Board of Trustees
Kadie Dean, Chairperson
Kadie Dean grew up hiking, skiing, horseback riding and white-water rafting in the mountains of western Pennsylvania. She is the third generation of her family to share a passion for nature and its conservation. Her father and great uncle were life-time members of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and played an active role in assembling over 11,000 acres for Laurel Ridge State Park and hiking trails.
Six years ago, Kadie and her husband moved permanently to their home outside Blowing Rock, NC in order to hike and enjoy the ever-changing beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She became aware of the need for continuous conservation of open spaces, wildlife habitat and scenic mountain views and found resonance with the mission and capabilities of Blue Ridge Conservancy. She is delighted to be serving on the BRC Land Protection and Stewardship Committee and now the Board of Trustees.
Prior to retiring, she founded and owned Hiring & Development Systems, a human resource management consulting firm where she led a team of consultants and delivered talent acquisition and professional development solutions for U.S. and international clients. She also served as Vice President of Human Resources at a life insurance company in Milwaukee making it a repeated winner of Top Workplaces in Southeastern Wisconsin.
She has a Master of Science in Leadership Studies from Marquette University, a graduate certificate in Dispute Resolution and a B.A. in Business Administration. She also taught at Marquette University in the Leadership and Organizations undergraduate program.
Kadie and her husband Tom O’Brien have a blended family of six children and eight grandchildren and love living in the Blue Ridge mountains.
Patrick Hollowell, Vice Chairperson
Patrick was born and raised in Charlotte, and grew up with a strong appreciation for the North Carolina mountains through summer camps, hiking, biking, and camping trips. He began his career as an IT consultant servicing businesses in the Charlotte area, later building out networks for telecommunications and datacenter providers, and managing engineering services for a regional IT firm, before returning to his freelance roots. Currently, he helps Fortune 500 companies and other large enterprises develop, implement, and maintain their cloud and datacenter platforms. After primarily spending only “the nice months” at their Alleghany County home for several years, Patrick and his partner Laura Paynter became full-time High Country residents in early 2020. They enjoy kayaking on the New River, gardening, live music, and admiring the natural beauty of their farm in all seasons.
Holly Levinson, Secretary
A native of Ohio, Holly is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill (BA in Economics and Political Science 1983. Phi Beta Kappa) and the University of Michigan Law School (1986. Order of the Coif). She worked as a lawyer in Charlotte at Moore and Van Allen, and later at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Hospital Authority (now Atrium Health).
Holly is an active civic leader and community volunteer, with a special interest in the critical need to provide educational and enrichment opportunities to children from all socio economic and racial backgrounds. She served on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Foundation Board and its Children and Youth Committee, and was the board chair of Wayfinders, a local Charlotte non-profit providing residential summer camp experiences and year-round enrichment opportunities and mentoring to underserved children. She remains a volunteer mentor with the organization.
She has served on the board of Temple Beth El, chaired a task force on Baby Boomer engagement for Temple Beth El, served on the board and as board chair for the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte, and served on the board of the Foundation of Shalom Park. Holly currently serves on the board of Aldersgate Life Plan Services (a continuing care retirement community in Charlotte) and on the board of the Foundation for the Charlotte Jewish Community. She is married to Hal Levinson, and has one son, Adam. Hal and Holly live on conserved property on the South Toe River in Yancey County.
Shawn W. Poole, Treasurer
Shawn W. Poole was the co-founder of Employbridge Holding Company in 2000. He served as executive vice president, President and CFO at Employbridge until January 2018 when he retired from daily management. He remains active with the company, the largest industrial staffing firm in the U.S., by acting as an advisor to the company. Poole was instrumental in growing the company into a nationally recognized firm that earned more than $3 billion in revenue in 2017 and now has more than 95,000 associates working at some 10,000 companies. Prior to Employbridge he started his career at Arthur Andersen, then was CFO of WorldWay (NYSE), CFO and treasurer of American Studios (NASDAQ) and CFO and Managing Director of Randstad North America.
Poole is on the Board of Directors of MDI Group (an IT staffing company now owned by Motion Recruitment), 24Seven (a digital staffing company), Leadpoint (a recycling solutions provider), Olympia (a Netherlands based commercial staffing company) and TalentLaunch (a multi-line staffing company) along with being a board advisor to Protos (a security guard MSP/VMS platform), Outsource (a cabling/wiring staffing company) Employment Solutions (Colorado based commercial staffing company). In addition, he is an advisor/investor with multiple Private Equity firms focusing on the Human Capital sector.
He is also an Executive in Residence at Appalachian State University’s Walker College of Business working with the Bowden Investment Group.
About serving on the BRC board: “I have had a passion for nature since my childhood fishing trips with my grandfather, during my numerous camps in scouting and now during our family trips around the world. I am excited to join the Conservancy to help preserve the area where I live!”
Ann Hayes Browning
Ann is a native North Carolinian, having grown up in High Point. Her first career spanned 23 years with Bank of America where she was involved with corporate banking, investment banking and private equity investing. When she chose to pursue a second career, Ann wanted to focus her efforts on preserving the natural resources and character of her native North Carolina. When the Carolina Thread Trail, a 15-county initiative to connect trails, open space and regional attractions, was being initiated by Foundation For The Carolinas, the Catawba Lands Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land, she joined as the first full time staff person. As the Carolina Thread Trail Director, she worked on community outreach, branding, public and private fundraising, and the development and oversight of The Thread’s community grants program.
Ann is excited to rejoin the BRC Board, having served as former chair, head of the executive director search committee, and first director of the Middle Fork Greenway. In 2019 she was appointed to the North Carolina Land and Water Fund Board of Trustees. She, husband Ric, and labrador Cricket love playing on their Ashe County property along Three Top Creek, as well as hiking and paddling throughout the spectacular High Country.
Janna Avery Clark
Growing up in a family of farmers and wildflower purveyors, Janna’s love for nature ignited at an early age. The years spent enjoying the natural beauty of wildflowers and the places where they occur led Janna to a career in the floral industry. Following the completion of a two-year degree she began to focus on classical training in the field of floral and event design. This training took her to Europe and New York to study under many respected designers in the industry. Following her training, she enjoyed 14 years as the resident floral designer for the Eseeola Lodge in Linville, North Carolina. In association with her role at Linville, she owned a floral and event design business named Callista Designs. During her time in the floral industry, Janna and her team created floral installations for weddings, golf tournaments, personal homes, and events of all sizes. The year 2020 brought some changes for Janna and she began transitioning from floral designer into her new role in real estate and property management for Linville Golf Club.
Outside of her work in Linville, Janna enjoys hiking the many trails in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee and is learning to fly fish under the guidance of her husband Stacey Clark. She currently sits on the advisory board for Williams YMCA of Avery County and enjoys promoting active and healthy lifestyles with that organization.
Shelley Crisp
Retired humanities scholar, Dr. Shelley Crisp is a native North Carolinian who converted a passion for literature into a professional commitment to education and the humanities. A docent at the North Carolina Museum of Art since 2010, Crisp has served on the boards of the FRANK in Orange County, the Raleigh Little Theatre, and the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County. She was a Yonahlossee camper, inspired by those experiences to sustain a lifelong connection to Blowing Rock and the Appalachians. After a career in academic and nonprofit work, Crisp retired from the North Carolina Humanities Council as its executive director and has since enjoyed residing in both her hometown, Raleigh, and Blowing Rock. She has written or contributed to two North Carolina public history works: The History of the Raleigh Rose Garden and Talking Art: The Docents of the North Carolina Museum of Art 1956-2021. Since 2024, she has served as a docent at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum where she has guest-lectured on Elliott Daingerfield.
Lisa Cooper
Starting her career early at the Mast General Store as an 11-year-old helping her parents re-open the Original Store, Lisa Cooper now serves as the president of the organization. Her focus is sharing the old-fashioned traditions of a general store with guests and visitors through quality goods, customer service, and making each visit an experience to remember.
Serving the community is also an important part of Lisa’s life. She serves on the Store’s Charitable Contributions Committee, which meets at the end of each year to share the Store’s success with each of its home communities. Lisa also serves on the Board of Directors for the Watauga County Tourism Development Authority, The Valle Crucis Conference center board, Piedmont Federal Boone Board, and the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership, and is a Trustee for the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics serving on the Educational Policies and Practices Committee. She has previously served on the Appalachian Summer Festival Board and The Boone Wells Fargo Bank board.
Lisa has three children, and she and her husband Russ enjoy all things sports, cooking, and traveling.
Jennie Derby
Jennie Derby hails from Richmond, VA and attended WCU. She was a financial advisor (CFP®) in Charlotte, N.C. for thirty years, selling her firm, Lifeworth Financial, in 2019. Jennie resides in Boone with her husband, Leigh.
Jennie was a founding member of the Women’s Impact Fund of Charlotte and on the board of Conservation Trust for NC in Raleigh, NC , including two terms as Board President. Locally, she co-chaired the associate pastor search committee, and served on capital campaign and finance committees of Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church. She is Treasurer of The women’s Fund of the Blue Ridge, and volunteers for Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation workdays.
Jennie and Leigh’s daughter, Tiffany Crenshaw, and her family live in Greensboro, N.C. Their son, Quinn Derby, and his family live in Charlotte. For fun, Jennie enjoys tennis, hiking, gardening, entertaining friends and family, traveling, reading, and playing word and board games.
Dan Gentry
Dan grew up camping, hiking, hunting, and fishing in the mountains of northwest North Carolina. Raised in Salisbury, he spent many weekends and summers on his grandparents’ legacy farms in Alleghany County where he developed a passion for the outdoors and conservation.
He is a graduate of UNC-CH where he received a degree in accounting. He began his career in software development at SYSGEN, a software firm in Durham. Dan and his wife, Laura, relocated to Winston Salem to take a position leading IT for a new division with INMAR and raise their three children. Dan served in various management positions at INMAR in Durham, finishing his career there as VP of Business Development. After leaving INMAR, he pursued a career in trading financial markets for 20 years before retiring in 2018.
After retiring, he and Laura relocated to Alleghany County near the Blue Ridge where they keep an “Old McDonald” farm on conservation property. They enjoy being homebase for their three children and three grandchildren who share their love of the outdoors.
Mark Gould
After graduating from UNC with a BA in English and Economics, Mark Gould came to Appalachian State University in 1994 to pursue a master’s degree in accounting and has lived in Boone since. He met his wife, Kendra as he was finishing his graduate studies and they have 2 children, Caleb (26) and Brynne (25). Gould guided fishing trips in NC, TN, MT and AK and owned and operated Elk Creek Outfitters with Judson Conway before selling his interest in 2002. He worked in public accounting for Bryce Holder, CPA and has been the Chief Financial Officer for The Mast General Store since 2007. Gould began his community involvement auditing non-profits in the area while with Bryce Holder, CPA. He has served on the allocations committee of the High Country United Way and been chair of the Finance Council at St. Elizabeth church. He was Treasurer and on the Board of Directors of The Mountain Alliance for nearly 20 years. Mark was the chair of the High Country Impact Fund (Fund 1) and is a member of Fund 2. He is currently serving as the Chair of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and remains active as co-chair of the Government Relations committee. When not crunching numbers or working, Mark spends his time fishing, playing tennis, watching sports and generally enjoying the outdoors.
Bonnie Weyher McLamb
Bonnie and her husband, Dan McLamb, practiced law together for over 40 years in Raleigh. She has now retired from the practice of law to pursue her work as a mediator and arbitrator. She is an American Arbitration Association Panel Member and a member of the North Carolina Academy of Superior Court Mediators.
Bonnie has had substantial involvement in local, state, and national bar organizations. She is a Past President of the North Carolina State Bar and of the Wake County Bar Association. She served for a number of years as a delegate to the American Bar Association. She is also a Past President of the UNC Law Alumni Association.
Bonnie and Dan reside in Blowing Rock and have 4 sons and 6 grandchildren. Bonnie currently serves on the Grandfather Mountain State Park Advisory Committee and as a Trustee on the North Carolina Museum of History Associates Board. She enjoys hiking, Tar Heel sports, travel, and spending time with her family. She is delighted that her children and grandchildren share her love of the High Country.
Becky Pearson
Currently the Foundation Director at Ashe Memorial Hospital, Becky has been working in the non-profit sector as a development professional since 2008. In her experience, she has raised funds for organizations in the arts, healthcare, education, and human services. She earned her Bachelor's degree at Texas A&M University where she studied Kinesiology, and has lived in 7 states and 2 countries. Living in different places and traveling as much as possible provides her perspective for valuing the natural beauty that surrounds us in the NC High Country and drives her interest in protecting it. Her hobbies include spending time with family, cycling, hiking, and traveling. She relocated to Ashe County in 2021 from Greenville, SC and now lives in Grassy Creek on a 7th generation family-owned cattle farm.
Zika Rea
Zika Rea is the President and co-founder of ZAP Endurance and the ZAP Endurance Foundation, which she founded in 2001 with her late husband Andy. ZAP Endurance hosts adult running vacations in Blowing Rock and supports a full team of Olympic-hopeful long distance runners.
As a full time athlete herself, Zika finished second at the 2005 US Marathon Championships and qualified for two US Olympic Trials Marathons, in 2004 and 2008. Zika received her bachelor's degree from Emory University in 1998 and her master’s degree in Exercise Science from Appalachian State in 2002. She and her husband Pete have two children, Elyse and Sean.
Susan Ross
Susan Ross is a native of Greensboro, NC, and graduate of UNC-CH. She has also lived in Winston-Salem, Davidson, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, and Blowing Rock. Currently she divides her time between Blowing Rock and Davidson. She has been a devoted community, church, and school volunteer for many years. She has served on the Boards of the Greensboro Natural Science Center, Greensboro PTA Council, the Junior League of Greensboro, the Eastern Music Festival Auxiliary, Orange Literacy, Kidzu Children’s Museum, the Conservation Trust of North Carolina, President of Sternberger Elementary and Grimsley High School PTAs, Chair of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina, and more. Professionally, she has been a public school kindergarten teacher and served as Executive Director of the Greensboro Bar Association. She is married to Thomas W. Ross and the mother of two wonderful children and four grandchildren. Her hobbies include hiking and fly fishing.
