Jasmine Fields was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, but have been a State College Borough resident for the past 13 years. She graduated from The Pennsylvania State University in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in Geosciences where she took particular interest in the negative impacts of anthropogenic activity on the natural environment. She is a sustainability professional with 6+ years of experience assisting local governments with developing strategies and implementing programs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve community resiliency. She is passionate about environmental conservation, equitable climate action, and sustainability planning, and utilizing bottom-up approaches to develop solutions to solve climate and environmental sustainability issues.

Jasmine has been working for the Borough of State College (the Borough), a small branch of local government in Central Pennsylvania, since graduation. She served as the Borough’s environmental AmeriCorps member from 2018 – 2020 then became the Borough’s Sustainability Program Assistant after my AmeriCorps term ended. After serving in the assistant position for a little under a year, her role in the organization advanced to the Borough’s Sustainability Program Officer. She currently lead the Borough’s sustainability division, Sustainable State College.

She serves on the executive board of the Spring Creek Watershed Commission, Centre Bike, and the Thompson Woods Preserve Committee. In addition, she completed the Clearwater Conservancy Outdoor Leadership Cohort in 2023. Jasmine fell in love with the outdoors when she moved to Central Pennsylvania. After growing up in big cities, it has been a joy for her to discover the simple pleasures and beauty of the outdoors. When she is not working, Jasmine enjoys going on bike rides, nature journaling, gardening, reading, and trail running.

Mark Hartle was raised in Everett, Pennsylvania across the valley from Tussey Mountain. At an early age, he developed a great interest in the natural world which was nurtured throughout adulthood. Mark attended the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, majoring in Ecology. A master’s degree in Natural Resources from Cornell University followed with a major in Fishery Science and a minor in Resource Policy and Planning.

Mark worked a rewarding 31 years with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, serving the first eight years with the Department of Environmental Resources, and the final 23 years with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. He retired in 2017. Public health functions, including water supply inspection, were the focus of his DER years. The PFBC Division of Environmental Services was his home in the final portion of his career and the tasks he undertook included issuing permits for pond activities, remediation of Superfund sites, hydropower licensing, water withdrawals, natural resources damage recovery following pollution events and working with other agencies and nonprofit organizations in natural resources restoration. Mark managed the Division for two years prior to his retirement.

Mark lives in Stormstown with his wife, Patti, and dog Kora. Patti and Mark raised three children and are now enjoying their grandchildren. He takes Kora on therapy dog visits to a care home monthly, and performs other volunteer work, including ClearWater’s Land Conservation and Stewardship Committee. He appreciates Clearwater’s staff and strong regional conservation presence.

Derek James grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he nurtured a love for nature, fishing with his father, playing sports, and developing a particular fascination with birds of prey. After graduating from Ottawa Hills High School in 1998, he earned a biology degree from Grand Valley State University.

For the past 20 years, Derek has dedicated his career to fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion in education. He has worked in both secondary and higher education, focusing on providing opportunities for students from historically marginalized groups who have faced systemic barriers. Derek holds an MS from Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

Currently, Derek serves as the Dean of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Juniata, he held various roles at Pennsylvania State University, including coaching high school and middle school basketball and teaching ninth-grade earth science and algebra.

While at Penn State, Derek was actively involved in promoting inclusion and belonging. He co-chaired the Commission of Racial and Ethnic Diversity (CORED), served on the Task Force for Policing in Communities of Color, and was a member of the ClearWater Conservancy DEI Taskforce. Additionally, he spent 11 years advising MANRRS, a student organization focused on supporting diverse talent in agriculture, natural resources, and related sciences.

In his free time, Derek enjoys playing recreational basketball, going on bird walks, and spending time with his family and friends. He and his wife have lived in State College for 17 years and are the proud parents of two sons.

Sara LaJeunesse is the assistant director of research communications in the Penn State Office of Strategic Communications, where she manages a team that is responsible for promoting Penn State as a top research institution. In particular, her team is tasked with engaging national media to raise awareness of Penn State’s research enterprise. Broadly, her expertise lies in helping to shape public support and appreciation for an organization’s mission and activities.

Prior to joining Penn State in 2008, Sara worked in communications at the University of Miami and at Everglades National Park. She received a bachelor’s degree in environmental science at the University of Tennessee and a master’s degree in biology at the University of Georgia.

In her free time, Sara is a daily runner, often participating in longer local races. She also enjoys hiking and biking in the region’s many natural areas and is passionate about conservation and natural areas protection.

Sara lives in the Holmes-Foster neighborhood of the State College Borough. She has two teenaged daughters who attend the State College High School and Delta Program.

Matt is an ecologist and program manager with the National Park Service. He has been with the NPS for over 20 years and leads a group of scientists who help park managers understand and improve forest, stream, and river health in nine Appalachian national parks. Matt is also an adjunct Assistant Professor of Wildlife Conservation at Penn State University in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management where he teaches a graduate course on how to design field experiments. Matt is a member of the Ornithological Technical Committee of the Pennsylvania Biological Survey.

He and his wife Jennifer have two children, Sam and Ellie, live in State College and have been long-time members of ClearWater Conservancy. Matt enjoys birding, hiking, trail running, gardening, and spending time with his family exploring the Centre region and beyond.

As Partner-in-Charge of the State College office of Urish Popeck, Kevin leads the engagements for a multitude of clients in the healthcare, manufacturing, construction, real estate, and professional services industries. He is responsible for all aspects of each accounting and tax engagement from planning through reporting for small businesses and their owners as well as for high-net-worth individual clients.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from The Pennsylvania State University and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants. In the community, Kevin volunteers for Clearwater Conservancy, Mount Nittany Health, College Heights Association, Centre County Industrial Development Authority, and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.

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Terry Melton has been a volunteer for ClearWater Conservancy since 2009, when she took over care of ClearWater’s native garden, a task she enjoyed for 11 years. Terry retired in 2015 as Founder and Director of Mitotyping Technologies, an internationally recognized and ISO 17025 Accredited forensic DNA testing laboratory. Terry and her husband Bob, PSU Professor of Aerospace Engineering, have lived in Centre County since 1981, raised two children in the area, and now have four grandchildren.

In retirement her special interests are gardening, yoga, travel, reading, environmental activism, and serving as a volunteer for AAUW, the The HOME Foundation, and ClearWater Conservancy. She is “re-wilding” a 12-acre property near Colyer Lake, and occasionally writes about native plants and habitats for local organizations.

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Donnan Stoicovy has a long history in education and the environment. During her career as an educator, she supported environmental education, as well as service learning projects, such as recycling, composting, and gardening for her 45 years worth of students. She is actively involved with Millbrook Marsh as our Clearwater representative and chair for the Advisory Committee. She has been actively involved in the Centred Outdoors Planning Committee from its inception and attends as many of their events along with Joy (her golden retriever) as possible. She serves as the chair for the PA Advisory Council for Environmental Education (ACEE) as one of DCNR’s two representative. She is also the chair of the PA Project Learning Tree Steering Committee.

Donnan is a PA Master Naturalist, who does a myriad of volunteering for ClearWater Conservancy and for other organizations. She enjoys running, bicycling, canoeing, kayaking, and gardening in her free time. Her dog, Joy, loves ClearWater Conservancy.