Jack Cooley is Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies at The Ohio State University, with foreign policy as his academic field. He currently is chairman of the Clintonville Area Commission and sits on the Columbus Development Commission. He has been a member of various civic organizations and has lived in Clintonville for 23 years.

VICE-CHAIR OF THE BOARD

Andrea Gorzitze is Senior Education Coordinator for the Greenways Program at the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. Her educational background combines biology and anthropology. She has conducted ecological research in Indonesia and taught biology, ecology, and physical anthropology at Columbus State Community College and at the DSCC branch of Park University. She has been working with watershed groups since April 2000. After spending 14 years in the Olentangy River watershed, she now lives in the Scioto River watershed.

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Martha Harter Buckalew has been active in Friends of the Ravines since its inception. She served on the original advisory board, has been involved in the Glen Echo restoration since it began, and has contributed articles to Ravinia. She is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music and has held numerous district and state offices in the Ohio Music Teachers Association

RECORDING SECRETARY

Sherrill Massey has an MFA in drawing and printmaking. Her drawings and prints have been exhibited regionally, nationally, and internationally. She has served as a trustee on numerous boards including The Italian Village Society, North Market Development Authority, and Godman Guild Association. She has been a resident of Columbus since 1974 and lives in Italian Village.

MEMBERS AT LARGE

Tom Logsdon has an undergraduate degree in forestry and a master’s degree in city and regional planning from The Ohio State University. He has worked for the Ohio EPA but has spent most of his career in commercial real estate as a facility manager. Tom has served on numerous nonprofit boards, is a past president of the Italian Village Society, and a member of various environmental organizations.

Jeff Brown has a bachelors degree in physical therapy from The Ohio State University and works as a management consultant for Navigator Management Partners. He and his wife Robin live with their dog Jill and cat Griffin on Glen Echo Ravine.

Susann Moeller, PhD, is a professor in the humanities, a writer and glass blower turned stonemason. Her landscape design company focuses on native plants, water conservation issues and wildlife habitat preservation. As an animal rights activist and certified animal emergency rescue worker she has worked on campaigns locally and nationally. The Humane Society of the United States recently certified her backyard as an urban wildlife sanctuary. She has kept her fingers on the creative heartbeat of local and international relations as a frequent guest curator. She and her certified therapy dog Kasper have been residents on Glen Echo Ravine for seven years.

Brian Gara is an avid amateur botanist with a strong interest in studying native Ohio fern species. He graduated with a BA in Art and Biology from Bluffton College (1985), an MS in Botany from Ohio University (1987), and a PhD from The Ohio State University in Environmental Science (1995). Brian has worked as a researcher with the OSU Biomedical Engineering Center (1988 – 1995), a Wetland Specialist with the Missouri Department of Transportation (1995 – 1999), and a GIS Professional with the State of Ohio (1999-2006). His hobbies include hiking central Ohio parks, playing basketball, and throwing the Frisbee with his daughter, Sarita. Brian’s two-part article, “Ferns in the Ravines of Central Ohio,” appeared in the Fall 2004/Winter 2005 and Spring/Summer 2005 issues of Ravinia. His fern photography was the centerpiece of Friends of the Ravines’ display at Riverfest in 2005.

HONORARY MEMBER

Salle Cleveland, former editor of Ravinia and founder of Friends of the Ravines, now resides in Delaware, Ohio. The Board of Trustees is grateful to Salle for her vision and her commitment.

GLEN ECHO RESTORATION PROJECT DIRECTOR

Chris O’Leary has served as the project director of the Glen Echo North Slope Restoration since 2000. He has coordinated volunteer work crews, donations of logs and topsoil from the city, purchase of supplies, the Civilian Conservation Corps and volunteer planting crews. Chris has served as coordinator for Friends of the Ravine on Glen Echo (FORGE) and has organized annual cleanups and invasive plant removal in Glen Echo Park. Professionally Chris is a freelance illustrator.

SUPPORT PERSONNEL

Development Advisor

Anne Paterson is a ravine aficionado. Formerly a resident of Walhalla Ravine, she now lives on Glen Echo Ravine. She has 14 years of experience with fund raising at The Ohio State University where she worked in University Communications and Development in the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations and as Development Officer for the College of Biological Sciences. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in geology and has an extensive background in botany. Her interests include river running, planetary science, and natural history.

Membership Chairman

Louis Buckalew recently retired from forty-four years of service as a United Methodist Minister. After serving churches in West Virginia, Missouri, and Ohio he was appointed Director of the Office of Ministry of the West Ohio United Methodist Conference in 1987. In 1998 he was appointed Assistant to the Bishop. Louis is an avid reader and loves music, especially opera. He brings meticulous bookkeeping skills to Friends of the Ravines Membership Committee.

Restoration Technician and Spokesman

John Husted has worked for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources as Manager of the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program for 22 years and served as Board Supervisor for the Athens County Soil and Water Conservation District in 1990–91 before he moved to Columbus. John is an avid volunteer who has given his services by educating K-12 students on resource conservation, serving as a volunteer for Athens County Arbor Committee 1989-91, and has been volunteering his time generously to Friends of the Ravines since 1999.