Gillian Barber is Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s Watershed Protection Fellow. She assists Watershed Protection Specialist Jordan Yu with maintaining CRK’s in-stream litter removal devices and Technical Programs Specialist Ashley Desensi with water quality monitoring in the Middle Chattahoochee region. Additionally, Gillian monitors microplastic contamination in several Atlanta tributaries.

Gillian, a Newnan, GA native, earned a BS in Biology from University of West Georgia and an MS in Biology from University of West Florida. While performing graduate research on the effects of increased rainfall on phytoplankton communities and water quality, Gillian found a passion for water quality improvement and ecosystem health, leading her to join Chattahoochee Riverkeeper in their goal of restoring and conserving the ecological health of the Chattahoochee River watershed.

Gillian currently resides in Newnan, GA. In her spare time, Gillian enjoys painting, crafting, kayaking, and spending time with her corgi, Pippin, and her elderly cat, Misty.

Candace Baumann is the Executive Assistant for Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and brings a wealth of experience and a passion for the environment to her role. Born and raised in Alabama, Candace made Atlanta her home in 2010 after relocating from Florida. A graduate of the University of Alabama, she holds a degree in Marketing Analysis with a minor in Computing Technology Applications.

Candace’s early years were marked by a love for dance and the outdoors. Whether exploring the woods behind her childhood home or spending summers camping, spin fishing at the lake, and hiking the Smoky Mountains, she developed a deep appreciation for nature. Her 20-year career in customer service, with notable stints at Sony in Miami, First Service in Fort Lauderdale, and Orvis in Atlanta, reflects her commitment to excellence and a client-centric approach.

In addition to her professional achievements, Candace is a licensed RYT-200 Yoga instructor. Residing in Buckhead, she embraces an active lifestyle, practicing yoga daily and exploring the great outdoors through walks and hikes in the state parks.

Chris Manganiello es el director de políticas de agua de Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Dirige el programa de suministro de agua de la organización y realiza un seguimiento de la planificación regional del agua en la cuenca del río Chattahoochee. Además, Chris trabaja en iniciativas legislativas para garantizar que haya suficiente agua limpia para comunidades, entornos y economías saludables.
Chris es el autor de un libro, titulado Southern Water, Southern Power: How the Politics of Cheap Energy and Water Scarcity Shaped a Region (The University of North Carolina Press, 2015). El libro va más allá de los conocidos relatos de las inundaciones en el valle del Misisipí y la irrigación en el oeste de los Estados Unidos para revelar la disputada historia del agua en una región que se supone que tiene abundancia.

Originario de Maryland, creció andando en bicicleta en 'arroyos' bordeados de concreto y explorando el paraíso recreativo del río Potomac en el corazón de la región metropolitana de Washington, DC. Después de vivir en la costa de Florida y en las montañas de Carolina del Norte, Chris recibió su doctorado en historia ambiental de la Universidad de Georgia en 2010. Fue miembro de la Institución Smithsonian y miembro de la facultad de la Universidad de Georgia y Georgia Gwinnett College. Chris ha publicado en Journal of the History of Biology, Journal of Southern History and Southern Cultures, y fue coeditor, con Paul S. Sutter, de Environmental History and the American South: A Reader (University of Georgia Press, 2009).

De 2012 a 2016, Chris se desempeñó como director de políticas en Georgia River Network, donde involucró y empoderó a ciudadanos, grupos de ríos y otros socios para defender las protecciones de ríos locales, estatales y federales.

These days, Chris walks with his wife and two young children in Atlanta’s neighborhood parks. When he can find time, he enjoys mountain biking throughout Georgia and wandering the southern Appalachians’ National Forests.

The daughter of a native Atlantan, Carol grew up in a small South Carolina community on the banks of the Savannah River. Summers in Atlanta with her dad often included shootin’ the Hooch and frequent whitewater rafting trips on the Ocoee and Chattooga rivers.

Carol received her B.A. in Communications from Georgia State University and her A.A.S. in Accounting from Gwinnett Technical College. Before coming to CRK, she held accounting and tax preparation positions in the private sector and with small local corporations. She was also the inaugural Sustainability Coordinator implementing the Zero Waste program at LiveNation’s Ameris Bank Amphitheatre.

When not working, Carol can be found volunteering, pet sitting, or spending time with her beloved granddaughter Sophia. She has volunteered with CRK at over eight annual Sweep the Hooch cleanups, the Walk for Water campaign, Back to the Chatt, Down the Hatch film festival, and fundraising for Orvis’ Quality Hooch initiative.

Mike Meyer es el siempre entusiasta Director del Programa de Vigilancia del Agua en los Vecindarios de CRK. Desde trabajar con un equipo de voluntarios y personal para detectar y abordar las fuentes de contaminación en el río Chattahoochee y sus afluentes a través del programa de recuperación y monitoreo más completo e impactante del norte de Georgia, Neighborhood Water Watch, hasta realizar investigaciones de seguimiento, respuestas de línea directa e iniciativas educativas a través de En las capacitaciones y presentaciones de Adopt-A-Stream, a menudo se puede encontrar a Mike trabajando codo con codo con la comunidad o hasta el pecho en nuestras vías fluviales locales realizando inspecciones de campo de primera mano.

Originario de Buffalo, Nueva York, Mike conoció por primera vez los problemas de calidad del agua de Atlanta en 2001 mientras trabajaba con el programa de AmeriCorps, Southwest Waters. Poco después de graduarse de la Universidad de Oglethorpe con una licenciatura en biología, Mike comenzó una pasantía en CRK, lo que lo llevó a trabajar en el Departamento de Programas Técnicos. Un ávido ambientalista, especialista capacitado en protección de cuencas hidrográficas e inspector certificado de control de sedimentos y erosión, Mike está interesado en trabajar para mejorar las vías fluviales urbanas y los espacios verdes.

Apoya el entusiasmo cada vez mayor de Atlanta por conservar y recuperar sus espacios naturales para la vida silvestre y las personas por igual. Mike, residente desde hace mucho tiempo y partidario de las comunidades transitables de Atlanta, prefiere un vecindario en el que pueda obtener “una paleta helada, un taco y un video, todo en la misma cuadra”.

Rosemary Pitrone is the Communications Manager for Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. A Georgia native, she received a degree in literature, media and communications from Georgia Tech and went on to work at Emory University, where she helped develop communications focused on health sciences research.

As Communications Manager, Rosemary’s role includes managing Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s website, social media, and supporting various print and digital publications. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking and kicking back in a hammock with a good book.

Jess Sterling es el director de programas técnicos de Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Ella administra el programa de Protección de Arroyos y Comunidades de la Contaminación Industrial (PSCIP) de CRK y otros proyectos de monitoreo e investigación. Recibió su licenciatura de la Universidad de Ohio en 2003 y obtuvo su maestría de la Escuela de Ecología Odum de la Universidad de Georgia en 2012. Para su tesis de maestría, estudió los efectos de la contaminación de fuentes difusas en los ecosistemas de arroyos urbanos en el Oconee superior cuenca del río.
Antes de la escuela de posgrado, Jess realizó investigaciones en el Departamento de Agricultura de EE. UU. y en la Universidad de Georgia en Athens, Georgia. Participó activamente en la comunidad ambiental de Athens, sirviendo como presidenta de Upper Oconee Watershed Network (UOWN) y en el Comité de Conservación del Agua del Condado de Athens-Clarke.

Jess es originaria de Toledo, Ohio, y desarrolló un amor por el agua durante los veranos que pasaba con su familia en el lago Erie. Se mudó a Georgia en 2003, comenzó a remar con amigos y se enamoró de los diversos ríos de Georgia. Jess ahora vive en el vecindario Kirkwood de Atlanta con su esposo, Ben, y sus tres hijos pequeños.

Stephanie Stutts is the Staff Attorney for Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. She supports Executive Director Juliet Cohen and Riverkeeper Jason Ulseth in coordinating and implementing CRK’s programs monitoring and protecting water quality on the river and its tributaries. Additionally, Stephanie manages CRK’s general legal affairs, oversees the organization’s litigation efforts in conjunction with outside counsel, and assists the staff in monitoring and ensuring that discharges from industrial operations into the Chattahoochee River watershed comply with state and federal law.

Stephanie earned a BA in Environmental Studies and Psychology from Emory University, and a JD from the University of Georgia, where she continued to pursue her passion for environmental policy and justice. Before joining CRK, Stephanie served as a Staff Attorney for the Alcovy Judicial Circuit.

In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys exploring the great outdoors with her dog, Riley, and foraging for mushrooms along the way.

Christina York es la administradora de la base de datos de CRK. Se graduó Summa Cum Laude de la Universidad Estatal de Georgia en 2002, con una especialización en Filosofía y una especialización en Ciencias Políticas.
Christina se encariñó con el río Chattahoochee después de pasar mucho tiempo durante la escuela secundaria en Vickery Creek, que estaba justo al final de la calle de su escuela. Además de sus intereses en el espacio y la astronomía, es una ávida lectora y amante de la música, tocando el piano la mayor parte de su vida.

Christina vive en Cumming con su esposo, Eric; sus hijos, Xander y Cora.

Jordan is Chattahoochee Riverkeeper’s Watershed Protection Specialist in our Smyrna office. Born in Washington state, Jordan received a B.A. from Reed College for Environmental Studies ­– Chemistry before settling in Atlanta. After working for CRK as a Communications Intern, he joined as a full-time staff member in 2019.

Jordan now manages CRK’s Trash Trap Program as part of our Trash-Free Chattahoochee campaign. He can be found at CRK’s outreach events, giving educational seminars, and hosting rain barrel workshops. In collaboration with our development team Jordan expands CRK’s social media reach with photography and videography. Lastly, he assists in water quality monitoring across the Metro Atlanta area through our BacteriAlert, CASSI, and Neighborhood Water Watch Programs.

A Georgia native, Ashley is a biology graduate of the Natural Sciences Master’s Program at Columbus State University. She is a passionate naturalist with a love for botany and all things wild and has completed environmental surveys and projects in the Bahamas, Tanzania, and the Southeastern United States. She is a member of many environmental groups and serves as board member for the Middle Chattahoochee Sierra Club. She works with local groups on conservation and restoration projects using native plants and is on the committee for Whispering Hills Nature Preserve and Green Cemetery in LaGrange, GA.

Ashley interned with CRK in Fall of 2019, working with water quality sampling in Columbus, and joined as a full-time staff member in January 2020. She is currently the Technical Programs Specialist for CRK and oversees water quality monitoring in the Middle Chattahoochee region as well as construction stormwater monitoring, industrial stormwater permitting, wastewater, GIS mapping, trash trap operations, and more.

Ashley has spent time as an educator through Columbus State University’s graduate teaching assistant program, and now works part-time as an educator in the College of Letters and Sciences at Columbus State. She works to mentor both undergraduate and graduate students of the sciences and serves as committee member for various research projects. She co-founded the Native Plant Coalition, a native plant education non-profit in 2023, which she runs with her wife, Veronica. In her spare time, she and her family enjoy camping, hiking, and botanizing throughout the Southeastern US and beyond.

As Deputy Director, Henry oversees outreach efforts and communications for the organization. He also manages fundraising, donor stewardship and programs specific to the Middle Chattahoochee region.

Henry grew up in Decatur, Georgia, attended LaGrange College and graduated in 2013 with a degree in History. He interned with Chattahoochee Riverkeeper before assuming a full-time role with the organization in August 2013. In 2020, he was named to Georgia Trend Magazine’s Georgia 40 Under 40 list.

Henry and his wife Robin live on twelve acres between LaGrange and Columbus, and along with his work for CRK, pursues photography, documentary filmmaking and music.

A teacher at heart, Anna serves as an instructor for CRK’s West Point Lake Floating Classroom program aboard the Miss Sally while also handling scheduling and programs. She is also a part-time art teacher at Hillside Montessori School of LaGrange.

A Georgia native and lifelong nature explorer, Vanisha Strahota first learned about Chattahoochee Riverkeeper while pursuing a B.S. in biology at Columbus State University (CSU). After graduation, she joined CRK as an intern and later as our first Columbus Technical Programs Fellow at our newly established CSU lab space.

Vanisha’s talents are best described by CSU professor Dr. Mike Newbrey: “She is bright, dedicated, broadly trained, and an excellent problem solver, making her predisposed to diagnose and identify complex environmental problems using science and technology.”

When not investigating water quality issues in Columbus and Phenix City, Vanisha enjoys working as a veterinary assistant and spending quality time with her toddler and her husband Alan.