Meet Our Board of Directors

Katie McCormick grew up paddling a small stretch of the St. Francis River and hiking in southeastern Missouri. Those adventures with her sister, Mary Crecelius, were the foundation for a lifelong appreciation for exploring, being outside, and building an understanding of the fundamental importance of our environment. Katie first moved to Tallahassee, FL in 2011. Although that move was her first time in Tallahassee, she had been exploring the Apalachicola River and Bay for more than twenty years. Katie has served on the Apalachicola Riverkeeper Board of Directors since 2016. She participated in RiverTrek for the first time in 2014 and continued to participate every year through 2019. Each trip down the full length of the Apalachicola, a journey from the river’s source to the Bay, is a unique opportunity to engage with the life of the river, to better understand the River’s relationship to its communities and ecosystems, and to help protect it. Her Board service is an extension of her commitment to building her own understanding of the River and connecting others to its purpose and preservation. When she’s not out enjoying the natural beauty of the Florida Panhandle’s rivers, beaches, and parks, Katie is helping to preserve and share history as Associate Dean for Special Collections & Archives for FSU Libraries.

Although a resident of Georgia, Clay has spent much of the last 20-plus years in Apalachicola. An avid outdoorsman, Clay enjoys hunting, fishing, paddling, and generally spending time outside—especially on the water. Clay has been a supporter of Riverkeeper for many years and was able to participate in RiverTrek 2017 – the second time he’s paddled the entire length of the Apalachicola River. “The Apalachicola Bay has become my home-away-from-home and I will do all that I can to protect it. As a Riverkeeper board member, I hope to have an even greater impact in protecting this wonderful treasure.” Clay is an investment advisor in Carrollton, Georgia where, in his free time, he enjoys shooting sporting clays, paddling the Chattahoochee River, and reading on the front porch.

Mike Price grew up in Maryland spending the first 33 years of his life enjoying another great estuary, the Chesapeake Bay by boating, fishing, crabbing. After moving to Georgia in 1998, he and his wife found numerous opportunities to get our family involved in environmental and outdoor activities which included volunteering with the Caretta Research Project (CRP) on Wassaw Island, Georgia. During summers, he and his sons spent weeks on Wassaw protecting and researching sea turtle nesting habits. Professionally, prior to retirement, Mike spent 40 years working for Blue Cross Blue Shield companies where he led their development and sales team. Now, having moved full time to his home on St. George Island, Mike is excited to channel his energy and talents into the activities that are focused on sustaining and improving the river, bay and floodplain. “Having lived on both ends of the Apalachicola Chattahoochee Flint River Basin, I am keenly aware of environmental challenges that affect this valuable resource.”

Barbara worked in information technology for the first half of her career and then returned to college to get her master’s in urban planning. She was first introduced to the Apalachicola River in a graduate level class taught by Steve Leitman. “The more I learned about the river system and its interconnectivity with the floodplain, forests, and rare and endangered plants and animals, the more I wanted to know. I continued learning by becoming a certified Green Guide and a Master Naturalist.” Barbara spends her rare free weekends kayaking and exploring the forest roads and, in the bogs, looking for wildflowers in the Apalachicola National Forest.

Ivo, his wife Heather and their pets moved from Pinckney, MI to their home on the Apalachicola River in 2017. This has given them a daily appreciation of the tremendous biodiversity and mysterious beauty that the Apalachicola River offers. “Our goal is to clean, preserve and better understand the intricate balance of this wonderful ecosystem … so helping with the Apalachicola Riverkeeper team is important to me and a great fit.” Ivo graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a BA in Economics and an MBA in Finance and International Business. During his career he has worked at Ford Motor Co., Pall Corp. and, lastly, TMD Friction as VP of Finance for the Americas region. This role required active global engagement and allowed Ivo to learn several foreign languages. Ivo loves Croatia, particularly the island of Rab, where he and his family spend long summers together. “What is striking and unique to me about the Apalachicola River is the incredible amount of life (manatees, dolphins, sharks, gators, otters, snakes, flounder, crabs, mullet …) that you can see if you take the time to observe.”

Raised in northeastern Connecticut, Diane grew up exploring nearby woodlands and playing with her many pets. She attended the University of Connecticut and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources. She spent a summer monitoring shorebirds along the Rhode Island coast, before moving south to Auburn University to study amphibian communities for her Master’s degree. In 2013, she moved to Carrabelle for a position working as a wildlife biologist on Tate’s Hell and Apalachicola wildlife management areas. She currently resides in Crawfordville and works as a Project Coordinator for the Nature Conservancy’s Florida Chapter, where she brings together partners to advance conservation in the region, focusing on restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem. The Apalachicola Region has captured her heart with its intricate ecosystems and high diversity. Diane prefers to spend her spare time outdoors with her dog and husband, Chris. Hobbies include birding, herping, paddling, reading, crafting, baking bread, and spending time with family and friends, but simply admiring native wildflowers or watching a bee or butterfly are enough to inspire joy.

The Apalachicola River guided Dodie by boat to the river and bay community of Apalachicola, Florida, where she now makes her home with her husband, 3 cats and one dog, in the historic “Hill” neighborhood. Dodie was born in Evansville, Indiana, another river town on the banks of the Ohio River. Her interests and curiosity have led her to study and work at various times as a science teacher, civil engineer, florist, and massage therapist, as well as earning a Private Pilot’s license and traveling and living on a boat. She enjoys kayaking, hiking, and music. She plays the flute and is a member of a recorder quartet and a ukulele orchestra. “I feel extremely fortunate to live in this beautiful and ecologically significant estuary. The river, floodplain and bay support an intricate web of species that evolved in tandem with the river. I wholeheartedly support Apalachicola Riverkeeper in its mission to improve and maintain the environmental integrity of the whole system. It’s an honor to serve on the Board and support this process.” Dodie kayaked the entire Apalachicola River in 2020 and 2021 as part of the RiverTrek team.

David is a retired educator primarily teaching anatomy, biology, conservation and ecology for 33 years, joining the faculty at Chipola college in 1997, and serving as Dean of the Mathematics and Natural Sciences department for 8 1/2 years. Comfortable inside and outside of the classroom, students were able to hike the Garden of Eden trail and paddle doing cleanup on Spring Creek and Chipola River. Campus projects included removing invasive plants and helping reintroduce more than 100 native trees following hurricane Michael. “Students learn so much by doing.” Raised in Jackson County, David and his wife Renea live outside of Marianna and enjoy almost anything in, on or near the water. “We are so blessed to call Northwest Florida home and try to invest our time and resources helping preserve and protect this beautiful and unique place.”

Allison was born in Columbus, Ohio and raised on the Great Lakes where she developed her love for the water. When her family moved south for milder weather, they quickly discovered and fell in love with the Forgotten Coast. Allison attended the University of Georgia as an undergraduate and made north Florida her home after graduating from Florida Statute University College of Law. She went into private practice as a regulatory attorney in Tallahassee where she lives with her husband, three children, and three dogs, all of whom share her love for the Apalachicola River. In her spare time, Allison loves exploring the beaches and shores of St. George Island, Apalachicola Bay, St. George Sound, and the banks of the Apalachicola River with her family. She was thrilled for the opportunity to contribute to the conservation of this special place through service on the Apalachicola Riverkeeper Board.

As a child, John Alber nearly drowned. What might have become a phobia instead bloomed into a passion for water, especially rivers. As a young lawyer, John represented citizens seeking to limit barge fleeting along the bluffs and wetlands of the Mississippi River. John has lived on or near the water ever since and has continued working to protect such treasures. On retirement, John and his wife Dodie launched a multi-year exploration aboard their trawler Barefoot Lady that covered more than 10,000 miles of inland and tidal rivers, lakes, bays, marshes, and coastlines in the U.S. and Canada. Now John lives in Apalachicola Florida with his wife, three cats and a dog, and spends hundreds of hours a year on the Apalachicola River, mostly in human-powered craft. John paddled RiverTrek in 2022 and has driven RiverTrek safety and support boats in 2021 and 2023. For him, the river is both a classroom and a place of worship. He sees supporting the Apalachicola Riverkeeper’s stewardship mission as reciprocity for the many gifts received from the Apalachicola and all the other waterways that have so enriched his life.

A resident of Tallahassee who worked at the Department of Community Affairs for more than 30 years, Rebecca provides voluntary assistance and oversight for Apalachicola Riverkeeper in regards to local government comprehensive planning, land development regulations, and land- based water quality issues. She is concerned about the reduction of water volume and long- term impacts to the Apalachicola Basin ecosystem, marine fishery and local economy.

Holly Parker Curry lives in Tallahassee where she directs the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition's Marine Protected Areas Campaign. Prior to joining ASOC, Holly clerked for U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida and later practiced land use and local government law at Theriaque & Spain Law Firm. Additionally, Holly has worked for the Surfrider Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, the Office of U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, and Leadership Florida. She holds a B.S. in International Affairs, M.S. in Applied American Politics & Policy, and J.D. summa cum laude with a certificate in Environmental and Land Use Law.  Holly is a policy wonk, outdoor enthusiast, and nature nerd, and can frequently be found hiking the Florida Trail with her family.

Craig Diamond (based in Tallahassee) has been an active, long-standing contributor to land and water conservation through volunteer organizations such as Apalachicola Riverkeeper and his professional work in local, regional and state government and the state university system. He is Regional Manager/Economics (emeritus) for The Balmoral Group, a natural resource economics consultancy, has managed land and resource policy research for 1000 Friends of Florida, and serves on the Sierra Club’s national Conservation Policy Committee. Resource protection and enhancement of the Apalachicola has been of particular interest to him for more than 30 years. He’s participated in RiverTrek, paddled the Chipola and Spring Creek enough times to turn his sons into competent outdoorsmen, and– keeping the watershed in mind – has hiked the tributaries of the upper Chattahoochee annually since the late 1970s. “The Apalachicola Bay and Riverkeeper team remains the best tool we have to promote and protect the system.”

Sid is a North Florida native who grew up enjoying the wonders of the Apalachicola River and Bay and who loves sharing those places with his two boys. Sid is a partner with Berger Singerman, LLP, in Tallahassee, where he practices in the areas of real estate and land use litigation, environmental law, administrative law and related fields.