At our Annual Membership Meeting on January 29th, Yadkin Riverkeeper members voted in six new board members for 2025. Please read more about them below! To view our full list of board members, please click HERE.
Cornelia Barr
After a career as an editor and writer, Cornelia Barr became what she calls an “accidental environmentalist” when she and a small group fought to protect the land that became the Gateway Nature Preserve. A Rhode Island native who grew up surrounded by ocean, lakes, bogs, and rivers, she has lived in Winston-Salem since 1991. She looks forward to supporting YRK’s education and advocacy for water quality for all North Carolinians. Cornelia recently served on the staff at the Piedmont Environmental Alliance (PEA) as their development director.
Jonathan Engram
Retired Attorney, Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP, Winston-Salem, NC practiced law for 41 years-14 years with Swift, Currie, McGhee & Hiers in Atlanta, Georgia and the last 27 years in Winston-Salem, NC with Womble, Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, n/k/a Womble Bond Dickinson. During the last 27 years, our family has also had a home on Kerr Scott Lake in Wilkesboro, NC. Kerr Scott Lake was formed in 1962 when a dam was completed to help control flooding down river in Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro and to provide a reservoir for drinking water to Wilkes County and the City of Winston-Salem. I have been an advisor to the Friends of Kerr Scott Lake since 2007. The mission of the Friends of the Lake is to protect, preserve, beautify, and improve the Natural Resources and facilities of W. Kerr Scott Lake and the adjacent river basin by individual and group service, and by promoting community education and public awareness. I have represented the FOL in matters, including the proposed hydroelectric plant at the dam, the proposed raw water intake at the dam, and the sediment build up in Kerr Scott Lake since 2012. I am currently working with the FOL and the High-Country Council of Government to secure funding for improving water quality and watershed stream restoration on the upper Yadkin River and the streams in the upper Yadkin river watershed. I have also been a member of the YRK since 2015, when I first met Will Scott, the new Yadkin Riverkeeper at the time. In addition to getting Will Scott to make a presentation to the FOL at Wilkes Community College, I spoke on behalf of the YRK at the Public Hearing at Catawba College in Salisbury on the Buck Steam Station Coal Ash contamination clean up. I have also participated in a couple of YRK paddles on the upper Yadkin River over the years. I am an active canoer and kayaker, especially on Kerr Scott Lake, with my wife, two adult children and 5 grandchildren. In my spare time, I also enjoy trout fishing in the streams and rivers of northwestern North Carolina.
Logan Haynes
Named for the River itself, Yadkin County is where I hail from and currently reside. I grew up in the towns of Elkin and Jonesville, separated only by the River which is often overlooked, and yet also the storyteller of our community. A passion for conservation and environmental advocacy has led me to work and live in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California and the Rocky Mountain Front Range in Colorado, but wouldn’t you know, it’s carried me back to my hometowns. I wear a few hats. I’m a community project coordinator with Explore Elkin, the town’s tourism initiative, specializing in events and public engagement. I also collaborate on property maintenance and conservation projects for G&B Energy. Most relevant to YRK, I’m the Watershed Protection Coordinator for Watershed NOW (Nurturing Our Waters), a non-profit dedicated to the protection, stewardship and education of the Big Elkin Creek. Enhancing the Friends of the Big Elkin Creek program is a primary objective of mine using the Explore Elkin platform to engage the community at large. Just as the Big Elkin Creek joins the Yadkin, I am hopeful to join YRK’s board on behalf of Watershed NOW. Much of what we’ve been able to accomplish for our watershed has been influenced by YRK’s efforts, and I am thrilled for the opportunity to take action alongside it. If chosen to serve on the board, I would be most thrilled to strengthen awareness and garner more enthusiasm for what YRK does. After all, igniting a passion for nature in others is my ultimate goal as a professional and individual. The River, its tributaries, its wildlife, its recreation opportunities and especially its communities are well-worth the time, energy and excitement.
Education: Bachelor of Science in Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management, NC State University, 2017, Master of Conservation Leadership, Colorado State University, 2022
James W. “Bill” Jenkins
I was born in Roanoke Rapids and have lived in North Carolina my entire life. I have deep roots in the Piedmont area of the state. My mother is from West Bend on the Yadkin near Winston-Salem. I spent many fond summers visiting my Grandmother, playing on the Yadkin River. My father was raised on a dairy farm in a small town near Shelby NC. I graduated from NCSU in 1980. I am a licensed Professional Engineer and a Registered Landscape Architect (Emeritus). During my career, I have been involved in numerous water resources and wetland/stream restoration projects. These projects include Rocky Branch Stream and Greenway, Smithfield Riverwalk, Friedburg Marsh Wetland Mitigation Site (Forsyth Co.) Richland Creek (Wake Co.) and New Light Creek (Wake Co.). I have also been involved with multiple transportation and transit projects including consulting with Triangle Transit, NCDOT, SCDOT, City of Raleigh, Reidsville, Cary, and Winston-Salem to name a few. My wife, Pam, and I have been supporters of the Yadkin Riverkeeper since we learned about the organization in 2019. We also support the High Rock Lake Association. In addition to my connection to the Yadkin River through my family roots, we are property owners in Abbotts Creek on High Rock Lake. Pam and I care deeply about the Yadkin River, Abbotts Creek, High Rock Lake and the other lakes downstream. We are concerned about water quality and I want to try to help find reasonable solutions. I look forward to serving on the Yadkin Riverkeeper Board!
Richard Leak
Richard Leak lives in Mt. Gilead and worked at Alcoa’s aluminum smelting plant in Badin for more than 30 years. He has been leader of the Concerned Citizens of West Badin and currently serves as co-chairman. In that role, Richard has organized the community working with the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network to document the location of potentially hazardous waste disposed of in and around the West Badin community, a historically African American community disproportionately impacted by Alcoa’s waste disposal practices. Richard grew up in West Badin and has worked closely with Yadkin Riverkeeper over the years to hold the NC Department of Environmental Quality and Alcoa accountable for the environmental harm caused by failing to clean up the most dangerous waste disposal sites. Joining the YRK board will strengthen those efforts and provide opportunities for Richard and the Concern Citizens of West Badin to more actively participate in YRK activities and get the community more involved with YRK’s broader efforts to protect and enhance the Yadkin River and it’s lake and tributaries.
Jerelyn Travick
I am married to a brilliant, encouraging husband; we have two children and are grandparents of Ari and Aiva. I began my professional career with Piedmont Airlines/US Airways until the merger; later embracing a lifetime career with Pepsi Bottling Group until retirement. Currently, I am serving as Resident Leader via Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods (NBN). Most compassionate about aiding neighbors to Learn, Engage and Connect into becoming EMPOWERED to secure the good of the community and acknowledging we must be the change. I enjoy gardening, playing the hymns of the church, interior design and print media designing. Joining YRK can be beneficial because of the diversity of the board members and listening to people with different viewpoints. I want to be effective and to assume responsibility for the good of communities by giving back. Lastly, I believe in YRK’s goals to educate and inform its members of its goals to ensure clean drinking water and a healthy, safe river. I wholeheartedly believe in the commitment to clean water and to advocate for protecting water quality and natural resources. I have been actively involved in advocating for the restoration of Brushy Fork Creek in east Winston Salem. Favorite quote: “Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.” -Martin Luther King Jr.