Southeastern Trust for Parks and Land Adds New Board Members and Staff

Environmental Non-Profit Adds Rebecca Godwin and Brett Peanasky to the Board of Directors, Hires Staff Members Keith Ray and Amanda Leesburg During Its 10^th Anniversary Season

ATLANTA (August 1, 2022) – Southeastern Trust for Parks and Land (SE Trust), the non-profit which acquires and develops land for conservation, recreation and community in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee, has added two board of directors and two staff members in this its 10^th anniversary year. Today, Rebecca Godwin, assistant professor of biology at Piedmont University, and Brett Peanasky, attorney and eco-enthusiast, join the board. Simultaneously, SE Trust has added staff positions, hiring Keith Ray to director of conservation and Amanda Leesburg to director of community engagement.

“We are tremendously proud that SE Trust continues to improve our organization and further accomplish our mission,” said Barney Crooks, president of the board. “Bringing on new board members like Rebecca and Brett with such diverse backgrounds and experiences further strengthens our leadership and will help guide SE Trust to the next level for decades to come.”

Rebecca Godwin holds two degrees from Auburn University, a BS of zoology and an MS of biology, and completed her PhD from the University of California, Davis in entomology. Her main area of research is the phylogenetics, taxonomy and systematics of trapdoor spiders about which she is a published expert. She is currently an assistant professor in the Natural Sciences Department at Piedmont University where she teaches introductory biology courses as well as genetics and invertebrate zoology. She has a true passion for effectively communicating science both with classroom students and with the public and has volunteered with Black Belt Environmental Science and Arts Program (BBESAP) and the Louis Kreher Arboretum doing outdoor education for children as well as with conservation groups like the Alabama Plant Conservation Alliance (APCA). She and her husband live in Habersham County, Ga. with their cats, tortoise and maybe a spider or two.

Brett Peanasky grew up on a farm in western Ohio baling hay, mucking stalls, playing baseball and eating sweet corn and asparagus from the family garden. He earned a B.A. in architecture from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and a Juris Doctor and Master of City Planning with a focus in environmental and land use planning from the University of Pennsylvania. Spending time in an experimental ecological community in northern Arizona sparked a deep appreciation for unique landscapes and a desire to protect them. After a decade in Washington, D.C., he and his family now live in Atlanta’s Decatur community where he enjoys playing outside with his family and exploring the urban trails in the Atlanta region. Brett is looking forward to reigniting his interest in outdoor exploration and helping SE Trust conserve landscapes that everyone can enjoy for generations to come.

“Our organization is fueled by amazing volunteers, and we’re thrilled that Rebecca and Brett will join this group on the board,” said Bill Jones, founder and executive director of the Southeastern Trust for Parks and Land. “At the same time, I’m so proud that, thanks to the stellar leadership of our past and present group of directors, Amanda and Keith will join our executive team to help steer us into our second decade, further allowing us to extend our core mission of conservation, recreation and community. Something good is certainly happening!”

Amanda Leesburg joins SE Trust as the non-profit’s first director of community engagement. A 20-year veteran of the communications industry, Amanda has been an executive for nationally recognized public relations agencies and organizations in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. With deep experience in sustainability, environmental campaigns, community and government outreach, corporate partnerships and diversity programs, she created one of the first sustainable “green” marketing and public relations firms in Atlanta in 2007 to work with clients and non-profit organizations including Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Animal Planet, Captain Planet Foundation, Wellness Within Your Walls, Laura Turner Seydel and others. Amanda has helped launch more than 50 non-toxic, healthy living and sustainable consumer products and introduced media to new environmental categories including slow fashion and healthy indoor air products. A native of Birmingham, Ala., she holds a B.A. in speech communication from The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) and lives in Atlanta. She plans to visit all U.S. national parks over the next five years and hopes to finally see a moose in the wild.

Keith Ray comes to SE Trust as director of conservation. With more than 15 years of experience in biology focusing on conservation and ecology in southeastern ecosystems, he was most recently a biology professor at Reinhardt University. A fish biologist at heart, Keith has focused on studying patterns of biodiversity. He is published in several scientific publications, and through his work, Keith has described three new species of fish. His research and consulting has taken him around the world including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Brazil, Canada, Venezuela, Colombia, and to more than 20 states. An experienced grant writer, Keith has secured nearly $700,000 in total awards during his career. He previously served on the board of directors for SE Trust and has volunteered his time with other conservation organizations including the Mountain Conservation Trust and the Georgia Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation. Keith holds a master’s degree in biology from Auburn University and lives with his wife and three sons in Atlanta where he enjoys hiking, camping and delving into his favorite book, “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson.

Meet Our Board and Staff