Ray Barry – KCF President

Ray is the current president of the Kentucky Conservation Foundation. Ray has held numerous positions in the nonprofit world. Within the Kentucky Conservation Committee he has held positions of President, Secretary, Treasurer and Newsletter Editor. In the Sierra Club, he has been Chair, Conservation Chair, and Executive Committee member of the Cumberland (Kentucky) Chapter, Executive Committee member, Conservation and Political Chairs of the Bluegrass Group (Central Kentucky) and a Sierra Club Outings Leader. Ray has a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering and 37 years of experience practicing as an electrical engineer.

Alice Howell – KCF Secretary

Since the mid 1990s, the majority of my volunteer work has been with a variety of organizations/groups to use the Clean Water Act (CWA) to fight for clean, safe water in Kentucky and to end the destructive practice of mountaintop removal mining, destroying the waters of Eastern KY and Central Appalachia. The organizations with which I’ve worked include, but are not limited to: Friends of Jessamine Creek – working to prevent location of new sewage treatment plant for the city of Nicholasville, KY on branch of Jessamine Creek, a unique creek valley with caves, limestone cliffs, rare and endangered plants and bats. No Name Working Group – strategies to support clean water, challenging the Ky DOW to improve their water quality regulations to include standards for N, Ph. Traveling across the state to public hearings on triennial water regulations. Kentucky Conservation Committee – member of board, editor for the newsletter. The Planning Committee around opposition to Kentucky American Water Company’s proposed pipeline through Woodford County farmland – NOPE (Neighbors Opposing Pipeline Expansion), Kentucky River Watershed Watch (KRWW) – chair of first watershed group in KY, 1997. Watershed Watch Kentucky – Served on the Statewide Kentucky Watershed Watch, governing board of watershed groups across KY. Represented the Cumberland Chapter. Cumberland Chapter Sierra Club – Served 6 years on the Cumberland Chapter ExCom, served two stints as Chapter Chair. Part of the Healthy Foods, Local Farms committee – farm to table, sustainable agriculture, stopping proliferation of CAFOs in Western KY. Currently, serve on the chapter Water Committee. Co-chair of state MTR/Mining Team. Part of a team that supervises the work of full-time organizer in EKY, funded by a chapter grant from the Beyond Coal Campaign (BCC). The Cumberland (chapter newsletter) editorial committee. The Alliance for Appalachia (a coalition of 12+ organizations working to end the destructive practice of MTR mining in Central Appalachia, supporting a just and sustainable economic transition from a coal-based economy). Represent the Cumberland Chapter Sierra Club.

Donna DePenning – KCF Treasurer

Donna is a licensed Clinical Social Worker with Van Hoose & Associates. In addition to her professional work, she has served as a longtime activist with nonprofits such as the Sierra Club, where she had previously served as Bluegrass Group (Central Kentucky) Chair, and has been a supporter of the Kentucky Conservation Committee for several years.