Kieran has been Executive Director of the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy since 1999. Before coming to CMLC, Kieran gained experience at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ, the Land Trust Alliance in Washington, DC, and Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in Asheville. He received his BA in Anthropology and his MLS in Information Science from Rutgers University. He lives in Asheville with his wife Miriam and son Conor and loves exploring Western North Carolina's many marvelous places whenever he has the chance.

After earning his BA in history in 1988 from Emory University, Tom served for three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, West Africa working in agricultural education and reforestation. Tom received his J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1996, and worked on coastal conservation issues in Georgia. A native of East Tennessee, Tom began working for CMLC in 2004 as an AmeriCorps member. Tom also serves on the board of the Friends of DuPont State Forest and the Henderson County Bird Club.

As Development Director for CMLC, Kristin Harkey draws from over seven years experience in nonprofit fundraising, program development and cultural tourism. Previously Kristin has worked at The Columbia Museum of Art in downtown Columbia, SC and for The Humanities Council of SC. A native of Charleston, SC, Kristin has a BA in English from the College of Charleston, a professional writing certificate from the Iowa University, and has completed graduate work at the University of South Carolina. Kristin enjoys gardening, hiking, history, and volunteering in her neighborhood. Kristin and newlywed husband, Jeff Johansson, relocated to the area in the spring of 2007.

Bonnie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Davidson College and Masters degrees in Environmental Management and Forestry from the Nicholas School at Duke. She joined CMLC in 2004 after working as a US Forest Service contractor doing non-timber forest product field work and serving as CMLC's stewardship intern. Bonnie lives in West Asheville and enjoys knitting, yoga, hiking, reading, music, and hanging out with her new nephew; in a previous life she was a Washington, DC paralegal.

After completing her degree in Biology and Environmental Science from the College of William and Mary, Amy served as an AmeriCorps member for three years, including one term doing education outreach for the Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire. As VISTA Leader for the Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team, she coordinated a team of thirty AmeriCorps VISTAs serving with community watershed associations throughout Appalachia. Most recently, she attended graduate school at Clark University, where she studied environmental science and policy and completed her thesis on collaboration between environmental nonprofit organizations.

Mary Ann joined Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy the summer of 2008. A newcomer to the non-profit world, she learned about the conservancy and their good works from fellow dog walkers at the local park in Lake Lure where she makes her home. Prior to moving to the area, she spent 26 years in the Carolinas working in the IT field for Duke Power before retiring early. She is excited about this new vocation working for an organization that promotes such a great cause. In her spare time, Mary Ann enjoys reading, movies and spending time with her mixed lab Sasha, and mixed something-else Scotch.

Julianne holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO.  She is from Colorado and spent the past two years living in Washington State and on the north Oregon Coast.  Julianne brings volunteer coordination experience from her role as an Oxfam America Action Corps Leader in Denver where she worked to build and manage a dedicated volunteer base.  Julianne enjoys hiking, cycling, gardening, and cooking. 

Julie spent her younger years in northwestern Pennsylvania exploring the shoreline of Lake Erie.  In 2002, she moved to Virginia to pursue her Bachelor's degree in biology and environmental science at the College of William and Mary.  Since graduating, Julie has spent most of her time working in eastern Virginia, including some time at the Jane Goodall Institute in Arlington.  In the summer of 2009, she decided she needed to expand her horizons by moving to the open prairie of South Dakota.  There, she worked with The Nature Conservancy before returning to the east coast to join CMLC in 2009 as an AmeriCorps member.  She currently resides in Asheville, NC where she takes advantage of great food and hiking and rock climbing opportunities. 

Rebekah grew up in Alabama and received her BA in Anthropology from Auburn University.  After several years playing with plants in Oregon, she returned south to Tulane Law School where she earned her Juris Doctor in 2008 with a certificate in environmental law.  As a student Rebekah interned with two non-profit environmental law firms and represented community organizations in environmental citizen suits as part of Tulane's Environmental Law Clinic.  After a short stint in business law in Raleigh, she was ready to return to the non-profit environmental community and joined CMLC in 2009 as an AmeriCorps Project Conserve Land Program Associate.