RJ has been a resident of Swannanoa since 2020; moving to the Western North Carolina area back in 2017 from Dallas, Texas to escape the big city life.  He is the retired land manager for RiverLink, a local land conservation and watershed protection organization. RJ has backgrounds in geology, watershed management, land conservation and native plants, and has been applying these skills in our area since his retirement to a number of local conservation and restoration initiatives.  He is also serving on the steering committee for the Swannanoa Small Area and Resiliency Plan.  He has also been working with FANS and a number of our committed board members on planning and fundraising for a greenway along the Swannanoa River.

Outside of his work with FANS and our local community, RJ is on the board of his church, and has been working with his subdivision's homeowners association on post-Helene recovery and land restoration.  He has also served on the board of the North Carolina Ginseng Association; a resource that provides information to the area on raising and using medicinal plants.  For the last 3 years, he has been coordinating with the NC Dept. of Env. Quality and some local volunteers to test the Swannanoa River for fecal coliform contamination; that data being provided to the public under the Swim Guide program.  

RJ enjoys hiking, biking, kayaking and generally being outside. He has an aversion to invasive and non-native plants, and works tirelessly to pull up anything that does not naturally belong on his property.