Board of Trustees - Experience Learning

Mark Wenzler
Board Chair
Director of the Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative

Mark is an environmental lawyer and advocate who has worked for 30+ years to protect people and nature from pollution, climate change, and ecological degradation. He is currently the Director of Climate Change Initiative at the Chautauqua Institution. He spent many years as the Senior Vice President for Conservation Programs at the National Parks Conservation Association. Mark lives in Washington DC with his spouse Dare and daughter Nina (a veteran of many wonderful Experience Learning summer programs). In addition to his position on the Experience Learning board, Mark serves on the board of Climate Ride, an outdoor adventure non-profit that raises funds for organizations working to address climate change and sustainability. He is an avid cyclist, runner, backcountry skier, paddler and backpacker, enjoying all these activities in and around West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest.

Kelly Kibble Griffith
Board Secretary
Senior Legal Editor, Thomson Reuters, Charleston WV

Kelly Griffith is a native West Virginian who, thanks in large part to her involvement with TMI’s WV Scholars’ Academy in high school and college, is deeply committed to providing opportunities for people of all ages to spend meaningful time in the mountains. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Natural Resource Conservation and Management from the University of Kentucky, Kelly earned her law degree from Georgetown University.

Melody Flowers
Board Treasurer
Assistant Vice President for Economic Development & Real Estate at the University of Kentucky

Originally from Barboursville, West Virginia, Melody fell in love with Spruce Knob in 1994 during her time with the WV Scholars’ Academy and returns to the mountains every chance she gets (including as the camp cook in 2000). With a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Kentucky and a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, Melody has engaged in strategic and financial planning, project management, and policy work for over twenty years in fields as varied as transportation, environmental sustainability, community and economic development, emergency preparedness, homeland security, healthcare, and higher education. Committed to place-based development, she serves on the boards of CivicLex, the Downtown Lexington Partnership, Fayette Alliance, and the Gaines Center for the Humanities; regularly lectures on the economics of higher education; and mentors nationally competitive scholarship candidates.

Dan Tompkins
Director of Regional External Affairs, Akron, OH

Dan was raised in Morgantown, WV and attended TMI’s West Virginia Honor Roll and Scholars Academy in 1994. He returned to work for the program at the Spruce Knob Mountain Center in 1996 and 1999. Those months on Spruce fostered a lifelong understanding of the importance of place and he has returned to Spruce each year since 1994 to refresh the connection. Dan earned a B.A. in History from Connecticut College and a Master’s in Public Administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Dan’s career has included public service at the state and federal levels and government relations & consulting work in both the health care and energy industries in Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Texas, and West Virginia. He currently lives in Akron, OH with his wife and son.

Joanna Ganning
Associate Dean for Faculty Research, Development and Administration, Levin College of Public Affairs and Education, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH

After spending the summer of 1998 at Spruce Knob, Joanna returned to her hometown of Keyser with a desire to be part of a better future for Appalachia. To that end, she earned a BS in Environmental Resource Management from Penn State. Through various internships, including one as mentor to the 2000 Scholars Academy, she found her niche in economic development strategy and analysis. Joanna earned a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Tech and a PhD in Regional Planning from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Joanna serves on the boards of Shaker Heights Development Corporation, VibrantNEO (a committee of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency), and is a community member of the Shaker Heights City Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals.

Dr. Frederick Gottlieb, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine

Fred is a West Virginia native and has been involved with Experience Learning from its early days as Woodlands/ Mountain Institute. He has also been involved in issues of international health and community development for over 40 years. Dr. Gottlieb graduated from WVU Medical School and was trained in Internal Medicine at University of Calif- Davis. He has a Master’s Degrees in Public Health as well as International Affairs. He has worked on assessment of rural health care delivery models and refugee evaluations in Asia, Africa, and South America. He served as Regional Medical Officer for the US Peace Corps in Southern Africa and worked in the tsunami recovery in Indonesia. He has received the US Public Health Service Physician of the Year Award. He currently practices and teaches Internal Medicine and Geriatrics at the University of Utah.

Kristen Beverage
WV Recreational Economies Initiative Manager for Partner Community Capital.

Kristen is a local to the small mountain town of Marlinton, WV and takes pride in the beautiful assets that the Monongahela National Forest has to offer. Prior to her position with the PCAP, Kristen was a Business Advisor with the WV Women’s Business Center. In January of 2023 she traveled to Delhi, India to complete her graduate degree of Master of Arts in Applied Community Development from Future Generations University. Until 2021, Kristen was the Executive Director of the Snowshoe Foundation and is an active member of Rotary International. She also has an extensive background in Recreation and Trail Development from her work with the US Forest Service earlier in her career. She received her undergraduate degree in Finance from West Virginia University.

J. King B. E. Seegar III, MD, Founding Trustee, Board Member Emeritus
Medical Director, Pendleton Community Care Clinics (PCC), Franklin WV

King Seegar has spent 31 years as a pediatrician at PCC, a non-profit clinic started and spun off by Woodlands in 1983, carrying on our legacy of community learning and service. Coming full circle, he is returning to work on our board in support of Experience Learning.

Jennifer Taylor-Ide – Board Member Emerita
Behavioral Health Counselor, PCC School-based Health Clinics, Franklin WV

Jennifer Taylor-Ide originally developed many of Woodlands/TMI’s beyond-the-classroom programs and philosophies, headed up our professional development projects, and worked for many years with our school programs.