The New River Conservancy has named Lisa Stansell-Galitz, of Pearisburg, VA, as its new communications and marketing director to help strengthen the organization’s mission and build more awareness, volunteerism, and funding for one of the nation’s best-known river systems.
Stansell-Galitz brings decades of marketing experience to the Conservancy. She has most recently worked with the Greenbrier River Watershed Association, the Indian Creek Watershed Association, and the Watoga State Park Foundation in West Virginia, managing communications and website development. She is the founder, and former editor and publisher of Lewisburg, WV-based Daytripper travel magazine. She has resided in Pearisburg with her family for the past six years.
Conservancy director Elizabeth Underwood welcomed Stansell-Galitz, emphasizing the strengths she brings to the organization. “Her skills and talents will be an asset to the New River Conservancy and will enhance our team’s ability to protect the waters, woodland, and wildlife of the New River watershed,” Underwood said. The non-profit conservancy is dedicated to protecting the New River watershed in Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina, and is based in West Jefferson, NC, near the river’s headwaters. A new office in Draper, VA, will open in June and be educational visitor space.
Stansell-Galitz has spent a lifetime tubing and kayaking rivers in the New River watershed and hiking its mountains searching for waterfalls. She calls the new position “a dream job – one for which I feel I have been training for years.”
The New River winds its way through three states and countless Appalachian communities that have depended on its bounty for generations. It predates the Appalachian Mountains and flows north from North Carolina through Virginia into America’s newest national park, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia. The New River is a unique and irreplaceable national treasure that connects us and feeds us – mind, body, and soul. We care for the river that has, for centuries, taken care of us, because a healthy river means healthy communities, both wild and human.
The conservancy was established in 1974 to “protect the river and ensure that the waters that feed it are clean; that the land supports vibrant plants and animals; and that the communities that rely on it are passionate and empowered advocates for a healthy New River.”
If you have questions, you can contact Stansell-Galitz at Lisa@newriverconservancy.org.
