Legacy include design and implementation of bi-annual training events, development of a rural volunteerism toolkit and training series, and leading the expansion of Stewards programs from a regional to a national model. She has presented at numerous national and regional conferences that highlight the work of the OSMRE VISTA program model. April is an active member in her community where she proudly serves as a member of the Beckley Rotary Club, where she serves on the board of directors and incoming Board President (effective 2022). She volunteers with the youth football program by providing positive experiences and opportunities for girls. She most recently was appointed to serve on the Commission for National and Community Service for West Virginia.
April Elkins Badtke
Corps Director
Amberly joined Stewards Individual Placements in March of 2021 as the Training and Logistics Coordinator, now Training Specialist. She is a graduate of Appalachian State University and has since worked exclusively in the nonprofit sector with focuses on youth development, housing and homelessness, and conservation. She is also a VISTA alum and served with Habitat for Humanity of Gallatin Valley in Bozeman, MT. Her deep-rooted curiosity for the world encourages a life of travel and adventure with her husband, two dogs and cat. Few things make her morning better than sunshine, a cup of tea and listening to the local birds sing. She enjoys hiking, reading books, cooking, gardening, and much more.
Amberly Borday
Training Specialist
Raquel Fagundo joined Conservation Legacy as a Program Coordinator for Stewards East in September of 2022. She was born and raised in West Virginia. She graduated with a B.S. degree in Ecology and Evolution from West Liberty University, WV and a M.S. in Biology from Appalachian State University. After working as a Collection’s Manager at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, she transitioned to education, teaching high school Biology and Forensic Science. Throughout this journey, she has taken every opportunity to travel and dipped her toes in every body of water she can find, from the rivers in the neotropics of Costa Rica to the Pacific Ocean in the northwest to every major watershed in the Southeast. She loves her close-knit family: husband/bestie, daughter, son, and two cats. They love spending time together in the kitchen cooking, baking, and playing board games and doing all things outdoors, particularly hiking, foraging, and gardening.
Raquel Fagundo
WV Program Manager
Addie came aboard as a Program Coordinator in the Beckley office in June 2023. Originally from Southern WV, Addie has a bachelor’s degree in social work (BSW) from Concord University (2003) and a master's degree in library Science (MLS) from the University of North Texas (2014). She has done everything from representing youth in court to grooming dogs; from selling insurance to managing a library branch. She considers her favorite job to be the one that still inspires her today—Appalachia Service Project (ASP). The skills she gained in her position there and her love for the mountains where she grew up are what motivated her to come work for Conservation Legacy. When she isn’t at work, Addie can be found enjoying nature with her cats on her back porch or reading books with her young son.
Addie Gilkerson
Program Coordinator
Hello! (Or Howdy!) My name is Autumn Lilly. I am now the Administrative Specialist for Stewards Individual Placement in Beckley WV! I have worked as a Business Admin for about 5 years now. Since 2020 when Covid-19 hit I have been working 100% remote from home. So, I am super excited to be back into an office setting and for the opportunity to bring my skill set to Conservation Legacy. I look forward to where this journey takes me and who I meet along the way!
I have lived in Southern WV all my life in, Mercer, Monroe, Summers, Fayette, AND Raleigh County! Currently I am calling Bluefield WV “home”. I am a Mama of two, Addilyn -5yr and River- 4yr (photo attached). As a mom of two youngins’ I don’t have a lot of time for personal hobbies. But during the summer months you can find the 3 of us outdoors, hiking trails, at the lake, poolside, at Farmers Markets and greenhouses.
My children are obviously my greatest accomplishment in this life and the legacy I’ll leave behind, so my biggest goal is the values I’m instilling in them and shaping who they will become. However, I do have an Ariat boot collection that I’m very proud of, I love poodles, and hope to someday (in the near future) purchase a HOME for the 3 of us and have a little farm of sorts.
Autumn Lilly
Administrative Specialist
Hi, I’m Jack! I’m a program coordinator for the Stewards East Individual Placement program. I began working for conservation legacy on 12/12/2022 as a staff member. I went to college in West Chester, Pennsylvania where I got my degree in Health Science and Sociology from West Chester University in 2019. After college, I was unsure of what I wanted to do and came across a conservation corps on Coolworks.com and decided to give it a try. I started with American Conservation Experience in Asheville in September of 2019 learning all sorts of conservation skills from invasive treatment to trail work. I worked as a Team Leader in AmeriCorps NCCC Pacific Region where I led two separate teams: A team based out of Portland, Oregon where we worked on landscaping with an affordable housing non-profit, and a fuels management team, doing thinning projects in Northern California and fighting Wildfire in the Salmon-Challis national forest in Idaho. Through AmeriCorps NCCC I obtained my red-card, CPR/First Aid/AED, and wildfire chainsaw certification. All of this experience led me to want to manage the next generation of conservation stewards and continue to leave a positive impact on the world from a more behind the scenes role, so here I am! I look forward to continuing to affect positive change, be helpful and stand up for our beautiful earth.
Jack McCann
Program Coordinator
Gwennan (she/her/hers) is a Program Coordinator for Stewards Individual Placements, supporting the Historic Preservation and Trades Program. Gwennan earned her bachelor’s degree at Ohio University, where she studied International Development and Biological Anthropology. Upon graduation, she completed a term of service with AmeriCorps NCCC, Southern Region. Gwennan then spent a number of years in the non-profit realm as a coordinator, fundraiser, and director of after-school programs. Drawn to West Virginia for the whitewater, Gwennan then spent several years as a River Guide and decided to make this her long-term home. She is currently in the process of restoring a historic home in the New River Gorge.
Gwennan Richmond
Program Coordinator
Patricia is a Program Coordinator with the Stewards Individual Placements for the Beckley, WV office. She is a Concord University graduate with a background in research in the biology field. She went to graduate school in Toronto, Canada where she lived in for 8 years. Patricia has traveled extensively around the world but has now settled in Virginia with her husband. She has a passion for anything Science related specifically NASA and had dreams of becoming an astronaut growing up but found herself in the research world. She enjoys swimming trips to exotic islands, Science Fiction, and Old Hollywood movies from the 1930s and 1940s. She can cook anything you ask her to, but she specially loves cooking holiday feasts all-year-round. Patricia believes that you should stay afraid but do it anyways.
Patricia Silva
Program Manager
Jessica Zukowski is a Program Manager for Stewards Individual Placements. A graduate of Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, Jessica received her B.A. in Women’s Studies and African and African American Studies. Jessica is a native of Southern West Virginia, after 9 years in Kentucky she returned home to the Mountain State to complete two years of national service as an AmeriCorps VISTA coordinating the Family Friendly Communities Project in Mount Hope, WV. Prior to coming to Stewards, she worked directly with families as an in-home educator. Jessica believes in the power of national service to lift up and empower communities and enjoys the opportunity to support national service projects across the country. Jessica is also the mother to three beautiful children who keep her very busy.
Jessica Zukowski
Program Director
Stewards West • Remote Offices Staff
Sage Bates (she/her) was born in Las Vegas, Nevada where she grew up with an appreciation for the beauty and harshness of the Mojave Desert. Not being able to choose just one path, Sage studied Communications and Geology at Northern Arizona University. After graduating, she joined the Nevada Conservation Corps and after one season knew that she wanted to pursue a career in the conservation industry. After completing the leadership development program and leading crews, Sage decided she wanted to learn the processes that work behind the scenes to run programming. She began working with The Great Basin Institute as the Recruitment and Compliance Coordinator and then the Marketing and Outreach Coordinator. Wanting a change of scenery, Sage moved to Oregon to work for the Northwest Youth Corps as a Program Coordinator. Sage brings with her a passion for fostering relations with outdoor ambassadors and creating an inclusive industry for all. Outside of work, you can find Sage hiking, trying a new recipe, thrifting, or reading.
Lea Asman Betty (she/her/hers) is from a small river town in Western Oregon. She graduated in 2001 with a B.S. in Natural Resources, emphasis NR Education from Oregon State University. She has worked as a Park Ranger for NPS, BLM and Oregon State Parks, in wildland fire for USFS, among other interesting professions. She joined Conservation Legacy in the spring of 2022 as an enrollment specialist for Stewards Individual Placement Program. When not at work, you can find her with a book in her hands, making art or birdwatching.
Teiyanknei (she/her) started as an Enrollment Specialist with Conservation Legacy in April 2023 as a full time staff member. She is currently pursuing an Applied Business bachelor’s degree with Brigham Young University – Idaho. She is a former National Park Service Ranger, with a collective experience in Historic Preservation, Interpretation and Resource Protection. In between park seasons, Teiyanknei held administrative positions with the Navajo Nation, her homeland! She has also held management roles with non-profits such as Western National Parks Association and Heritage Square Foundation.
Teiyanknei enjoys the outdoors and exploring historic sites with her little family. Some of her hobbies include Navajo weaving, sewing, and baking.
Teiyanknei Chee
Enrollment Specialist
Roddy Cobb Jr (He/Him/His) joined Conservation Legacy as a Stewards West Program Coordinator in May of 2022. He grew up in Southern California and went to school at the University of La Verne were he earned his B.S. in Psychology. Soon after college, his career interests focused on socio-emotional, experiential education, and community service projects with nonprofit organizations that serve youth from underserved communities.
Roddy Cobb Jr.
Program Coordinator
Morgan Ehmling (she/they) was born in Houston and grew up amongst the beaches and bays of the Texas Gulf Coast. After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in Plan II Honors and Sociology, Morgan used her passion for food and the environment to launch her career as a nonprofit professional focused on supporting sustainable farmers in Central Texas. After taking a year to explore North America’s natural wonders, and traveling over 20,000 miles in the process, Morgan became even more passionate about protecting and enhancing our nation’s lands. She joined Stewards Individual Placement in March 2023. Outside of work, Morgan enjoys traveling, SCUBA diving, cooking elaborate meals and collecting new hobbies (stamp carving, spoon whittling, sailing, etc.) because she can never settle on just one.
Morgan Ehmling
Program Coordinator
Geoff (he/him/his) grew up in Connecticut and made his way out west to attend the University of Montana. After graduating, he moved to Estes Park, CO for an education fellowship leading environmental education programs with Rocky Mountain Conservancy. Towards the end of his experience, he shifted his focus to supporting the Conservancy’s youth corps and quickly found his passion for conservation service programs. Geoff spent the last several years leading corps programs, environmental education opportunities, and volunteer experiences for the Conservancy and Colorado Trout Unlimited and completed his M.S. in Conservation Leadership at Colorado State University. He joined Stewards in October 2021 as a Program Director. Outside of work, he serves as a volunteer firefighter for the Glen Haven Area Volunteer Fire Department and enjoys spending time outdoors rafting, fly fishing, camping, and skiing with his family.
James (he/him) joined the incredible team with Stewards Individual Placements in 2022 as a Program Coordinator. Before that he explored a winding road – teaching Latin at University of Arkansas, writing about film theory, developing an invasives program in Montana, coordinating conservation crews with Southeast Conservation Corps, restoring habitat in Grand Teton National Park, prescribed burning Arkansas’ public lands – all while cooking up a storm! James spends his days with his partner kayaking lakes near Hot Springs Village, hiking the Ouachita Mountains, and relaxing with a cadre of incredible dogs.
James Gasaway
Program Coordinator
Ash (she/her) is based in Nashville, TN and came to conservation in 2021 after realizing that she wanted to pursue it as a career instead of just a hobby. She served two AmeriCorps terms, one with Montana Conservation Corps and another as a VISTA and joined Conservation Legacy in early 2023 as a member of the Enrollment Team. She loves to explore the temperate forests of the Southeast and is especially passionate about cave exploration in the region as well. When she isn't wandering outside, she can be found cuddling with her cats and enjoying cooking meals from her garden with her partner.
Ash Adkins Irons
Enrollment Specialist
Ali (she/her/hers) grew up in the mountains of Nederland, Colorado where she spent most of her time romping in the National Forest surrounding her home. Upon leaving Nederland she moved to Southeast Asia to teach English at the Future of Khmer Children in Siem Reap, Cambodia where she acquired her TEFL certification. She returned to Colorado to focus her love of the environment and people into education, and study Environmental Affairs and Communications at Colorado State University. During the summers, she led crews in trail building, fire mitigation, weed mitigation, and flood relief with Lincoln Hills Flyfishing club. After graduating, she joined the Communications Team at Western Resource Advocates where she was able to assist in their efforts to protect the West’s clean air, water, and land through legislative action and policy development. She joined the Stewards Individual Placement Program team as a Program Coordinator in March 2021. She is elated to give her passion a purpose and to play a role in others’ formative conservation experiences. When she’s not working with the Stewards team she enjoys trail running, camping, traveling internationally, rafting, and dancing to live music.
Ali Jones
Program Coordinator
Rachel Robinson (she/they) joined Conservation Legacy as a Community Volunteer Ambassador with the Blue Ridge Parkway from 2023-2024, and began as an Enrollment Specialist in February 2024. Originally from Southern Illinois, Rachel had a very active childhood, growing up going on family hikes and spending lots of time outside. Rachel took a gap year from college in 2018 to serve a year with AmeriCorps Cape Cod, and found a passion for oysters, native plants, and national service. She moved to Asheville, North Carolina after that, and completed her degree in Environmental Studies at UNC Asheville, graduating in May of 2022. As a student, Rachel led the Student Environmental Center, worked with Campus Recreation, and was a leader for the Divest movement. They are passionate about conservation work, and connecting people with the natural world. In her free time, Rachel enjoys spending time outside, playing music, and trying new activities.
Rachel Robinson
Enrollment Specialist
Emma (she/her) joined the Stewards Individual Placements in May 2015. She grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina where she spent most of her time exploring in the woods with her family. This upbringing inspired her to seek out a B.S. in Ecology and Field Biology. Since then, she has traveled down many paths, all with the common theme of helping others become inspired to make a positive difference in the environment. She has had a variety of jobs from being an animal keeper to leading naturalist hikes for kids to being a science museum exhibit educator. Her time with the Stewards Individual Placements has opened her eyes to different avenues of making an environmental impact where she feels grateful to be part of a team that seeks to create meaningful change.
She is the most content when she is mountain biking, crafting, gardening, doing yoga and spending time with her family and her dogs.
Emma Savely
Program Director
Emma was born and raised in Michigan and quickly grew to love the outdoors through hiking and camping with her family in Canada during the summers. After graduating Lake Superior State University in 2015 with a BS in Conservation Biology, Emma began her career as a Crew Member at ACE in Flagstaff, Arizona. From that point on Emma knew that her passion was in environmental stewardship, and engagement. After bouncing around the US gaining experience in the field of Conservation, Emma joined the Conservation Legacy team in 2017 as a Recruitment and Member Support Coordinator with AZCC and is excited about this new opportunity with Stewards. In her free time, you can catch Emma listening to a podcast while hiking, camping with her husband Dan, or snuggling her cat Opal and reading a good book.
Emma Nehan-Springstead
Program Coordinator
Andre (he/him) joined Conservation Legacy as a Program Coordinator in March 2023. As a first-generation Vietnamese-American, he grew up believing success was measured by money and ‘stuff’. It wasn’t until his opening semester of undergraduate where he failed his first macroeconomics exam that he realized his struggle on identifying and characterizing his authentic identity. That same night he switched his major to Animal Behavior and never looked back. After graduating with his Bachelors in 2015, he had the pleasure of working as an ornithologist for multiple academic institutions across the United States and Panama and completed an AmeriCorps program with the Maryland Conservation Corps before moving across the Pacific Ocean to attend the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo in 2019. Andre is passionate about creating opportunities for underrepresented groups that teach valuable career and life skills while instilling a sense of cultural and environmental stewardship. In his free time, he enjoys running, cycling, snorkeling, attending shows and festivals, making art, and drinking all the matcha tea he can put his hands on
Andre Nguyen
Program Coordinator
Originally from Milwaukee, Alex (he/him/his) grew up spending his summers in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, where he developed a deep appreciation for the outdoors and the environment. In 2015, he graduated with a degree in business management and entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Today, Alex serves as a Program Coordinator for Stewards, facilitating environmental internships for young adults in the field. In doing so, he combines both his business expertise and passion for the environment to help Conservation Legacy achieve its mission. As a personal mission, Alex is dedicated to reducing single-use plastics in society today and actively advocates for bold climate legislation via grassroots activism. In his free time, Alex enjoys spending time in the mountains, investing in real estate, doing hot yoga, and seeing his therapist.
Alex Whittow
Program Coordinator