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Our Team

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Mariah Hughes

Water Resources Program Manager

Ivy River Partners

Shade Your Stream

Mariah has lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains her whole life, except for a few years when she was earning her graduate degree at NCSU in science education. A background in environmental sciences and work with nonprofits, a renewable energy start-up, and government agencies has prepared Mariah for the varied tasks at hand in resource conservation work. She joined Mountain Valleys in 2014 to help manage the formation of the Ivy River Partners watershed group and continues to coordinate the development of this project. She also manages Shade Your Stream and other water quality projects for Mountain Valleys.

Council Members

Russell Blevins, Madison County

Richard Smith, Polk County

Andrew Brannon, Henderson County

Bob Carter, Buncombe County

Robert Watts, Buncombe County

Maurice McAlister, Madison County

Barbara Meliski, Rutherford County

Ashley Wooten, McDowell County

Loring McIntyre, Buncombe County

John Vining, Polk County

Albert Moore, Rutherford County

Lex Garey, Rutherford County

David Caldwell, Cleveland County

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Mariah Hughes

Executive Director

Mariah has lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains her whole life, except for a few years when she was earning her graduate degree at NCSU in science education. A background in environmental sciences and work with nonprofits, a renewable energy start-up, and government agencies has prepared Mariah for the varied tasks at hand in resource conservation work. She joined Mountain Valleys in 2014 to help manage the formation of the Ivy River Partners watershed group and continues to coordinate the development of this project. She also manages Shade Your Stream and other water quality projects for Mountain Valleys.

Kaila Christensen

Program Manager

Kaila came to WNC to serve with AmeriCorps before joining the Mountain Valleys team. She is from Illinois where she got her degree from Northwestern University in environmental engineering. She brings valuable experience from her time with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Quality Institute. 

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Council Members

Russell Blevins, Madison County

Richard Smith, Polk County

Andrew Brannon, Henderson County

Bob Carter, Buncombe County

Robert Watts, Buncombe County

Maurice McAlister, Madison County

Barbara Meliski, Rutherford County

Ashley Wooten, McDowell County

Loring McIntyre, Buncombe County

John Vining, Polk County

Albert Moore, Rutherford County

Lex Garey, Rutherford County

David Caldwell, Cleveland County

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