2024 Board of Directors
For a Board Member’s description, please click on their name. Individual members may serve two consecutive, three year terms. Board responsibilities include: fundraising, policy making, long range planning, land protection, and a range of specialized volunteer activities.
Charlie Barnett
Charles F. Barnett M.D. – Dr. Charles Barnett currently serves as FLC’s Board Treasurer. He received his medical degree from University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine and has over 47 years of experience in the field of medicine.
Sherry BrowderMember at Large
Sherry Browder is the President & Chief Operating Officer at Pro2Serve. Prior to Pro2Serve, Sherry served as the President of Government Services for Management Solutions, LLC and as UCOR’s Reindustrialization Manager at the East Tennessee Technology Park (the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant) in Oak Ridge. She has more than 30 years of leadership and project management experience in engineering, environmental restoration and compliance, and has worked with multiple state and federal agencies including the DOE, DOD, DHS, EPA and NASA. She plays a key role in leading Pro2Serve as it continues to grow its market position and expand the services offered to new and existing customers. Prior to joining UCOR, she served in many roles at SAIC/Leidos in Oak Ridge for almost 20 years, including Division Manager of its nationwide remediation business and Fed/Civ Account Manager for the Environmental and Civil Infrastructure Operation.
Active in her community, Sherry supports several local organizations. Her previous experience includes alumni of Leadership Oak Ridge, Chair of United Way of Anderson County, Chair of the Oak Ridge Economic Partnership, Chair of the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET), and Chair and Treasurer of the East Tennessee Economic Council (ETEC). Currently she serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committees for ETEC. Sherry graduated from Leadership Knoxville as a class of 2017 participant and is a member of their Curriculum Committee. She’s the proud recipient of ETEC’s 2018 Muddy Boot Award.
Jim CampbellOutreach Committee Chair
Jim Campbell is the past president of the East Tennessee Economic Council, a not-for-profit membership organization founded in the 1970s to explore opportunities for East Tennessee businesses in the areas of science, energy and environment, health and security. He also has served as a Fellow with the Howard Baker Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee, where he worked with faculty, students and researchers at the university, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Y-12 National Security Complex, and the Tennessee Valley Authority to develop programs around the subject of public policy in energy, environment, and security. Campbell started his career at The Oak Ridger, the daily newspaper serving Oak Ridge, TN, and surrounding areas; and also served as a contributing editor, of the Journal for Applied Research and Public Policy, a publication of UT’s Energy, Environmental and Research Center. He has a Bachelor of Arts, from Maryville College and a Master of Arts from the University of Oregon.
Campbell has served on many board and civic foundations supporting community development, education and health. They include: the Tennessee Humanities Council, United Way of Anderson County, Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation, and Technology 2020. He is an elder at First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge.
Edward CaudillLand Protection Committee Chair
Edward Caudill served as an FLC Board Member from 2005-2007, returning to the Foothills Board in 2019. Edward is a Professor Emeritus at UT Knoxville’s College of Communication and Information – School of Journalism and Electronic Media. Edward received a B.A. in English literature from the University of Cincinnati, a M.A. in journalism from Ohio State University, Columbus, and a Ph.D. in mass communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He worked in newspapers for about seven years in Ohio, most of those years at the Columbus Citizen-Journal. He has written several books on Darwinism, the Scopes trial, and creationism. He has co-authored with Dr. Paul Ashdown, a former colleague at UT and now a professor emeritus of the same program, books on several Civil War figures, including Nathan Bedford Forrest, William Tecumseh Sherman, and George A. Custer.
Madge Cleveland
Madge Cleveland is a returning FLC Board Member having previously served as FLC’s Board President. Madge has worked in public and governmental relations, technical writing, and campaign politics. Madge currently serves on the Tennessee Heritage Conservation Fund as a Board Trustee. She was appointed to this position by former Governor Bill Haslam. She also served as a judge for the Knox County Election Commission. A 1978 graduate of Rhodes College, Madge lives in Knoxville.
Dr. S Craig JarvisFLC Vice-President
Dr. Jarvis is a long-time Foothills supporter. He has served on FLC’s Board of Directors and also has a conservation easement with Foothills. In conjunction with the City of Maryville and FLC, Dr. Jarvis recently led the successful completion of Maryville’s newest municipal park— a 10 acre natural area named Jarvis Park. Future plans include an additional 37 acres to adjoin the preserved acreage. Both of these tracts are permanently protected with several FLC conservation easements.
Dr. Jarvis received a Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University in 1971, graduating Magna Cum Laude and seventh in a class of 700. He received his medical degree from Duke Medical School in 1975. Dr. Jarvis then completed an Internal Medicine Internship and Residency at the Ohio State University Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He remained in Ohio to complete his Fellowship in Gastroenterology in 1980. Dr. Jarvis is Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. He is the Founding Chairman of the Maryville City School Foundation and has participated in Leadership Blount in 1998. He has served on the boards of Boys and Girls Clubs, New Hope Children’s Advocacy Center, and Shannondale. He is a member of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, American Gastroenterologist Association, American Medical Society and Blount County Medical Society. Dr. Jarvis lives in Maryville with his wife, Debbie; he has five children. In his leisure time, Dr. Jarvis enjoys tennis, boating, hunting and spending time with his family.
Mark JendrekSecretary (FLC & FLC Properties Foundation)
Since 1989, Mr. Jendrek has held the position of Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee – College of Law. He currently teaches one course per semester, alternating between Contract Drafting for third year law students and Legal Research and Writing for first-year law students. Mr. Jendrek also is in private practice in Knoxville, Tennessee, with a focus on real estate and other transactional matters, and enjoys creative problem solving of difficult legal issues. He served 25 years on the Tennessee Supreme Court Regional Investigating Committee -Region 2, and in the past served as Chairman of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee with the Knoxville Bar Association. From 2003-2005 he served as Commissioner of the Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission. Mark Jendrek currently serves as the Secretary for both the FLC Board of Directors and the FLC Properties Foundation.
David W. Long
David W. Long is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Attorney for Long, Ragsdale & Waters, P.C. in Knoxville, Tennessee. His extensive civic/community involvement include: serving several terms as a Board Member for Foothills Land Conservancy. David is a Founding Board Member of the Legacy Parks Foundation (Land Conservation/Greenways Committee). He is a Board Member of the Knox County/Knoxville Parks Advisory Committee, and SouthEast Conservation Legal Defense Member of the Land Trust Alliance. Since 1981, Mr. Long has been a member of the American, Tennessee, and Knoxville Bar Associations and is a frequent seminar speaker for the Tennessee Bar Association, Lorman Education, and National Business Institute on real estate topics.
Billy Minser
Billy Minser has been involved in wildlife and wild land management since 1966. Formerly a wildlife biologist and wildlife refuge manager for the state of Georgia, Mr. Minser was a teacher and researcher in the Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, at the University of Tennessee from 1972-2012. While at UT he focused on wildlife research and taught a variety of wildlife management and land management courses. In 2008, Mr. Minser received the Regional Director’s Conservation Honors Award from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Billy has been an active participant with a variety of conservation organizations in Tennessee and the region during the past 47 years, particularly in relationship to conservation of public land. Here are just a few conservation highlights that Mr. Minser has been involved with over the years:
- During the past 25 years, aided in the protection of nearly 500,000 acres in the Tennessee Valley. This was part of many different initiatives in collaboration with several organizations resulting in 8 new wildlife management areas, a 300 acre addition to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) and protection of TVA public shoreline property.
- Helped spearhead an effort in 2006 to protect 292,000 acres of Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) public lakeshore property around TVA lakes in 8 states.
- Led an effort through the Foothills Land Conservancy (FLC) to buy 4,600 acres that became the Foothills Wildlife Management Area (FWMA), in Blount County, TN. This land was donated to Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) in the 1995. Two years later FLC, along with Billy’s help, completed the Cochran Campaign which raised $500,000 to purchase an additional 1,500 acres. To date, FWMA has increased to 10,000 acres, providing a significant wildlife corridor with GSMNP and the Cherokee National Forest.
- Facilitated efforts between FLC, TWRA and Ducks Unlimited to acquire 524 acres of wetlands and uplands, now called Kyker Bottoms Wildlife Refuge, located in Blount County, TN. Kyker Bottoms, managed by TWRA, is open to the public, and includes fields, forests, wetlands and thickets. It is managed primarily for waterfowl and shorebirds as well as for diverse nongame, and especially songbirds.
- Worked with FLC, The Conservation Fund, TWRA and many other organizations to acquire a 2,500 acre refuge, called Yuchi Wildlife Management Area on Chickamauga Reservoir near Chattanooga, now owned and managed by TWRA. This area includes wetlands, uplands and riparian habitat and is one of a string of nearby refuges and natural areas providing feeding/resting habitat for migrating waterfowl and sandhill cranes.
- Placed multiple FLC conservation easements on his land and cultivated the interest of several neighbors to place CE’s on their own properties.
- Partnered with Carpenter’s Elementary School in Blount County, TN, to create a one-of-a-kind ‘Outdoor Classroom’ that includes a 1.7 mile nature trail, wildlife habitats, interpretive signage and teacher lesson plans. This project has caught the attention of several schools throughout the region that are also looking to implement a similar learning opportunity in their schools and communities.
- Assisted in the education and graduation of more than 1,000 Wildlife & Fisheries professionals at the University of Tennessee, who are now making their own impact on conservation across the United States.
Robert 'Bob' MorrisTreasurer/Finance Committee Chair
Robert (Bob) Morris is President and founding principal of Robert Morris Consulting. He provides clients with sound counsel and expertise related to electric energy business development, government relations, communications, economic development, and customer service.
Mr. Morris has over 40 years experience in the electric utility industry. Prior to establishing Robert Morris Consulting, he had a long, distinguished career with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the nation’s largest public power provider.
While at TVA, he was a company officer with key decision-making authority. He advised board members and executives on various topics and worked day-to-day with high-ranking public officials on TVA’s behalf.
His TVA tenure includes serving as Senior Vice President of Communications and Vice President of the government relations team that manages TVA’s relationships with public officials and their staffs including congressional district offices, governors, state legislators, and other public officials across seven states. He also led the company’s Community Relations Program including managing a $1 million in corporate contributions fund.
He previously was responsible for TVA’s relationships with the 155 municipal utility companies and cooperatives that purchase wholesale power from TVA as Vice President of Customer Service. The customer accounts totaled over $9.6 billion in annual revenue.
Earlier in his career, he helped design and develop engineering projects and provided technical advice on international projects through TVA’s economic development program.
Mr. Morris attended the U.S. Naval Academy and earned a B.S. in civil engineering and an MBA in finance from the University of Tennessee. He is a professional engineer, a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and a previous board member of the East Tennessee Economic Council.
Michael ParishFLC Board President & FLC Properties Foundation Board Member
Mike Parish serves as the President of FLC’s Board of Directors and also as a Board Member of the FLC Properties Foundation. Mr. Parish is president of FMP Real Estate Services, Inc., a Knoxville based commercial real estate firm specializing in retail, office, industrial and mixed-use development in the Southeastern U. S. He has completed over 3 million square feet in six states. Mike is a graduate of the University of Tennessee where he received an MBA in Real Estate and Urban Development. He has served the Greater Knoxville community on boards of directors for organizations such as the East Tennessee Community Design Center and the Fairview Technology Center and in trade organizations such as the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) where he served as State Director for Tennessee and Kentucky. He and his wife, Susan Kincaid, have lived in Loudon County for over 30 years.
John G. ProffittFLC & FLC-P Board Member
John Proffitt formerly served as FLC’s Vice President and currently serves as both a member of the the FLC Board and the FLC Properties Foundation Board.
Born in Maryville, Tennessee, John Proffitt grew up on the family farm and has lived in Blount County the majority of his life, where he currently resides with his wife, Janet Isenberg Proffitt. John retired from the Tennessee D.O.T. in 2009 where he worked some 20 years as an appraiser, review appraiser, and estimator for right-of-way planning and acquisition. Prior to that, he worked for the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessments, doing appraisals on mainly commercial and industrial properties.
Earlier, John worked for the Hugh F. Parker Company in Knoxville as a real estate appraiser and property development and management trainee. John holds a bachelor of science in Agriculture from the University of Tennessee, and upon graduation John entered the U.S. Navy Flight program, where he interred flight training at NAS Pensacola, Florida. After serving in the Navy, he did graduate work at UT, taking courses in business, finance and real estate. Since 1989, John has served on the Board of Directors for Citizens Bank of Blount County and Twin Cities Financial.
Ashley Saunders
Ashley H. Saunders is UCOR’s End States and Federal Land Reuse Manager, responsible for all aspects of reindustrialization and closure of the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), which includes remaining soil and groundwater remedial actions. She also oversees the new Heritage Center Enterprise, which includes Environmental Management to Legacy Management transfer and National Historic Preservation.
Ashley previously served as UCOR’s Chief of Staff, responsible for coordinating the resources required to deliver the President’s operational vision and support achievement of DOE-related corporate goals and missions.
Ashley joined UCOR in 2015 as Government & Stakeholder Relations Manager. Her work included activities and strategies to strengthen existing relationships and foster new alliances with government officials and stakeholders at all levels. In September 2016, she assumed the role of External Affairs, Communications & Community Programs Manager—directing internal and external communications as well as the company’s community advocacy program.
Prior to joining UCOR, Ashley served as Program Director for the East Tennessee Economic Council (ETEC), where she worked with other organizations, elected officials, and businesses in Knox, Anderson, Roane, and Blount counties to promote the values and impact of ETEC membership through weekly meetings, member orientations, member communication, and community involvement.
She was also a Communications Graduate Assistant at the Y-12 National Security Complex, where she wrote and edited publications and led internal campaigns for the Technology Transfer organization.
Ashley has a bachelor of arts degree in Communications from the University
of Tennessee. She was a recipient of East Tennessee Economic Council’s 2019 Postma Young Professional Medal, which honors the accomplishments of young professionals who have made an impact on the community. She has also been selected to serve a three-year term as a University of Tennessee Chancellor’s Associate.
Mike Suttles
Mike Suttles is the Owner of Suttles Land Surveying located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Mr. Suttles received a B.S. from the University of Tennessee in Forest Management and is a registered land surveyor. He is an active member of the Tennessee Association of Professional Surveyors and is also a farm and cattle producer.
Mike Twardy
Mike Twardy is the Business Development Lead for the Energy Science and Technology Directorate (ESTD) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). In this role, he identifies and researches potential industrial partners, federal sponsors, and other collaborators to support ESTD research priorities. Additional responsibilities include developing strategic plans to increase research funding; helping manage programs to support that strategy through relationship building; creating and delivering presentations; and managing events and site visits. Mike is currently supporting several strategic initiatives including the Smoky Mountains Mobility Conference, the Appalachian Carbon Forum, ORNL Net-Zero Campus, ORNL Net-Zero Vision, ESGC Summit 2023, EVs@Scale Consortium, and other efforts focused on the energy transition and decarbonization in the Southeast and Appalachia.
Prior to joining ORNL, Mike worked for Shelton Group as an Account Director where he led the development and execution of sustainability and ESG communications strategies and reports for Fortune 500 corporations, NGOs and utilities. Before this, Mike spent nearly 15 years producing a wide variety of television programming for networks such as Discovery, The History Channel, SyFy, HGTV and TruTV as well as content for several companies based in East Tennessee.
Mike also serves as an Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 757 and, as an Eagle Scout, enjoys sharing his passion for Scouting and the outdoors with his son and the rest of the troop.
Lynn Waters
Lynn Waters is a full time farmer. He raises beef cattle, mainly feeder calves that are sold in lots and finished out west on feedlots, as well as grain finishing beef for his family retail beef business. They also grow soybeans, corn, hay, straw and oats.
Lynn served as vice-chair for the Tennessee Young Farmers and Ranchers Program. He has also served on the Board of Directors for the Blount County Farm Bureau and the Ag Central Farmer’s Co-op.
He has received awards for his farmland conservation efforts and has a strong desire to see land preserved.
Lynn serves on the cemetery committee at Pleasant Grove cemetery, and with his wife teaches 3rd-6th grade Sunday School every week.
Mr. Waters received his BS in Ag Economics from UT Knoxville in 2004. He is married to Jessica and they have two daughters, Caroline and Claire.
John Wilbanks
John Wilbanks is retired after 45 years in the parks & recreation profession and lives in Alcoa, TN with his wife Kathy. He holds a B.S. from West Virginia University (WVU) and an M.S. from The University of Kentucky. Upon graduation from WVU, John served two years as an officer in the U.S. Army. He worked as a Park & Recreation Planner for the consulting firm of Edwards and Kelsey in Newark, NJ. John then went on to receive a master’s degree in Parks and Recreation from the University of Kentucky. John served as the Board Director of Lee’s Summitt Park, located in Missouri, before relocating to East Tennessee as the Executive Director of the Maryville-Alcoa-Blount County Parks and Recreation Commission. John retired after 22 years and was hired to establish the first parks and recreation department for the City of Pigeon Forge and worked there until his retirement in 2015.
John has served on many boards and councils over his career including as President or Chairman of the following organizations: Governor’s Council on Greenways and Trails, TN Recreation & Parks Association, TN Recreation and Parks Educational Foundation, NC State University’s School of Sports Management and Leadership Blount. John has been a longtime financial supporter of the Foothills Land Conservancy, Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, and Friends of the Smokies.