Our People
Our Staff
Zuri is a bilingual Environmental Educator here at Bluegrass Greensource. She has a diverse background in education, working in Montessori classrooms and with Fayette County Public Schools. Her time teaching abroad in Guatemala honed her Spanish skills and exposed her to a community that works in harmony with nature. Her time working at Jefferson Memorial Forrest in Louisville, KY inspired her to enter the environmental nonprofit sector and she's excited to plant the seeds of environmentalism in the next generation. In her free time you'll find her hiking nearby trails, channeling her creative energy into DIY projects, and singing in a local band on weekends.
CONTACT: zuri@bggreensource.org
Rachel is our Business Outreach Coordinator. She is a graduate of Tufts University with an M.S. in Sustainable Water Management. Rachel has previously worked within Kentucky communities while receiving her B.S. at Centre College in Danville and completing a summer internship with Kentucky Waterways Alliance in Louisville. A Georgia native, Rachel has recently made her way back to the Bluegrass to pursue a career in the environmental nonprofit sector. In her free time, Rachel enjoys pickleball, hiking, and listening to live music.
CONTACT: rachel.skinner@bggreensource.org
Alli is our Community Outreach Coordinator. She is a lifelong central Kentucky resident and a graduate of the University of Kentucky with Bachelor’s degrees in Public Policy and Political Science. Alli believes that Kentucky is the best place in the world to live and is excited to help people in the Bluegrass region take advantage of BGGS’s opportunities to create a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable Commonwealth. In her free time you can find Alli attending country music concerts, watching college football, and reading on her porch. To learn more about Bluegrass Greensource’s community outreach programs like rain barrel workshops, watershed improvement, green neighbor certifications and more, contact Alli.
CONTACT: alli@bggreensource.org
Rachel is one of our Environmental Educators. She is a graduate of Transylvania University with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. In addition to her classes at Transylvania, Rachel coordinated litter cleanups of the surrounding area and spent many hours in local schools. She has worked at the Lexmark Center for Children and in Fayette County Public Schools with elementary school students. Rachel enjoys spending her free time kayaking and hiking with her husband and dog.
CONTACT: rachel@bggreensource.org
Kara is one of our Environmental Educators and the Rain Garden Project Coordinator. Her background is in Environmental Science and she holds a B.A. with a focus on Ecological Design and Sustainable Agriculture from The Evergreen State College. Kara chose to become an environmental educator because some of her fondest childhood memories are from observing tadpole ponds near her home: “Seeing a small tadpole transform into an adult frog was not only amazing but it sparked this lifelong desire to learn about nature.”
CONTACT: kara@bggreensource.org
Maxine has been with Bluegrass Greensource since 2004. She was the Education Coordinator for two years before taking on the role of Education Director, then Deputy Director. Before joining Greensource, Maxine was a teacher in London, Kentucky for 28 years. She attended Eastern Kentucky University where she earned a teaching certificate in Biology and Chemistry. She also has certifications in Supervision K-12 and Secondary Principalship. Maxine’s responsibilities at Greensource are to oversee compliance with contracts and grant funding, develop new environmental programs, and organize activities with the county liaisons in our service area. Maxine has two grandchildren and a cat. Contact Maxine with questions about environmental education in Central Kentucky and Greensource’s administration.
CONTACT: maxine@bggreensource.org
Rebecca serves Bluegrass Greensource as a Finance Officer on a part-time basis. She is an accounting graduate of California State University, Fullerton, and holds an MBA from California State University, San Marcos. She brings to the organization over 20 years of experience in finance and accounting management with a variety of industries including government, manufacturing, and healthcare. After spending most of her working years in San Diego, Rebecca has recently relocated to Kentucky to become a full-time farmer, but maintains an intellectual interest in accounting. She and her husband spend most of their days on their farm in Estill County with their many dogs, cats, chickens and ducks; and they are devoted to improving the land and living a self-sufficient lifestyle.
CONTACT: rebecca@bggreensource.org
Pattie works with PreK-12 schools and also coordinates community outreach activities and volunteer opportunities. She attended Eastern Kentucky University where she majored in Occupational Therapy. Pattie developed a passion for nurturing the environment as a young child watching television! The Crying Indian PSA developed by Keep America Beautiful opened her eyes to the negative impact that humans can have on the earth. Litter cleanups are some of her favorite activities. Contact Pattie with questions about environmental education in area schools, or to schedule an event in Fayette County.
CONTACT: pattie@bggreensource.org
Amy has been with Bluegrass Greensource since the beginning. She started at its inception and became Executive Director in 2006. She has a background in environmental education and a degree in Natural Resource Conservation and Management, but spends most of her days on program development and people/money management. Though she misses being in actual contact with the environment, she has come to enjoy managing the great staff and working with our community partners. When not at work, Amy likes to play nature hunter with her two daughters at their home near the Kentucky River Palisades. Contact Amy with questions about Bluegrass Greensource’s administration and program development.
CONTACT: amy@bggreensource.org
JOIN OUR TEAM!
Do you want to be a part of helping us continue to build a more sustainable Bluegrass? Then WE WANT YOU! Learn more about our volunteer opportunities and job openings or if you have questions, please contact us!
Our Board
Environmental Scientist Advisor, Kentucky Division of Water, Commonwealth of Kentucky – Energy and
Environment Cabinet
As a career employee of the Energy and Environment Cabinet, Paulette Akers has worked in the
Department of Natural Resources and the Department for Environmental Protection for more than
twenty years. Currently, Paulette serves as the Gulf Hypoxia Program Engagement Coordinator in the
Division of Water and works to support activities occurring in nutrient priority watersheds and develop
new tools and partnerships to support nutrient reduction in those areas and across the Commonwealth.
She works specifically in areas such as wastewater treatment plant nutrient optimization, agriculture
and with partners in Tennessee. Previously, she served 5 years as the Director of the Division of
Conservation and 2 years as the Director of the Division of Compliance Assistance. Her early career was
with the Division of Water in the Water Quality and Watershed Management Branches.
Paulette is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University where she earned a BS degree in Biology and an
MS degree in Applied Ecology. Paulette lives in Woodford County with her husband and two sons.
Nonprofit Management Consultant and Rock Climber
Before becoming involved with advocacy, social justice and nonprofit management, Shannon spent fifteen years in the thoroughbred racehorse industry riding and training. Growing up in a military family she lived all over the U.S. and overseas before permanently settling in Lexington in 1986 after graduating from UCLA to attend UK Law School.
An outdoor enthusiast, avid rock climber and dedicated vegan Shannon has always been interested in the outdoors and environmental sustainability. In 1996 Shannon started a rock climbing advocacy nonprofit dedicated to securing access to climbing and protecting the environment as its Founder-Executive Director. Since then, she has served on numerous local and national nonprofit boards before starting her own consulting company, Free Agent for Change, LLC with special emphasis on strategic planning, board development and capacity building for social justice and civil rights nonprofit organizations.
Today Shannon is retired from being a paid consultant instead offers her expertise pro bono to small nonprofits while she now pursues climbing full time at her beloved Red River Gorge with her spouse and two dogs.
CPA and Partner, MCM CPAs & Advisors
Debbie has been with MCM for more than 18 years and has more than 20 years of public accounting experience. Her focus and concentration includes external audit procedures, reviews, consulting, and internal control and system reviews within the governmental, non-profit, manufacturing, and financial institutions industries. Debbie is responsible for planning, supervising, and overseeing the completion of assurance engagements for MCM’s Lexington office.
President Emeritus, Bluegrass Community and Technical College and President, Julian-Carver Family Foundation, Inc.
Dr. Augusta A. Julian served for more than 40 years in community college education. She started her career in her native North Carolina teaching developmental education at Durham Technical Community College. Dr. Julian later moved to Madison, WI as a vice president at the college there. She served as president of Maysville Community and Technical College in Kentucky for six years and headed Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC) for 11 years. BCTC had seven campuses, more than 45 programs of study, and significant online offerings during her tenure. Campus development took up much of her time resulting in seven building and renovation projects including the new and repurposed Newtown Campus in Lexington. Dr. Julian earned an M.Ed. at UNC-Chapel Hill and a Doctorate in Adult and Community College Education from NC State University. She retired in 2018 and now runs a small family foundation that supports higher education.
Director of Destination
Arin works as a project manager at VisitLEX, the city’s destination marketing organization. She currently serves as the chair for Keep Lexington Beautiful, sits on the Young Leaders Advisory Council for Keep America Beautiful, and sits on the United States Travel Association’s Sustainability Coalition. She works on sustainability in tourism in Lexington and the Bluegrass Region. After growing up in Danville, Arin received a bachelor’s degree in History and French and received her master’s degree in History. She and her husband live in downtown Lexington and spend their vacations trying to visit all the National Parks.
Associate Counsel – Privacy & Compliance at Valvoline Global
Grace is in-house counsel at Valvoline Global where she advises on privacy and compliance matters. She manages Valvoline Global’s ethics and compliance framework and is a main contributor to the global compliance program. Her work is also focused on corporate governance and ESG efforts. Grace is a graduate of Centre College and she received her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law, where she was the Executive Editor of the Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Law.
Manager of Water Quality and Environmental Compliance, Kentucky American Water
Robert “Bob” Money is manager of water quality and environmental compliance for Kentucky American Water, the largest investor-owned water utility in Kentucky and a wholly owned subsidiary of American Water. Based in Lexington, Bob oversees the company’s water quality department and team of water quality experts, is responsible for all water quality testing, monitoring, reporting, and environmental regulation compliance and environmental stewardship efforts.
Prior to joining Kentucky American Water, Bob served as a senior associate and branch manager with Wood Environment & Infrastructure Solutions. A licensed professional geologist, Money has led various environmental projects in the public and private sectors throughout his career, which spans more than 30 years, including compliance audits, commercial and industrial property assessments, field investigations, remediation implementation efforts and permit application preparation.
A native of Larue County., Ky., Money received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Kentucky and holds a professional geologist license in Kentucky, Indiana and Virginia. Money resides in Lexington, Ky., with his wife and two children.
Born and raised in the Bluegrass, Jenny Howard Owen is passionate about reconnecting her fellow Kentuckians to their local environment. Within the past 20 years, her work in environmental education has taken her from the savannahs of central Africa (via Peace Corps), along the shores of VA and NC (with US Fish & Wildlife Service), and back home to the Bluegrass State, with Lake Barkley State Park, KY Division of Water, KY Dept of Education, and the KY Association for Environmental Education. In her current position, she organizes education programs for and with farmers interested in regenerative organic practices. Jenny, her husband Jacob, and their son Birch live, plant, and play in the rolling countryside of Anderson County.
Manager – Quality, Compliance, and Sustainability at Lexmark International, Inc.
Phillip is born and raised in the bluegrass state and has split his life between the small towns of Western Kentucky and the “city life” of Lexington, starting with and continuing after graduation from the University of Kentucky. Phillip received an undergraduate and graduate degree in Chemical Engineering from UK, where his research focused on utilizing scrap tire rubber for the remediation of chlorinated solvents in groundwater. Phillip joined Lexmark in 2000 and has managed technical teams in Research & Development before recently joined the Quality, Compliance, and Sustainability organization. Phillip is an avid kayaker in his free time and understands first hand the value in protecting, conserving, and restoring our headwaters. He is a two-time volunteer of the month with a national river conservation non-profit. Phillip lives in Lexington and is married with three small children.
General Counsel, Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet
Jacob currently serves in the administration of the 61st Governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear, as Deputy General Counsel for the Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet. He serves in Cabinet leadership and advises the Cabinet’s ten divisions and departments with respect to legal matters. Jacob is a graduate of the Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky, and the University of Tennessee College of Law. He lives in Lexington with his wife, Amanda, and daughter, Madelyn.
Our Service Region
We primarily serve a 20 county region surrounding Fayette County, Kentucky. We work with teachers in local schools, co-host events and programs, and offer workshops within this region. Please contact us for information on specific county programs within our service region, or visit our event calendar to stay up-to-date!
