Rich’s family moved to the Gettysburg area in the 1960’s. Following graduation from Gettysburg High School he earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and later earned a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland. His career as a civil servant began with summer employment at the FCC office in Gettysburg. He retired as the Head of the Propulsion Branch at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. He and his wife returned to Adams County in 2015 after spending most of their working years living in Carroll County, Maryland.

Watershed: Flat Run

Bill has lived most of his life in Adams County. For the last 35 years he has lived along the banks of Marsh Creek. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Mount St. Mary’s University and a medical degree from Jefferson Medical College. Since retiring from emergency medicine, Bill has enjoyed spending time with family, gardening, hiking, canoeing, traveling, and reading by a babbling brook in Maine. He is a certified invasive plant patroller with the Lake Stewards of Maine in the 30-Mile River watershed at the headwaters of the Androscoggin River. He also plants trees and tests the water of Middle Creek as a Watershed Alliance volunteer. Bill values the ancient Greek proverb: “A society grows great when old men (and women) plant trees in whose shade they never expect to sit.”

Watershed: Marsh Creek

Pat has lived in the Gettysburg area since 1989 and has recently retired after more than 40 years working in the legal and financial services sector. Pat brings an acumen for detail and organization to the board.

Watershed: Stevens Run

After graduating from Penn State with a degree in biology, Lesa Bird worked in cardiovascular research before moving to Gettysburg in 1999 with her family. Once in Gettysburg, she pursued her love of both research and the environment by working with the Watershed Alliance and the Adams County Office on Aging as they tested the water quality of local streams. With Advancing Science at Gettysburg College Lesa brought hands-on science activities and equipment to K-12 classrooms in south-central Pennsylvania, with a special focus on watershed education and the Chesapeake Bay, As a retiree, Lesa spends her time traveling, working in her chaotic garden, fly fishing, and focusing her energy on the volunteer opportunities she enjoys in Adams County.

Watershed: Willoughby Run

Karen has lived in Gettysburg since 2003 and recently retired after commuting daily to northern Virginia, working at the Northwest Federal Credit Union Foundation. Prior to her work at Northwest, she worked for the Arlington Country Treasurer’s Office as a Program Specialist, and at the Industrial Designers Society of America, as Senior Manager of Awards and Competitions. Karen is thrilled to be part of the Watershed Alliance and looks forward to learning and contributing as much as possible to a community that she loves. Living along Marsh Creek for more than twenty years has simply reenforced the importance of preserving and protecting our waterways. She and her husband, Barry, who are now empty nesters, love the life that Gettysburg offers, and Karen appreciates the opportunity to contribute to its preservation.

Watershed: Marsh Creek

Karen has spent most of her adult life in Adams County after growing up in suburban NJ. After many years of working in a variety of positions which utilized her nursing degree, she  joined Penn State Extension in April, 2024 as the Master Watershed Steward Coordinator. She is also a board member for Capital RC & D (Resource, Conservation, & Development). Karen believes the well-being of local communities is directly related to the health of the surrounding natural environment. In her free time she enjoys hiking, reading, and learning about ecology.

Watershed:  Upper Conewago Creek

Nick is retired after working 47 years at a local snack manufacturing company. He was involved with production supervision as well as food science activities. He earned a Business degree from HACC.

Nick spent most of his life living along the Conewago Creek appreciating its beauty and wildlife. Nick has been on the Watershed Alliance for 3 years as a water sample collector. Visiting all the National Parks with his wife Diane is on his bucket list.

Deborah (Gallagher) Kravchuk is currently on the faculty at Empire State University University, where she teaches future teachers as a professor in the Graduate School of Education.  As a Master Watershed Steward, her focus is on teaching the next generation about their world.

Dr. Kravchuk began her professional career as a Systems Field Engineer where her main area of expertise was testing and development for the Trident Submarine Navigation Subsystem.  She later worked on the team developing the navigation system for the Canadian Patrol Frigate.  

After making the decision to go shoreside, Dr. Kravchuk entered the field of education becoming a science and math teacher at the secondary level teaching numerous science and math topics at the high school level.  During that time, she became a NYS Master Teacher and was selected as Earth Science Teacher of the Year. 

Over the course of her career in education, Dr. Kravchuk presented at several national conferences on Diversity and Equity in STEM Education and on the benefits and methods of Differentiated Instruction.  She had the honor of becoming a Teacher-Fellow in the Mid-Hudson Young Environmental Science Program, an instructor in The Bard College Citizen Science Program, and a Regeneron STEM Teaching Fellow. She also received a National Science Foundation Fellowship in Climate Change and a National Science Foundation STEM Fellowship. 

Dr. Kravchuk received Bachelor of Science degrees in Physical Oceanography and Dynamic Meteorology from SUNY Maritime College, a Master of Education degree in Teacher Leadership and Curriculum from the University of Arizona Global Campus and completed her Doctorate in Teaching and Curriculum from National University.

Watershed: Little Marsh Creek

Pat retired from PECO Energy as the Plant Manager, Conowingo and Muddy Run Hydroelectric Plants. He was a charter member of the Watershed Alliance of Adams County, and is an Associate Director, Adams County Conservation District. Pat serves on several committees related to water resources including the Potomac Regional Water Resources Committee (State Water Plan/Act 220), and chairs the Gettysburg Municipal Authority Source Water Protection Steering Committee. Pat has contracted with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission for project review. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania (Active-Retired Status).

Watershed: Stevens Run

Tom moved to the Gettysburg area after spending 43 years in the military and government service. A fan of the outdoors and a desire to give back to the local community, he is always on the lookout for volunteer activities that get him out in nature. Tom is an active volunteer with a number of organizations to include: Team Rubicon (a disaster relief organization), Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, Friends of Michaux Forest, Friends of the Adams County Library, and the Watershed Alliance of Adams County. When asked to become a board member of the WAAC, he jumped at the chance seeing the position as a way to help improve the health of our local streams and build on what he is doing with the Master Watershed Steward program. When he isn’t out in the woods volunteering, Tom is out in the woods hiking, puttering in his yard, or, on rainy days, reading books.

GailAnn Rickert holds a PhD in Classical Philosophy from Harvard University and is retired from a long career in higher education as a professor and academic adminstrator. She has lived in Adams County for 25 years in an old farmhouse with her spouse, Marta, and their golden retriever, Maisie, on a rolling landscape surrounded by fruit orchards: paradise for someone who grew up in a cramped concrete neighborhood of a big city and a perfect place to read to her heart’s content. She volunteers in the stream monitoring program, helping to manage the in-house stream testing lab and data, and coordinating with the staff of ALLARM.