Potomac Conservancy - Potomac Conservancy Staff

Potomac Conservancy Staff

Wagon Wheel Farm, Winchester, Va., October 2009

Hedrick joined the Conservancy in January, 2007. Charged with directing the Conservancy as it meets the myriad of challenges facing the Potomac River, he will guide the Conservancy through its next phase of growth and help expand our important conservation work throughout the watershed. Hedrick will provide the leadership to actively protect water quality, preserve scenic beauty, and encourage responsible recreation in the Potomac River watershed. He comes to the Conservancy with over 15 years of nonprofit fundraising and leadership experience, most recently as Vice President of the Metropolitan Group, a strategic communication and resource development consulting firm. Before joining the Metropolitan Group, Hedrick worked for several conservation groups, including the National Park Foundation, Izaak Walton League of America, and the League of Conservation Voters. In addition to his extensive fundraising and management expertise, Hedrick has experience mobilizing grassroots advocates, formulating public policy, partnering with public agencies and developing conservation programs. Hedrick received his bachelor's degree in history from Yale University, and his master's in public administration from George Washington University. He lives with his wife and two children in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Anne Sundermann, Senior Director of Communications and Outreach

Anne joined the Conservancy in December 2006. She directs the organization’s communications and outreach initiatives, providing strategic direction to projects such as the Fish Mystery petition campaign, the annual State of the Nation’s River report, and other advocacy initiatives. Anne is responsible for the Conservancy’s quarterly newsletter, website and email communications, as well as brochures, reports, direct mail, and other written materials. She also oversees the Conservancy’s public support activities, including Growing Native and the River Center at Lock 8. Before coming to the Conservancy, Anne was the outreach director at the Kentucky Waterways Alliance, and has worked in communications for several DC-area nonprofit science and technical associations. Anne has a B.A. in English Literature from Villanova. In her free time, Anne likes to hike, kayak, and sail.

Melisa Klem, Senior Director of Development

Melisa joined Potomac Conservancy in March of 2011. As the Director of Development, she looks for new and creative ways to expand the organization’s programs through partnerships with foundations, government agencies, and individual donors. Melisa authors foundation proposals, showcases the work of the Conservancy to interested donors, and plans the Annual Gala. Melisa was previously in the biotech industry where she raised money for a mid-sized biopharmaceutical firm and a public research institute. She also held an environmental consulting position at the Department of Energy with Booz Allen Hamilton. She has over ten years of experience and is currently completing her MBA at University of Maryland's Smith School of Business. Melisa received her undergraduate degree from UMD as well in Environmental Policy and Politics, where she was a Life Sciences Scholar. She lives with her husband and three children in Silver Spring, MD. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her family, competing her boisterous young dressage horse, and training her beloved German Shepherds.

Melissa Diemand, Development Associate and Office Coordinator

Melissa joined the Conservancy in September 2010. As the Development Associate and Office Coordinator, she works on membership, database management and office administration. She comes to the Conservancy with a background in political research and project management, and has helped to elect individuals with progressive environmental values to state and federal offices. Melissa earned a BA in Political Science and a minor in International Studies from the American University in Washington, DC. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, reading and exploring different areas in the Mid-Atlantic to hike and tour.

Aimee Weldon, Senior Director of Restoration & Lands

Conservancy’s conservation easement programs in the Potomac headwaters and directs our restoration program centered in Central Maryland. She provides assistance to local communities, schools, farmers and other private landowners to improve water quality through riparian buffers and the creation of upland forests, rain gardens and wildlife habitat, including improving in-stream habitat for brook trout. She is the author of Conserving Habitat through the Federal Farm Bill – A Guide for Land Trusts and Landowners and has given numerous presentations on this topic across the nation. Aimee has more than 10 years of conservation experience working at the local, state and national levels including recent leadership positions at Defenders of Wildlife in D.C. and the National Audubon Society in Virginia. She has a Masters degree in Ecology from North Carolina State University.

Emily Warner, Land Protection Manager

Emily joined the Conservancy in March of 2009. She works in the Potomac headwaters region on land protection transactions, watershed restoration and conservation projects, and educational programs. Before joining the Conservancy, Emily served as Executive Director of the Hampshire County (WV) Farmland Protection Board. Her recent experience includes establishing riparian forest buffers with Chesapeake Bay Foundation and conducting stream assessment and restoration projects with Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Allegheny College of Meadville, PA. In her free time, Emily enjoys running, hiking, canoeing, gardening, bread-baking, and feeding baby bison.