ACLT Staff

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.

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. We are continuing to take donations to the fund.

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Autumn Phillips-Lewis, Land Manager

landmanager@acltweb.org

Autumn joined ACLT in May of 2014. She has a BS in Environmental Science from Elizabethtown College and a MS in Applied Ecology and Conservation Biology from Frostburg State University. For her Masters research, Autumn investigated the influence of tree-fall gaps on directional seed dispersal by small mammals in Neotropical forests in Panama. Prior to this, she did research on carbon sequestration at Elizabethtown College and worked at the Penn State Cooperative Extension Horticulture and Pollinator education and research programs. Autumn also serves as the chair of the Calvert County Forestry Board. In her free time, Autumn likes going on outdoor adventures with her husband and their two golden retrievers.

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

Jen@acltweb.org

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 Members

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.

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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

ACLT is a nonprofit corporation governed by a Board of Directors that meets bi-monthly. The corporation has an annual membership meeting 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

Treasurer, Maryland Forestry Foundation

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

ACLT Publications

ACLT Annual Reports

2024 Annual Report (published March 2025)
2023 Annual Report (published March 2024)
2022 Annual Report (published March 2023)
2021 Annual Report (published March 2022)
2020 Annual Report (published March 2021)