Larry serves on several nonprofit boards and brings a career shaped at the intersection of journalism and technology. He was part of the founding team that launched USA Today and earlier worked in Paris with the International Herald Tribune.
Jeannie Lennon is a community activist and environmental advocate based in Wilmington, North Carolina, known for her leadership and volunteer service with several Cape Fear–area organizations. She has served in board and advisory roles with groups such as Cape Fear River Watch and the Eagles Island Nature Park effort, working to protect local waterways and expand public access to natural areas. A longtime Wilmington resident, Lennon is also active with the New Hanover County Cooperative Extension Advisory Council, where she supports educational and community initiatives across the region
Eulis A. Willis is the longtime mayor of Navassa, North Carolina, a local historian, and an advocate for Gullah Geechee cultural preservation. He is the author of Navassa: The Town and Its People, 1735–1991, a landmark history that documents the town’s roots in nearby rice plantations and its Gullah Geechee community. Inspired by a desire to understand his town’s past, Willis began recording oral histories and researching archives in the 1980s, work that later led to his appointment as a commissioner with the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, a National Heritage Area under the National Park Service.
Sue Hayes is a retired chemist with extensive experience in industrial research and university-level teaching. For decades, she has been an environmental leader in the Cape Fear region, with a focus on water quality, conservation, and public engagement. Hayes has served on the New Hanover Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors, including terms as Chair and Vice Chair, and was also a member of the New Hanover County Planning Board. She was President of Cape Fear River Watch and is a Lifetime Member of the League of Women Voters of the Lower Cape Fear. Hayes brings technical expertise.
Jim spent most of his career in the automotive repair industry as an owner, manager, and technician. After semi-retiring, he served as the park director in Belville, where he managed events and daily operations at The Riverwalk Park, along with many additional town responsibilities, before fully retiring this July.
Stephen is Chairman and Co-Founder of Koolbridge Energy, a renewable energy company that delivers advanced home energy solutions that optimize solar, battery, and grid power for greater efficiency, lower costs, and reliable comfort.
Ray Pelletier is a retired Navy JAG and experienced nonprofit board member with a background in governance, public policy, and complex project development. He is particularly interested in helping Eagles Island Nature Park move from vision to implementation through thoughtful planning, partnerships, and stewardship.
John is a Wilmington native. After graduation from college he served in the U.S. Navy and then attended law school. He returned to Wilmington where he worked as a lawyer for forty-five years. His work involved primarily representation of local governments and government agencies and zoning and land use issues. He retired in 2020 and lives at Wrightsville Beach.
Roger: Roger is a Geologist that worked in the energy industry for 20 years and then spent 20 years teaching Geology and Environmental Sciences at UNC-Wilmington. He retired in 2025 but still teaches courses for them. He works in the community giving many talks on multiple topics and he serves on multiple Boards, in addition to Eagles Island, including New Hanover Soil and Water, Cape Fear River Watch, and the Alliance for Cape Fear Trees. He does work with Navassa on their Super Fund issues and has been working 20 years with his wife doing Nature Conservancy projects with longleaf pine restoration and endangered species.
Matt Collogan is the Area Natural Resource Agent with N.C. Cooperative Extension, serving Brunswick, New Hanover, and Pender counties, where he provides research-based guidance on stormwater, water quality, and coastal natural resource issues. An environmental educator, gardener, and advocate for sustainable agriculture, he leads workshops and site visits on stormwater control measures, erosion control, native plants, and pollinator gardening while also serving as an elected supervisor on the New Hanover Soil and Water Conservation District Board.
Greg Williams retired as Chief, Engineering Branch from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District in 2023. He spent 30 years working for the Corps in Philadelphia District, the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) in Vicksburg, MS and Wilmington. Since retiring from the Corps, he has been teaching at UNCW in the Coastal Engineering Program. He earned a BS in civil engineering from NC State, masters in civil/coastal engineering from Old Dominion University and a Ph.D. in ocean engineering from Texas A&M. Greg is also a licensed Professional Engineer in Mississippi and North Carolina.
