Staff + Board - Conservation Trust for North Carolina

Board of Directors

As a statewide organization, we strive to represent the diversity of our state's demographics among members of our Board leadership. CTNC strives for its Board of Directors to represent the rich and diverse population of the state we serve. If you have questions or wish to express interest in board service, please email a member of our staff.

Joe Vrabel, President
Adjunct Professor of Law
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Bio

Mr. Vrabel joined the Board in 2020 and is an attorney who currently teaches Business Law in the MBA program at the University of North Carolina School of Business. He has served on numerous not-for-profit boards of directors in leadership roles for over 35 years. He also serves as one of the Presiding Justices in the International Criminal Court's Moot Court program (in The Hague, Netherlands), participated in by more than 100 law schools around the world. As a fly fishing enthusiast, he is fully committed to the responsible and resilient conservation projects initiated and developed by CTNC across North Carolina and the national leadership role CTNC has taken in those efforts.

Kathy Hamilton Stamper, Vice President
Teaching Associate Professor
Emerita N.C. State University

Bio

Kathy has been a Board member since 2019 and currently serves as Chair of the DEI Committee and Member of the Executive Committee and Land Protection Committee. She has more than 40 years of professional experience connected to sustainable management of natural resources through a variety of positions in VA and NC, most recently as faculty for the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management Department in the College of Natural Resources at NCSU, where she retired after 25 years. As a Board Member, Kathy loves helping to secure and expand natural areas in NC for appreciation and enjoyment of others, including her children and six grandchildren, with whom she loves spending time outdoors.

Bill Leslie, Immediate Past President
Anchor/Reporter/Musician
WRAL-TV

Bio

Ebony Perkins, Treasurer
Managing Director for Investor Relations and Capital Aggregation
NeighborWorks Capital

Bio

Ebony Perkins is a dedicated, solution-oriented social entrepreneur whose heartbeat is community. She has a demonstrated ability of working with investors and philanthropists to help them make smart and strategic decisions. As Managing Director at NeighborWorks Capital, Ebony manages their overall capital strategy and works with investors to help them support local communities across the United States. Prior to this role, she served as Director of Impact Investments at United Healthcare and advanced their national social impact and investment strategy and enhanced their philanthropic efforts. She has also served as the Vice-President of Investor Relations at Self-Help, one of the largest community development financial institutions in the nation. While there, Ebony lead and grew a national team that helps groups and individuals invest funds in a socially responsible financial institution that supports communities of all kinds, especially those underserved by conventional lenders.

Ebony holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Claflin University as a summa cum laude graduate. She also has an Executive Certificate in Financial Planning from Duke University.

Dodd Haynes, Secretary
CPA, Retired

Bio

A board member since 2020, Dodd Haynes currently serves as the CTNC Secretary. Dodd, a former CFO, lives in the Charlotte metro area. Since he returned home to North Carolina in 2019, Dodd has sought ways to protect the Blue Ridge Mountains where he grew up hiking, camping and bicycling. CTNC has provided him with opportunities to protect land across NC for future generations to enjoy. Professionally, Dodd has served in executive roles at several North Carolina companies including Mood Media/ Muzak, Family Dollar Stores, Goodrich, and Price Waterhouse. Dodd participated in the Arts and Science Council Leadership Training program and previously served on the Board of Directors of the Carolina Raptor Center and the Muzak Heart and Soul Foundation. Dodd holds an undergraduate degree from UNC and a Masters degree from Duke University.

Frederick William Annand
Retired, Director of Conservation Resources
The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Chapter

Bio

During Fred’s forty-five-year career with The Nature Conservancy, he was instrumental in protecting important natural area across North Carolina, including Panthertown Valley, Grandfather Mountain, Chimney Rock, Bat Cave and the New River Amphibolite Mountains.

His efforts included the protection of rare maritime forests at Bald Head Island, Buxton, Nags Head and Kitty Hawk Woods, as well as important habitat at the Green Swamp, Roanoke and the Black Rivers. He also aided the Conservancy’s International Program with projects in east Africa and Micronesia.

Fred was instrumental in crafting a novel agreement with the U.S Army at Fort Bragg resulting in the protection of endangered species habitat surrounding the installation. This resulted in the recovery and de-listing of the Federally- endangered Red Cockaded Woodpecker in the N.C. Sandhills. In 2002, this agreement became the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program, enacted and funded by Congress. The REPI program to date has protected more than 1.3 million acres of critical habitat surrounding military bases from North Carolina to Hawaii.

In retirement, Fred enjoys traveling with his wife, Joy, mountain trekking, birding, and when conditions are favorable, surfing.

Sarah Guidi
Director of Community Engagement
Triangle Community Foundation

Bio

Sarah joined the Board in 2025, bringing nearly twenty years of experience in the nonprofit sector. A social worker by training, Sarah found herself working with small nonprofits in Eastern North Carolina through The Conservation Fund. She also spent time working at a small but mighty nonprofit in Washington, DC that leveraged community-generated media to educate residents about land use, housing, and transportation systems there. Currently, Sarah works at Triangle Community Foundation, helping connect dedicated donors to strong nonprofits to help make the Triangle a place where everyone can thrive. Sarah lives in Durham with her two kids, husband, and dog, Kevin.

Mozine Lowe
Executive Director
Center for Energy Education

Bio

In 2017 Mozine Lowe was appointed Executive Director of The Center for Energy Education (C4EE). The Center for Energy Education is a nonprofit organization that provides education and training to support the growth of renewable energy in communities. Under her leadership C4EE has become a recognized organization for its strong focus on rural communities in providing several programs to include community engagement, K-12 educational programs, and workforce development training. Mozine was also instrumental in developing programs for government officials to prepare them for the growth of renewable energy in their communities. A vast number of these programs focused on the economic benefits of renewable energy, as well as the disadvantages rural communities suffer from dealing with climate change. Mozine has a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology/Social Work from North Carolina A&T State University. She has also completed AT&T’s two-year Organization Effectiveness Program and is a certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Trainer.

Charlie McGoogan
CPA
First Citizens Bank

Bio

Charlie joined the CTNC Board in 2025. He has been a CPA for over 10 years with primary focus areas of audit, data analytics, and the financial industry. He has an enormous love and appreciation for the outdoors of North Carolina, fostered through years of running around Blowing Rock, Charlotte, and Raleigh. Participating in the Blue Ridge Relay multiple times has also illuminated, in its own special way, how terrific the Blue Ridge Parkway is. He is excited to help preserve the state's natural beauty for future generations to enjoy through CTNC. Outside of work, he is blessed with a wonderful wife and two great kids, as well as an angelic dog.

John Noor
Attorney
Roberts & Stevens P.A.

Bio

John Noor is a litigation attorney focusing on environmental law, complex business litigation, governmental affairs, and public policy.

John has been involved in cases concerning a broad range of companies from multi-billion-dollar financial institutions to small, closely-held family businesses. In his environmental practice, John has worked on Brownfields Redevelopment, permitting under the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act, nuisance actions, administrative rulemake, oil and natural gas leasing, and energy performance contracting.

John, a North Carolina native, serves the Asheville community as a volunteer domestic violence attorney with Pisgah Legal Services and is a member of UNC Asheville’s National Alumni Council. John, and his wife, Carolina, currently reside in Asheville.

Brandon A. Robinson
Attorney

Bio

Brandon A. Robinson is a North Carolina attorney, focusing on corporate/business law, estate planning, business litigation and international business. For the past 12 years, he has also been an active board member, having held leadership roles with various nonprofits, including prior service on CTNC's Board of Directors from 2016 to 2025, with two years as Board President, from 2022 to 2024. In addition to CTNC, Brandon has served as President of the Durham County Bar Association; the North Carolina Bar Association Board of Governors; the North Carolina Bar Foundation Board of Directors; and the Western Carolina University Foundation Board. Brandon currently is Chairman of the Board of the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, one of Durham's premier classical music ensembles, and was recently elected by his Durham legal colleagues to the North Carolina State Bar Council. An active member of the American Bar Association's Business Law, International Law, and Real Property, Trust and Estate Law sections, Brandon is an engaged citizen-lawyer who has been broadly recognized for his commitment to pro bono service and charity work, in support of the rule of law. In Washington, D.C., he is active in the Washington Foreign Law Society. Brandon earned a B.A. in European history and M.A. In American history from Western Carolina University, and a J.D. from North Carolina Central University School of Law.

Julia Truelove
Senior Director, Tax Reporting & Planning
Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.

Bio

Julia joined the CTNC Board in 2022, bringing more than 30 years’ worth of finance and accounting knowledge and non-profit board leadership experience. She developed a passion for sustainability through programs she has spearheaded at Martin Marietta, and is excited to learn from, promote, and support the incredible work of CTNC. When not working or volunteering, Julia enjoys spending time exploring new places with her friends and family.

Jamie Whitlock
Senior Attorney
Southern Environmental Law Center

Bio

Jamie Whitlock is an environmental litigation attorney with over 20 years of experience focusing on Clean Water Act and other federal citizen suit litigation, litigation related to pollution from toxic chemicals including PFAS, and other complex environmental damage litigation.

Jamie, a native of upstate South Carolina but long time resident of Western North Carolina, resides with his wife, also named Jamie, in Asheville.

Andrew B. Zavaleta
Real Estate Attorney
Kennon Craver, PLLC

Bio

Andrew Zavaleta is a real estate attorney at Kennon Craver, PLLC in Durham, NC, where he specializes in commercial real estate.

Before entering law, Andrew was an associate at Blue Cross NC, collaborating closely with the strategy, policy, and human resources teams. Andrew is also an alumnus of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Future Public Health Leaders Program at the University of Michigan and of PepsiCo’s Larry D. Thompson Legacy of Leadership Fellowship.

Outside of work, Andrew is a dedicated volunteer and Eagle Scout with a wide range of experience, including serving as a federal prison visitation volunteer and as a water distributor during the Flint water crisis. These experiences deepened his understanding of social and environmental justice and broadened his capacity to empathize with communities in times of need. When he’s not working or volunteering his time, Andrew enjoys gardening, camping, and watching college sports.

Andrew holds degrees in Political Science and Global Studies from UNC Chapel Hill and earned his law degree summa cum laude from the North Carolina Central University School of Law.

Staff

COVID-19 RESPONSE: While CTNC does not currently mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for its staff and volunteers, we highly encourage all who can to be vaccinated for the safety of themselves, colleagues, their families, and the communities we serve. Based on self-reporting, 100% of current staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Are you interested in joining our team? Browse open positions here.

See below for a staff email directory. If you are not sure who to contact, please email info@ctnc.org.

Cynthia Satterfield

Executive Director
cynthia@ctnc.org

Bio

Driven by a passion for her home state, its nature, and its people, Cynthia Satterfield leads CTNC in finding just equitable solutions to land conservation. A native North Carolinian who grew up on the banks of the Eno River, Cynthia believes that building climate and community resilience, improving health outcomes, and ensuring economic prosperity for all North Carolinians are critical. Cynthia graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a BA in English and Anthropology and earned her MBA from East Carolina University.

Anna Behnke

Conservation Outreach Associate
communications@ctnc.org

Bio

Anna supports CTNC’s communications and outreach goals by creating content and storytelling efforts to engage the public with CTNC’s mission to build resilient, just communities. She focuses on highlighting the importance of finding conservation solutions to address the impacts of climate change. Anna graduated from North Carolina State University with a B.S. in Conservation Biology. In her spare time, Anna enjoys working on crochet projects, spending time with her two cats, photographing wildlife, beachcombing, exploring trails in NC's parks, and surfing.

Aaron Flannery

Western Conservation Manager
aaron@ctnc.org

Bio

Aaron joined CTNC in January 2023 and primarily conducts field work as a member of the Land Protection department. With a strong emphasis on establishing and maintaining positive relationships within the communities of Western North Carolina, most of his duties are heavily tied to conservation efforts in proximity to the Blue Ridge Parkway and U.S. Forest Service lands. In addition to advocating for the preservation of natural mountain environments for CTNC, Aaron is also responsible for conducting interpretative and educational programming as Park Naturalist at Mount Mitchell State Park, the highest point east of the Mississippi River.

Aaron holds a life-long passion for learning, having earned a B.S. in Organizational Leadership and a M.A. in School Counseling. In previous years, he has served Appalachian students as a school counselor, with specific areas of interest including geographic isolation, rural poverty, and the first-generation college experience. Living in the Blue Ridge Mountains often leads Aaron into the outdoors for exploration and there you may find him hiking to scenic vistas and waterfalls or fishing for brook trout in a cold-water stream. Aaron has a strong appreciation for Appalachian culture and an enthusiastic interest in traditional mountain music, whereas he studies old-time banjo locally with other musicians.

Hallie French

Donor Engagement Manager
hallie@ctnc.org

Bio

Hallie joined the CTNC team in 2024 where she serves as Donor Engagement Manager. Born and raised in the heart of rural Eastern North Carolina, Hallie grew up with a deep love for her home state and the natural beauty of the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula. Hallie is equally passionate about serving the people who live, love, and struggle in our state. After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill with a BA in English and a minor in Literature, Medicine, and Culture, she served two AmeriCorps terms focused on education and literacy access, the first of which she served in her home community. Hallie joins the CTNC team on the heels of her time at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she worked on programs related to innovation, economic development, and fundraising. In her free time, you can find her curled up with a book, hiking along the Eno, making art, writing, and adding new birds to her life list. She and her two cats, Max and Dot, are based in Carrboro.

Beth Mullenberg

Resilience Program Director

beth@ctnc.org

Bio

Beth serves as a Resilience Program Director, supporting projects across North Carolina by identifying needs, helping to parse big dreams into bite-sized goals, and pulling the details into a bigger picture. She has a B.S. degree from NC State in Floriculture, is a certified Project Management Professional, and is a member of ICF. She’s relentlessly curious about just about everything, thinks all food tastes better outside, and will lovingly challenge every established norm. She lives outside of Raleigh with her husband, two nearly grown children, and a dog that thinks he can fly.

Rusty Painter

Land Protection Director
rusty@ctnc.org

Bio

Rusty oversees CTNC’s land protection efforts along the Blue Ridge Parkway and our collaborative partnerships with local land trusts. Rusty holds a master's degree in forestry and a Master of Environmental Management from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Wake Forest University. In his spare time, Rusty enjoys activities with his wife, son, and dog including hiking, canoeing, and mountain biking. His passion for conservation stems from a lifelong enjoyment of outdoor activities.

Stephen Payne

Finance Director
info@ctnc.org

Bio

Steve manages CTNC’s finance department. Steve graduated from Rutgers with a BS degree in accounting. He started his career spending over nine years in a CPA firm before moving on to the nonprofit world. Steve spent 23 years at Integrity House where he rose to the position of VP-Finance before two stints as Controller at other nonprofits. Steve and his wife moved to North Carolina to be closer to their two sons. Steve was the Finance Director at a local Montessori school before joining CTNC. He enjoys driving around the countryside and taking in the local sites.

Erin Witcher

Deputy Director
ewitcher@ctnc.org

Bio

Erin works to build a community of supporters who will partner with CTNC to conserve land in ways that inspire and enable people to build resilient, just communities. She holds a BA from UNC-Chapel Hill and a JD from the Georgia State University College of Law where she focused her studies on property, land use and environmental law. Finding restoration in nature has been a through-line in her life, from spending her childhood summers outside at overnight camp to now taking her own children on family hiking, canoeing, and kayaking adventures. It’s a privilege to connect with people across the state whose support will create a more resilient state and ensure that the places she treasures are preserved for generations to come. Erin, her husband, and three children live in Raleigh with two dogs and - defying the odds - three thriving NC State Fair goldfish.