Two hires deepen Greenway's capacity

The East Coast Greenway Alliance filled two new staff positions in November. Mary Beth Powell (above, left) has joined the team as River Relay Program Manager. She is coordinating the East Coast River Relay, the largest program in our organization’s history, being planned for next August through October along the entire East Coast. Lisa Watts  right)  is serving as Communications Manager, handling communications with members and friends of the Alliance along with media relations and publications.

Powell brings a deep background in public health and environmental management spanning government, academic, and nonprofit settings. She served most recently as a senior project officer at Active Living By Design, a national nonprofit based in Chapel Hill, NC, that promotes healthy communities. She was the first director of North Carolina’s statewide recycling program for the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Powell serves as president of the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters Foundation, on the executive committee of the North Carolina Alliance for Health, and on the advisory committee for the University of North Carolina Sustainability Strategic Master Plan.

Watts worked for years as a writer and editor at city and university magazines before moving into nonprofit communications in the last decade. Most recently she served as communications director at North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, helping the Durham, NC, school redesign its website and better engage internal and external audiences, and as senior strategic communications manager with Prevention Partners, a public health nonprofit based in Chapel Hill.

“I’m excited to see this organization’s development leap forward by adding these pros in two strategic areas,” says Executive Director Dennis Markatos-Soriano. “The River Relay promises to be an amazing series of events helping us engage thousands of new participants and partners. Having someone with Mary Beth’s breadth of experience to manage the many moving pieces will be terrific. And we appreciate the strong impact that Lisa has made at several nonprofits; we are eager to see the Greenway’s profile continue to rise under her communications leadership.”