Key Personnel
Sarah Cayton
Executive Director
Sarah Cayton is a Morgantown native and a graduate of West Virginia University. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Geoscience as well as a minor in Communications. Previously, she worked on a soil remediation project in Spelter, WV, cleaning up a community after contamination by a zinc smelting plant. She served FODC as an AmeriCorps VISTA and as the Operations Manager before taking the Executive Director position. Sarah enjoys boating, swimming, hiking, and game nights with her friends and family. She is very excited to lead FODC and make an impact in her home community.
Emma Carte
Education Coordinator
Emma is a born-and-raised Morgantown native and an English alum from West Virginia University. When she's not hanging out with her dog and cats, Emma likes reading, writing, arts and crafts, and exploring the great outdoors. She hopes to use her skills in ways that ultimately help how we treat the Earth and how we treat each other.
Rachel Pell
AmeriCorps VISTA
Rachel is a Penn State Behrend graduate of 2018 with a degree in Biology. She grew up in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania along the Monongahela River. While abroad in Costa Rica, she studied leaf cutter ants and bromeliad ecosystems. She is excited to join FODC to bridge her passions for science, education, and community involvement.
Board Members
Krista Kent
PRESIDENT
Krista, Director of Planning & Operations at the WVU Foundation, is a long-time South Hills resident and wants to help better the beautiful creek that runs near her house.
Bill Pennington
TREASURER
Bill is a lawyer and long-time FODC supporter. He is a three-time WVU grad with bachelor's and master's degrees in chemical engineering and law. Bill is a member of Trout Unlimited and has helped FODC with land purchases and stocking Deckers with trout.
Kendra Hatcher
SECRETARY
Kendra is a native West Virginian from the Eastern Panhandle. She holds an undergraduate degree from West Virginia University in Geology and returned to Morgantown after completing a Master’s of Science in Geography at Oregon State University.
Rick Landenberger
Rick grew up in southern California and moved to upstate New York as a teenager. He maintained a close connection to nature and eventually studied environmental science and ecology in college. Rick took a position with the US Forest Service that brought him to West Virginia in the late 1980’s.
Anna Hathaway Runner
Anna has worked throughout the United States on various research and monitoring projects with an emphasis on wildlife research. She has studied endangered and threatened avian, reptile, and mammalian species in Utah, West Virginia, Connecticut, and Florida.
Brad Stephens
After receiving his J.D. from the WVU College of Law, Brad opened a practice in Morgantown. He aims to chiefly provide representation to organizations forwarding the causes of environmental stewardship.
Aldona Bird
Aldona is a journalist with the Dominion Post, writing a weekly column on homesteading and living locally. She is also a freelance photographer and studied Photojournalism at Point Park University. She has volunteered with Friends of Deckers Creek since 2006, serving as a volunteer and leader at age 16.
Christian Root
Christian is a biology and anatomy teacher at Morgantown High School. After studying Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Maryland, where he also worked in a biotechnology lab investigating the merits of using transgenic fungus to combat Chestnut Blight, he earned his Master’s in Teaching.
David Raese
David is the owner of the Dominion Post and the WV Radio Corp, as well as the District Governor of the Rotary Club of Morgantown, with whom he's served with for over twenty years.
Erica Skorlinski
Erica has always had ties to conservation and science and earned her undergraduate degree in wildlife biology. Three years ago, she went back to school for biology education and is currently working as a science teacher in Preston High School. It was there that she had her first experience with FODC, when staff came to her classroom to do an educational activity.
Steven Spriggs
Steven Spriggs works as a professional technologist at West Virginia University and is the owner of S3 Consulting LLC. Steven is an outdoor enthusiast and enjoys long hikes in the Deckers Creek Watershed with his wife, Octavia, and his German Shepherd, Roxy. Steven also developed CreekDog.org, FODC's website for anonymously reporting watershed pollution.
Brenden McNeil
Brenden McNeil is an associate professor of Geology at WVU. He uses fieldwork, remote sensing, and GIS to examine human impacts on the spatial patterns of forest ecosystem services.