About us
Our Team
Mariah Hughes
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
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.
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