Meet The Team
Gail Berrigan – Executive Director
Gail Berrigan has helped non-profits build organizational capacity and deliver results for more than 25 years. Her experience in non-profit administration includes operations, fundraising, program development, donor relations, budget management, strategic planning, and organizational development. Previously, she served as communications director for a national advocacy organization. She draws on her communications background and years of experience in rural living and municipal government for insights into the infrastructure needs and economic challenges of rural communities as well as how to increase engagement and support for new initiatives.
Gail joined CVI in 2022, inspired by its mission and partnerships with the many passionate individuals and groups dedicated to stewarding and protecting the extraordinary natural resources of Central Appalachia. She has a master’s degree in sustainable land-use planning with a focus on climate resilient design from the Conway School, and a certificate in Organizational Consulting and Change Leadership from Georgetown University.
Megan Lehew – Staff Accountant
Megan has been with CVI since 2021 and works out of the main office in Davis, West Virginia. As the Staff Accountant, she oversees the day-to-day financial operations of the organization and keeps the financial records accurate and organized. She works with the Executive Director and Deputy Director to ensure projects stay within budget, and is also the Bay Restoration Fund administrator for Montgomery County, MD. In addition to her financial duties, she acts as CVI’s Human Resources Manager, overseeing payroll and benefits administration for our team members.
After spending over a decade in customer service and hospitality roles, Megan decided to pivot her career after having her son and returned to college at the age of 26. She graduated summa cum laude from Southern New Hampshire University in 2019, earning her Bachelor of Science – Business Studies in Accounting. She is grateful for the opportunity to use her accounting expertise at an organization that makes a measurable, lasting impact on the environment, and to have the ability to work in collaboration with other organizations and federal agencies with similar conservation goals. Megan moved to Tucker County, WV with her family in 2017, and in her free time enjoys hiking, skiing, and planning her next Walt Disney World vacation.
Chrissy Verdream – Habitat Restoration Technician
Chrissy joined CVI in the Abingdon, VA office the fall of 2020. Her roles include assisting in the permitting, surveying, design, implementation and reporting of habitat restoration projects. She graduated from Appalachian State University with a B.S. in Biology – Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Studies and a certificate in Geographic Information Systems. From undergrad she went on to complete a M.S. in Biology at James Madison University, where her research focused on population dynamics of a critically endangered freshwater mussel that is endemic to the James River watershed in Virginia. Throughout graduate school Chrissy presented her research at various conferences and took home multiple awards. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking and attempting to learn to knit.
Lori Maloney – EBTJV Coordinator
Lori Maloney is the coordinator for the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, a partnership of state and federal fisheries managers, conservation organizations, and other entities dedicated to protecting, restoring, and enhancing aquatic habitat from Georgia to Maine. She has a a B.S. in Natural Resources from Cornell University and an M.S. in Zoology with a focus on fisheries management from North Carolina State University. She was instrumental in funding and implementing several stream restoration projects as a watershed specialist in Tioga County, PA before moving to West Virginia where she co-founded an environmental non-profit. She also has 6 years’ experience as a technician and research associate with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (Edgewater, MD). She is passionate about clean water and science-based aquatic conservation, and curious about human connections to nature. She loves working with many people and organizations across the Appalachian states in a unified approach to keep wild brook trout on the map for future generations.
Habitat Restoration Specialist (August 2022)
Franklin Wagner – Habitat Restoration Technician
Franklin joined CVI in 2020 and works out of the Southwest Virginia office. His responsibilities center around implementing stream and habitat restoration projects on private land in the region. In addition to restoration projects, he contributes to grant writing and public outreach as part of his position. He graduated from Purdue in 2017 with a BS in Environmental and Ecological Engineering and stayed around for 2 more years to earn an MS in Forestry and Natural Resources. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, he has a passion for conservation and is excited to contribute his skills and qualities to the important environmental work that CVI engages in.
Antoine Randolph – Eco-hydrology and Watershed Modeling
Antoine works out of Columbus, OH and joined CVI in 2021 as part of a collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service Northeastern Research Station. His primary research interest is down-scaling potential global climate change effects on forested landscapes to the local scale through the use of hydro-ecological modeling. Antoine received a B.S. in Literature from the University of California Santa Cruz (with a secondary concentration in Ecology) and a Master’s Degree in Resource Ecology from Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment. Antoine also spent four additional years studying Physical Geography (i.e., Climatology and Watershed Modeling) at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Antoine is an avid tennis player and a solo-musician.