Leadership

Jack is a former chair of the board of trustees. He retired in 2011 as associate editor of The Charlotte Observer after nearly 40 years in North Carolina journalism. He served in the Army, was Washington correspondent for the Greensboro Daily News, Roanoke Times and Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, was editor of North Carolina Insight magazine and was a member of the editorial board of the Observer, where he wrote daily editorials and blogposts and a weekly column. Jack was inducted into the N.C.

Philip Blumenthal is the director of Wildacres Retreat, a conference center located one mile from the Blue Ridge Parkway in Little Switzerland, North Carolina. A lifelong philanthropist, he is the chairman and director of the Blumenthal Foundation in Charlotte, North Carolina. Blumenthal is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, Conservationist of the Year by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, Volunteer Service Award by Partners for Parks in Charlotte, and Outstanding Philanthropist in Conservation by the Roosevelt-Ashe Society.

Greg received a bachelor of science degree in forestry from Iowa State University. He then received a masters degree in forestry and plant physiology from Yale University, and a PhD in plant physiology from Duke University. His career has been in research and teaching, having been on the faculty of several universities. He most recently retired from Virginia Tech where he served for 12 years as dean of the College of Natural Resources. He currently resides near Hendersonville, North Carolina, and is active in the Rotary Club of Asheville. He also remains active with the National Society of

Heather Cotton’s diverse service in the public sector is defined by her dedication to the effective use and preservation of culturally significant lands and structures. Beginning her career as a field archaeologist, she worked on site evaluations and excavations in Fort Drum, New York, and Belfast, Ireland, and parlayed that experience into her work as a post-grad researching climate change and land use in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

A retired litigating and estate planning attorney, Fitzpatrick works on land conservation, resource management initiatives and community service projects.  An active Elder of Second Presbyterian Church, Roanoke, he has also served as a disaster relief volunteer and coordinator throughout the Southeast.

Givens spent 38 years in the U.S. National Park Service. In addition to more than 25 years as Interpretive Specialist on the Blue Ridge Parkway, he worked at Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Mammoth Cave National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Cowpens National Battlefield, and Booker T. Washington National Monument. 

Charles Higgins retired in November 2014 after serving in the U.S. Public Health Service for 24 years and working in public health for 37 years. Prior to retirement, Higgins was assigned to the National Park Service where he was the director of the Office of Public Health. His previous federal assignments included the Food and Drug Administration, CDC, and assisting the State of Wyoming in modernizing its state food safety system.

Mike Hobbs developed a love and appreciation for the Blue Ridge Parkway while living in the mountains of North Carolina. Now a resident of Chatham County, Mike works at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he serves as director of communications for the School of Education. He previously worked at Peace College in Raleigh, also as director of communications, where he implemented an integrated marketing and public relations plan and directed media and public relations for the college.

Billie is the President of Deer Valley Development Corporation, a family owned business that has provided recreational opportunities for families of Watauga County and seasonal residents for more than 30 years.

Craig earned his MBA from Gardner-Webb University and is Cofounder and President of White Blaze Marketing, a full service marketing and video production agency located in Boone, North Carolina. He spent his youth fly fishing and hiking with his family in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Today, he enjoys hiking and exploring the mountains with his wife, Jessica. He also enjoys running and racing in half marathons and marathons. Some of his fondest memories are of spending part of his honeymoon on the Parkway and the various hikes he gets to enjoy often on the Parkway.

Jim is retired, and with his wife, Deborah, splits time between Linville, North Carolina, and Pawleys Island, South Carolina. They are the past owners and operators of The Mountainaire Inn and Log Cabins in Blowing Rock. Jim enjoys fishing, golf, learning to play the guitar, and long walks along the Blue Ridge Parkway and beach with their dog, Guinness. Jim and Deborah fell in love with the mountains when their daughter Jennifer attended Appalachian State University.

A native of North Carolina, Jim grew up in Burlington and received degrees from UNC at Chapel Hill. His career was in public service, primarily with the Fiscal Research Division staff of the N.C. General Assembly. He retired in 2003, and made his move to the Virginia mountains. He now lives adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway near milepost 172. He is a board member of the New River Land Trust and a past member of the Floyd County, Virginia Economic Development Authority. His wife, Silvie Granatelli, is a professional potter.

Rebecca Reeve is the former director of evaluation and learning at the North Carolina Center for Health & Wellness (NCCHW) at UNC Asheville. In that role, she was dedicated to helping organizations identify the results of their programs and thus empowering them to tell their stories and obtain needed resources for further development. Reeve conducted ground observations at Kids in Parks trailheads across North Carolina. Before coming to the NCCHW, Reeve served as senior advisor for healthy schools in the North Carolina Division of Public Health.

Elizabeth has had a love affair with the Blue Ridge Parkway for nearly 40 years upon discovering the 469-mile road on a bicycle tour of its length with her husband Charlie in 1985.

Gary Stewart retired from Woolpert, Inc., a national consulting engineering and design firm at the end of 2014. He served as the Chairman, and completed 35 years of service. He is now actively with two new and separate career aspirations: President of Leading the Way, LLC, and Commercial Real Estate Broker for RE/MAX Executive Commercial Division.

Cynthia Evans Tessien is the Reznick Group Faculty Fellow and a Professor of Practice in the School of Business at Wake Forest University. She and her husband, Bill, own and are Executive Directors of A Step Ahead Academic Centers LLC, a Clemmons, NC-based learning community providing one-on-one tutoring, home school classes and multi-sensory reading instruction for pre-kindergarten through high school students.

Williams is the past vice president of corporate community affairs for Duke Energy and president of The Duke Energy Foundation. He leads the company’s philanthropy through The Duke Energy Foundation, which focuses on improving the quality of life in the communities it serves.  Previously, Williams served as senior vice president of environment, health and safety, leading the group responsible for the company’s environmental compliance, and its health and safety programs.