ACLT Staff & Board of Directors
Greg Bowen, ACLT’s beloved Executive Director, passed away on February 25, 2025. Read our Spring Newsletter, which is dedicated to him and contains over 25 tributes from colleagues and friends.
ACLT is currently accepting applications for the Executive Director position. Read more here.
We have established the Greg Bowen Memorial Fund to support initiatives that reflect Greg’s lifelong mission to protect the environment, preserve cultural history, and ensure access to nature for all.
Autumn Phillips-Lewis, Land Manager
landmanager@acltweb.org
Clara Brill-Carlat, Assistant Land Manager
clara@acltweb.org
Clara joined ACLT in 2021 as a Chesapeake Conservation Corps member and was hired full-time in 2022 as part of the 5-year capacity grant. She grew up in Baltimore and moved to Massachusetts for school, graduating from Smith College with a bachelor’s degree in geoscience. She loves hiking, running, and working on ACLT’s trails.
Miriam Gholl, Community Relations Manager
miriam@acltweb.org
Miriam joined ACLT in June 2019. Prior to that time, she had been retired from the local Planning & Zoning Office, where she worked with Greg for over 30 years. Since retiring in 2011, Miriam had been a part-time social media marketer and webmaster for her husband’s business and spent a good part of the remainder of her time donating similar services to several local non-profits on a volunteer basis. Miriam provides staff support to the Outreach & Membership Committee and coordinates volunteers for events, hikes, etc.
Mary Hoover, SMCA Coordinator for ACLT
mary@acltweb.org
Mary joined ACLT as a Chesapeake Conservation Corps intern in 2021. After working closely with the Southern Maryland Conservation Alliance during her intern year, Mary was hired as full time staff to coordinate ACLT’s regional conservation partnerships, including SMCA and the three “friends groups” currently affiliated with ACLT. Mary grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and after attaining a degree in environmental science from Creighton University moved out east to pursue an environmental career.
Jen Ludlow, Office & Donor Relations Coordinator
Jen joined ACLT in August of 2024 as the Office and Donor Relations Coordinator. She was born in Calvert County and has spent most of her life here. Jen attended the College of Southern Maryland for her Associate Degree of Arts then went on to Towson University, earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education. After graduating from TU as a certified PreK-12 art educator, she taught K-5 art for 11 years. She is a 2024 graduate of the Maryland Master Naturalist program and enjoys volunteering for as many opportunities as she can for ACLT.
2024/2025 Chesapeake Conservation Corp Member
Addie Brown, Chesapeake Conservation Corps Intern/Land Management
Email: addie@acltweb.org
Addie is one of ACLT’s CCCC Members for 2024/2025. She works closely with Autumn and Clara on Land Management projects. Read more about Emily in our Fall 2024 Newsletter.
Devon Burke, Chesapeake Conservation Corps Intern/Farm Manager
Email: devon@acltweb.org
Devon is one of ACLT’s CCCC Members for 2024/2025. She serves as Farm Manager as well as staff to the Diversity & Equity Sub-Committee. Read more about Devon in our Fall 2024 Newsletter
Volunteer Staff
Virginia ‘Ginny’ Murphy, Membership Coordinator
ACLT has relied on Ginny Murphy to coordinate the ACLT membership program since soon after its inception in 1986. Ginny knows many of our members personally and is in an excellent position to keep our database up to date and accurate. She is now a seasoned veteran, working on the third iteration of ACLT’s computerized database. Ginny says, “As for my work with ACLT, I believe deeply in its mission of preservation and I have had a special love for this area since my parents built our cabin at Scientists Cliffs in 1948. As Membership Coordinator, I feel I can at least help in some small way in getting people involved to help with our endeavors.”
ACLT Board of Directors
The ACLT is a nonprofit corporation governed by a Board of Directors that meets bi-monthly. The corporation has an Annual Meeting of the membership each year to report on the business of the corporation and to elect new board members. The Board is served by five standing committees that oversee Land Preservation, Land Management, Outreach & Membership, Administration & Fundraising, and Budget & Finance.
David Farr, President
Department of Agriculture, Biologist, Retired
Dawn Balinski, Vice President
Elected Member of the Calvert County Board of Education
Cheryl Place, CPA, Treasurer
Director of Internal Audit, The Nature Conservancy, Retired
Elizabeth (BL) Johnston, Corporate Secretary
GAO Congressional Affairs Liaison to several Congressional Committees, Retired
Richard Aldrich, CCE/A
Lead Cost Analyst, Naval Solutions Incorporated
Jose’ Ballesteros
Professor of Spanish & Writing, St. Mary’s College
Peter Daly
Pastor, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., Retired
Jan Degeneffe
U.S. Navy, Retired
Bob Field
U.S. Postal Operations Director, Retired
Darlene Harrod
U.S. Department of Navy, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Retired
Ronald Klauda
Division Director at Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Retired
Shirley Knight
U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Retired
Melissa McCormick
Principal Investigator, Senior Scientist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Penny Moran
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, Director of Participant Services, Retired
Nathan (Nate) Novotny
Financial Advisor, Edward Jones Investments
Adam Sampson
Owner, Heartwood Construction Co.
Mark Smith
St. Mary’s County Public Schools Administrator, Retired
Frederick Tutman
Riverkeeper & CEO, Patuxent Riverkeeper
Randi Vogt
Calvert County Department of Planning & Zoning, Principal Planner, Retired
John W. Yoe
U.S. Naval Aviation, Retired
