Our vision is clean and abundant water
Three million people and thousands of species depend on clean water from the Cumberland River. Our job is to make sure they get it.
The Cumberland River Basin, one of the top three most biodiverse regions in the world, encompasses cities, farms, schools, factories, and neighborhoods. Our efforts in education, restoration, and outreach all contribute to keeping our water healthy.
We work on root problems of water pollution, both urban and rural. Our goal is to give people the tools to be smart, impactful stewards of their watershed and to constructively partner in policy planning with government agencies.
Meet Our Team
Caroline Hutchins
Working Lands Manager
Contact Caroline with inquiries related to:
- River Friendly Farms
- Mineland reclamation
Ellen Messerly
Education & Outreach Coordinator
Contact Ellen with inquiries related to:
- Teacher trainings
- Curriculum development
- Community outreach
Mary Frances Moquin
Operations & Events Manager
Contact Mary Frances with inquiries related to:
- Billing and Payment
- Account Management
- General Inquiries
- Events
Chris Hornsby
Field Operations Supervisor
Contact Chris with inquiries related to:
- Tree planting on public property
- Tree watering services
Ky Mundy
Volunteer Coordinator
Contact Ky with inquiries related to:
- Volunteer opportunities
- Adopt-A-Stream
Rehgan Pierce
Forestry Program Manager
Contact Rehgan with inquiries related to:
- Mineland Reclamation
- KY Flood relief
Erin O’Farrell
Communications Coordinator
Contact Erin with inquiries related to:
- Social Media
- Event partnership requests
- Content collaboration
Nasyr Bey
Education & Outreach Associate
Contact Nasyr with inquiries related to:
- School programs
- Youth education
Mekayle Houghton
Executive Director
Contact Mekayle with inquiries related to:
- Environmental concerns of the region
Jed Grubbs
Watershed Planning and Restoration Manager
Contact Jed with inquiries related to:
- Watershed Planning
- Compensatory Mitigation
- Recreation in the Basin
- GIS and Mapping
Catherine Price
Senior Program Manager
Contact Catherine with inquiries related to:
- Waterfest
- River Talks
- K-12 Education Programs
Gray Perry
Grant Manager
Contact Gray with inquiries related to:
- Watershed planning
- Stream restoration
Joe Chapman
Green Infrastructure Program Manager
Contact Joe with inquiries related to:
- DePave
- Rain Gardens
- Corporate Volunteer Projects
Want to work with us?
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
- Michelle Scopel
Board Chair - Mark McDonald
Vice Chair - Keith Aulson
Secretary - Jamieson Gray
Treasurer
- Kim H. Bailey
- Chris Cannon
- Kim Carpenter Drake
- W. Scott Gain
- Treanor Granbery
- Anne Walker Harrison
- Anne Hoos
- Vena Jones
- Brooks Matthews
- Kaaren May
- Tom Motzny
- Craig Philip
- Steve Rammer
- Art Rebrovick
- Scott Ringenberg
- Greg Shiflett
- Alex Wade
- Paul Stumb
- Danny Kingins
- John Stone
- Tiffany Wilmont
- Read Talley (Board Intern)
Emeriti
- Phil Armor
- Shirley Caldwell-Patterson
- George Cate
- Bill Coble
- David Duhl
- Pete Kopcsak
- Skip Lawrence
- Courtney Masters
- Art Newby
- Paul Sloan
Advisory Board
- Bill Forrester
- Paul Davis
- Cynthia Lee
- Berdelle Campbell
- Chad Dorsey
- Margaret Littman
OUR HISTORY
2019
Root Nashville plants the first 5,000 trees in a thirty year effort to restore Nashville’s tree canopy.
2018
Launch of Compensatory Mitigation program opens opportunity for large scale stream restoration to restore habitat of imperiled species.
2017
The Cumberland River Compact brings Depaving to Tennessee with volunteers peeling up asphalt and replacing oversized parking lots with gardens.
2016
The Cumberland River Compact and the Nature Conservancy of Tennessee, with generous support from the National Fish and Wildlife Federation, partner to write a strategic plan for dam removal and then inventory and prioritize dam removals throughout Tennessee.
2015
First year of Waterfest in Cumberland Park - a free, fun science fair with water slides and sno-cones attracts thousands each summer.
2014
River Talks, An Educational Series at the Cumberland River Center is born.
2013
The Cumberland River Compact moves into the Bridge Building.
2012
The Cumberland River Compact launches Water for Schools initiative to Nashville Schools that harvests rainwater in 300-gallon cisterns for use in school gardens.
2011
The Rain Garden Manual wins Tennessee Association of Landscape Architect’s highest honor.
2010
The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency to promote the reduction of pesticides in conventional farming.
2009
The Compact partners with the Model Forest Policy Program’s southeast pilot case study for climate adaptation planning.
2008
Cumberland River Compact is honored by Metro Park’s Nature Centers for their role in bringing a green roof, solar panels, and geothermal heating and cooling system to the parks nature centers.
2007
The Cumberland River Compact partners with World Wildlife Fund and Coca-Cola Bottling to promote rain barrel use, and offer education about water reuse and conservation. World Wildlife Fund replicates the project internationally.
2006
The Cumberland River Compact hosts the First Annual Dragon Boat Race and River Festival with 35 teams and over 800 paddlers. The Cumberland River Compact receives the TN Governor’s Conservation Stewardship Award for Building Green
2004
The Cumberland River Compact begins its policy work, helping local officials establish buffer ordinances in rapidly developing counties like Robertson and Wilson.
2003
With the Catfish Out of Water City Art Festival, the Cumberland River Compact auctions public sculptures for placement throughout Nashville.
2002
The Cumberland River Compact begins its work inside Nashville with the Mid Cumberland Watershed Association.
2001
The Cumberland River Compact starts the Red River watershed initiative.
2000
The Cumberland River Compact’s Marina Committee develops the Clean Marina program with the Army Corps of Engineers.
1999
The Cumberland River Compact starts the Harpeth River Watershed Initiative funded by the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation and the Greater Nashville Regional Council.
1998
The Water Quality Advisory Committee is established. The open committee is composed of scientists, policy makers, and government agencies to discuss and coordinate issues related to water quality in the Cumberland River Basin. The committee would go on to write the Sediment Study that identified sediment as the primary pollutant in the Cumberland River.
1997
The Cumberland River Compact’s Charter is written.