Susan Holloway: Treasurer.

Susan is currently an independent consultant. She helps clients with their issues with Federal Government contract compliance. She has spent the past 5 years as an Audit Manager performing contract audits for a CPA firm of contractors engaged with USAID, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Education projects. Prior experience included working on a two-year special assignment in Saudi Arabia and a two-year assignment in Saipan and the Northern Marianas for the Department of the Interior. Susan and her husband John have lived in Shepherdstown for over 20 years. She has three children from a prior marriage and two stepchildren. She and John have 5 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. She holds a B. A. in Business Administration/Accounting from the University of Virginia and has completed the Public Administration Master’s Program from the University of Oklahoma. She maintains the education requirements to support requirements for the Federal Yellow Book. Her hobbies include 5 Dogs and creating jewelry with polymer clay.

Ora Dixon: USFWS/NCTC Liaison, Friends of NCTC.

Ora works closely with the FNCTC to provide regular communication and coordination of mutually developed programs and projects. Ora earned a B.S. degree in Microbiology while living in Louisiana, an M.S. degree in Strategic Leadership from Mountain State University, in WV, and an M.A. in Communication Studies from West Virginia University. She is a Biologist and Course Leader at the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, National Conservation Training Center, where she currently works. Her responsibilities include planning, designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating training courses and programs. During her career, she has designed, directed, and coordinated training and programs in a variety of areas including: News Media, Congressional Operations, Volunteer Recruitment and Management, Conservation Partnerships, Grant Writing, Communicating Science, Negotiation Skills, Mentoring, Inland Oil Spill, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of USA, served as President GSUSA-Board of Directors at Council located in Martinsburg, WV, and Shore Sister School Program.

Her career in the Department of the Interior has served several federal governmental agencies with a career span of expertise from Teaching, Research, Park Ranger, to that of Biologist/Course Leader. In one of her most rewarding volunteer adventures, Ora and two other West Virginians, including her husband, traveled to various locations throughout the state to complete the required classes to become a West Virginia Master Naturalist. It also required fieldwork, plus volunteer service hours to finalize certification with the WV Department of Natural Resources. Afterward, the three returned to the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia in 2006 and established the Potomac Valley Master Naturalist Chapter in partnership with the Potomac Valley Audubon Society Chapter, Shepherdstown, WV. Hundreds of Master Naturalists have been trained and now volunteer with the Friends of the National Conservation Training Center (FNCTC) and throughout the community. Ora is now a lifetime member of the PWMN. Ora enjoys family, and quietness with moments of stillness.

Janet Olcott:

Janet, is a part-time veterinarian at Hillside Veterinary Hospital in Charles Town, WV. She has an A.B. in Biology from Mount Holyoke College, a DVM from the University of Missouri, and practices veterinary acupuncture. Janet spends much of her time caring for her mother who is almost 106 years old, carriage driving, and caring for her 14 senior miniature horses. She is married to Mike Shepp, and they are currently expecting their first grandchild. Janet organized and continues to maintain the FNCTC Brick Fund Project, which offers the opportunity to commemorate individuals by paving the courtyard of the FWS Fallen Comrades Memorial. Janet currently serves as the co-Chair of the FNCTC Outreach Committee.

Nancy Streeter:

Nancy, married, is retired after 20 years with the National Park Service and 16 with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at NCTC. She has a B.A. in Geology from East Carolina University and an M.A. in Liberal Studies from State University of New York. She is a wood sculptor and shows yearly at the Over The Mountain Studio Tour. She has taught classes in wood carving. She has served on the boards of Heritage Craft Center and Washington Street Artists Cooperative. Nancy has served two years as FNCTC Board Chair.

Joseph Spurgas:

Joseph has a B.S. in Forestry and Wildlife from Virginia Tech, a B.A. in Elementary Education from Shepherd University, and an M.A. in Secondary Education from West Virginia University. He retired as a principal at Harpers Ferry Middle School. His hobbies include combined driving with horses, gardening, and horticulture. Joseph serves as the Chair of the FNCTC Outreach Committee and Chairman of the Shepherdstown Elementary School Improvement Council. He is a classroom reader at Shepherdstown Elementary School. He is a Hike Leader at Harpers Ferry Middle School in collaboration with the Harpers Ferry National Park Service Tiger on the Trail program.

Laura Robertson:

Laura is an Associate Professor in Biology at Shepherd University, where she teaches Microbiology, Mycology, and other biology courses. She has a Ph.D. in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.S. in Genetics from the University of Georgia, and a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Georgia. She and her husband and two sons have lived on a farm in the Eastern Panhandle for about twenty years. Laura is a certified Master Naturalist with the Potomac Valley Master Naturalist Chapter and is a fabric artist.

Daniel Bennett:

Daniel has a B.A. from Hampshire College. He is a political and government technology consultant, and has volunteered for, worked for, and had numerous political clients including being a Field Organizer. Daniel is the FNCTC board, Chair of Communication with responsibilities to develop, update, monitor policies, social networking, electronic discussion groups, and recommend new ways to communicate with FNCTC members and others through alternative media. He is an award-winning technologist and writer about how technology influences politics. And, he has worked on Capitol Hill for Members of Congress and Committees. He is the co-author of "The Net Effect: How Cyber-Advocacy is changing the Political Landscape". He was a columnist for The Cloakroom, a website for the National Journal.