Darby Creek Valley Association - Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Executive Committee

President - Dr. Jaclyn Rhoads

Dr. Rhoads received her B.S., M.S. and Phd. she also earned a certificate in Nonprofit Administration from the University of Pennsylvania. She is the Assistant Executive Director at the Pinelands Preservation Alliance and teaches environmental policy at Drexel University and environmental science at Widener University. She is also a fellow of the Delaware Valley Regional Network of the Environmental Leadership Program, a member of Norwood's Environmental Advisory Committee, President of the Friends of the Heinz National Wildlife Refuge and founder of Delaware Concerned Citizens for Environmental Change. Jaclyn received Environmental Advocate of the Year Award from the National Association of Women Business Owners, South Jersey Chapter in 2017 and the PennFuture “Woman of the Delaware River Watershed Award in 2018. She can be reached atShe can be reached at: president@dcva.org

1st Vice President - Alan Samel

Alan has been a member of DCVA since 1992 and was president from 2011-2013. He has been coordinating the Stream Watch program since 1995. Alan has a B.S. in Animal Science from Penn State and a M.S. in Entomology and Applied Ecology from the University of Delaware. He is currently employed as an Environmental Toxicologist at FMC Corporation with over 30 years of environmental experience. Alan has published and presented over 25 papers, platform presentations and posters at Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Annual Meetings. He is a past-Chair of SETAC North America Science Committee and a current Chair of SETAC Global Science Committee. Alan can be reached at:1stvp@dcva.org

2nd Vice President - Derron LaBrake

He is a principal at Wetlands & Ecology. Inc. He earned his B.S. Biology /Ecology Concentration from West Chester University, and has been working as a consulting ecologist for more than 30 yrs. His professional certifications include Ecological Designer, Professional Wetland Scientist, Habitat Evaluation Procedures, and Wetland Evaluation Technique. Specialized training completed include: Master Watershed Steward Training from the Penn State Extension; and Low Impact Development and Stormwater Management from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

In April 2018, Derron’s work as the lead designer of green stormwater infrastructure project that was recognized by the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia and the Green Stormwater Infrastructure Partnership with an Excellence in Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) award for a Private Project. Derron has completed six other GSI projects in the Pennypack Creek watershed over the past 12 years. He is an active member of the Delaware River Watershed Initiative’s Upstream Suburban Philadelphia Cluster, which is funded in part by the William Penn Foundation (WPF) to engage and educate the public about water quality. He has been the monitoring lead for Cobbs Creek in this project since 2014.

Derron represents DCVA in the Eastwick Lower Darby Creek Area Community Advisory Group, which was formed to inform and advise the community that lives adjacent to the Lower Darby Creek Superfund Site. He served as co-chair of the Technical Working Group between 2014 and 2018, when the Clearview Landfill remedial design was underway and continues to provide technical assistance as an active member of the CAG. He has also been able to watchdog EPA as they address this complicated site, bringing the experience he gained from working on 21 other non-EPA lead superfund sites, six of which were landfills to support the interests and needs of the Eastwick Community. Derron can be reached at: 2ndvp@dcva.org

3rd Vice President - Earl Wilson

Earl Wilson has made Eastwick his home for over forty years. He is a retired Philadelphia Public School teacher who has taught science to hundreds of children. His passion for science and teaching has him committed to organizations such as Eastwick Action Committee, Eastwick Friends and Neighbors Coalition, Darby Creek Valley Association and the Eastwick Lower Darby Creek Area Community Advisory Group. Collectively with Eastwick Friends and Neighbors Coalition, Earl has received the Bread and Roses Award for his dedicated work in Eastwick as a community activist. He is also the proud recipient of the Eastwick Lower Darby Creek Area Community Advisory Group Leadership Award and just recently received the Darby Creek Valley Association Ribbon of Green Award for his lifelong dedication and commitment to over forty years of service to Eastwick and the surrounding communities. Earl can be reached at ehwilsonsr2@aol.com

Secretary - Ann JacksonAnn can be reached at: secretary@dcva.org

Ann Jackson (retired), has been a member of DCVA since 2010. She participates in the Stream Watch programs, wetland meadow restoration projects, Darby/Cobbs Watersheds-Wide Clean Ups, habitat garden development, tree planting events, and Outreach Community events.

Treasurer - Richard Carroll

Dick has been a member of DCVA since 1995 and treasurer since 2002. He worked with DCVA volunteer Bill Frasch to win an US EPA funding for a Technical Assistance Grant in 2004, the purpose of which is to provide the community surrounding the EPA superfund sites in the Lower Darby Creek area with information about the cleanup and the risks to the community associated with the site. Dick also worked with DCVA volunteer JanMarie Rushforth on a grant to monitor the cleanup of the Haverford State Hospital property from 2007 to 2009 when the hospital was closed and the land became available for other uses. Dick also manages the funds for the William Penn Foundation grant to DCVA whose purpose is to study and improve water quality in the Darby Creek watershed. A busy volunteer, Dick has maintained a section of the Horseshoe Trail for the Wilmington Trail Club since 1990. For the Hagley Museum he volunteers for special events, the annual car show in September and fireworks in June. As a Winterthur Museum volunteer he assists the garden guides with walks for the public. Dick has also been a member of the Friends Of Heinz Refuge since 2010 and had served as the treasurer since 2015

Dick can be reached at: treasurer@dcva.org

Director- Susan Miller

Experienced leader with a history of working in the Nonprofit and science industries. Skilled in Nonprofit Organization, management, marketing , finance and fundraising. Susan has a Masters in Non-profit Organizational Management from Eastern University and a B.S. in Biology/Marine Biology from Long Island University, Southampton. Susan has years of experience in management and in the environmental field, and has managed geotechnical soil laboratories and a medical neurovirology research lab.

General Board Members		Emeritus Board Members
	Robin Mann	Ed Ambrosio ,
Donna Adams	Toni McIntosh	Dave Cannan
Jamie Anderson	Marty Milligan	Jan Haigis
David Bennett	Peter Puglionesi	John Haigis
Tim Denny	TomRoy Smith	Tom Houghton
Tim Devaney	Mary Westervelt	Carol Laws
Kathryn Goddard-Doms		Jan Marie Rushforth*
Carl DuPolt		Andy Saul
		Jim Stultrager
Jeannette Guess		Fritz Thornton*
Rich Horowitz		Olga Thornton
Clyde Hunt		Greg Vitali
Barbarann Keffer		Joseph Ackerman, John Furth
Rosemary Kesling		Bill Buchanan, Anne Ackerman
Gerry Krieg		Robert Doherty*
Scott Maits		Bill Frasch*

*-Deceased

Darby Creek Valley Association P.O. Box 732 Drexel Hill, PA 19026 | Phone: 484.222.2502
Jaclyn Rhoads, President – president@dcva.org

Sue Miller, Director - director@dcva.org