The Cape Conservation Corps Board
The Cape Conservation Corps is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Tax ID number 47-3745740.
List is for the 2025 Board Year
Stacey Wildberger
President
I grew up in Cape and moved back here to raise my family. I joined the board of CCC in 2015 after watching from afar all the great work they had been doing as Friends of Lake Claire. One of the first things I did was write articles for The Caper and the website. After a short time, I became VP then eventually President. I have helped grow the Native Plant Fest and have started many new programs- Habitat hero, Native Plant Swap and Weed Warriors. I grew up in a family of “tree huggers’ so I learned from an early age to protect and preserve the natural world and live gently on Mother Earth. My grandmother was instrumental in getting the recycling program started in the City of Annapolis in the 70’s. She composted her yard waste and kitchen scraps in her small Eastport backyard and used that beautiful soil in her gardens. My passion for the environment and conservation was heightened in my later years after reading Aldo Leopold’s, “A Sand County Almanac”. As the father of conservation, he inspired me to start working on the land in our community to make a difference.
Brad Knopf
Vice-President
I am an original Board member since inception/incorporation 2015, and one of the founding members of our predecessor organization Friends of Lake Claire since 2012
Our first key initiative was sparked by a desire in 2010 to help reopen legacy community access to as well as improve and clean the runoff waters to Lake Claire. The second major movement (2013) was to begin fighting an invasive (Bushkiller/Cayratia Japonica) previously unknown in Maryland, in a feeder stream lot leading to Lake Claire, now known as the Serene Ravine
I particularly enjoy comradery with and support of some of the most talented, knowledgeable, and caring people I've ever known. The pure joy of restoration and preservation of our natural spaces is our reward.
I was born in Washington DC, grew up in Prince Georges County, and have resided in Cape St Claire since 1984. Now retired from a 40 plus year career in alcohol beverage distribution, preceded by and concurrent with various artwork projects
Phil Ourisson
Treasurer
After an entire professional life working on pesticides, pollutants, and pharmaceuticals, Phil retired to sailing instruction and volunteering with CRAB (sailing for people with disabilities.) Phil and his wife Sandy have lived in the Cape for over 35 years, first on Poplar Hill Drive, near the High School, and now near Lake Claire. When the group Friends of Lake Claire was formed, they figured they had to become involved. And when this group became Cape Conservation Corps, he joined the Board as Treasurer (he also likes numbers... ) He enjoys the camaraderie of the Board, the multiple activities of CCC, and hopes that his participation makes up somewhat for the labors of his former life.
Phil and his wife Sandy have lived in the Cape for over 35 years
Jeanne Klingler
Board Member
My interest in the natural world began with my mom. We moved a fair amount when I was a kid, but she always made sure we lived near woods and water, and we spent hours enjoying both. She was a gardener as well, and while I don’t think she was conscious of Native vs non-native plants, I do know that she used good gardening methods, and she eschewed pesticides back in the day. Earth science was my favorite subject in school, and I subsequently obtained a B.S. in geology. All this is to say that very early on, I became interested and concerned about issues affecting our physical Earth and started volunteering here and there throughout the years. My family has lived in Cape St Claire for 28 years and I have volunteered in many ways. I didn’t realize after I helped with Brad’s Watershed Steward capstone project at Little Magothy Beach, that I would one day serve on the board of the Cape Conservation Corps. I have learned so much and feel that the work is important and that I can make a difference. I believe in the maxim, “Think globally, act locally.” The CCC continues to inspire me with their vision and action!
Alison Sayres
Board Member
I have been a board member of Cape Conservation Corp for 3 years. I have lived in Cape St. Claire my entire life. My childhood consisted of riding bikes to Deep Creek, swimming at Main Beach and exploring the woods in my very own backyard. My passion for the environment started at a very young age due to the influence of my parents and grandmother. My parents recycled long before curbside recycling existed. We would bundle newspapers, and sort glass by color. Then take it to the Annapolis recycling center on Spy Road. My dad and I would enjoy tossing the colored glass into one bin and clear into another! Then walk the bundled paper to its proper place. My grandmother respected nature by saving the littlest spider to reuse and recycle any object she could. Her beautiful gardens flourished with flowers such as Black-eyed Susan’s. My parents and grandmother taught me the importance of nature.
Marcia Dudley
Board Member
A new member of the board of Cape Conservation Corps since 2023 and an enthusiastic volunteer for the Wednesday Weed Warrior group. As a relatively new Cape resident, it did not take long to hear of the fantastic work of the CCC from neighbors, other community groups and The Caper newsletter. As a retired developmental psychologist and one who has long practiced sustainable gardening and conservation, I have come to value and treasure the work of those who contribute to making the Earth and their community a better place for future generations. “Think global, act local” is a mantra of so many of these multi-talented persons I have come to know through the activities and contributions of this positive, welcoming group.
I have come to value and treasure the work of those who contribute to making the Earth and their community a better place for future generations.
Betsy Jackson
Board Member
I grew up in rural Ohio with bird watching, gardening, composting, bee keeping parents. When the first geese of the fall arrived, my mom always pulled us all outside to watch and cheer. My siblings and I played in the woods, in the stream, and sailed on a nearby lake. So that's where I got my environmental ethic!
My husband, kids and I moved to Cape St. Claire in 2003. In addition to a stint as a stay-at-home mom, I also worked for Anne Arundel County Public Schools, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and Maryland State government. I've had a lifelong interest in gardening and environmentally friendly practices, and I became more and more aware of the value of native plants. Concurrently I became aware of the Cape Conservation Corps. I participated in a CCC invasive plant swap, then started volunteering, and then became a CCC board member in November 2023.
There is so much to learn about supporting wildlife through native ecosystems, and CCC is a wonderful source of information. It's also great to be part of a group of dedicated and enthusiastic people who understand how important it is to care for our little patch of this Earth, and who are actively working to improve it.
Bill Rappoport
Board Member
One of the founding members of the FOLC - Friends of Lake Claire - who in 2012 started cutting and burning invasive phragmites in the area between Lake Claire and the beach, and then spreading seed mixes and planting grasses to replace the invasives. Original Board member involved in the founding of the Cape Conservation Corps in 2015. I always liked being outdoors from my Boy Scout days to studying ecology and zoology in college to serving outdoors in the Army infantry in places like the swamps of Fort Benning, Georgia, the Rocky Mountains of Fort Carson, Colorado and the jungles of Vietnam and Cambodia. I enjoyed learning about planting and growing from the Master Gardeners of Maryland and have applied that knowledge to Weed Warrioring and working on the Little Magothy Beach and Serene Ravine habitats and my own backyard. I plan on continuing to make the Cape a better place to live while improving the habitat and wildlife here and I enjoy volunteering with the other great members of the CCC.
Jennifer Connor
Board Member
Jennifer grew up just outside DC and has lived in the DMV her entire life (Go Terps!). When the pandemic had people working remotely, she began to consider living farther from her job with the Department of Justice in DC and moved to Cape with her sons in 2022. Jennifer immediately started looking for ways to get involved with the community while simultaneously trying to figure out how to transform her own yard. It was kismet that she liked to get her hands dirty and that the CCC is always looking for people to help with Weed Warriors and other opportunities to learn and interact with native plants. Jennifer is excited to contribute to future CCC programming and help spread native plants and habitats throughout the Cape and in her own backyard.
It was kismet that she liked to get her hands dirty and that the CCC is always looking for people to help
Larry Jennings
Board Member
My active involvement in conservation began shortly after the turn of this century when I decided to join Coastal Conservation Association Maryland’s Government Relations committee. CCA MD targeted ending the Repletion Program for oysters that began in 1962 to reverse the 90% decline in oyster harvests. After 46 years, the harvest declined to just 25,800 bushels and was ended by DNR in 2005. Over the last 20+ years. I have served as chapter president, Treasurer, and Secretary with my primary focus on legislative efforts to kill bad fisheries bills and passing the Yellow Perch Conservation Act in 2007 and the Sustainable Oyster Harvest Act in 2015. By putting fish first in fisheries management, we focused on science-based fisheries management for sustainable commercial and recreational harvests. I’ve also been active in promoting oyster aquaculture, building reef balls to kick start regeneration of oyster reefs and the important habitat they create for other filtering shellfish, anemones, crabs and finfish.
I joined the CCC shortly after its formation and soon after joined the Board. As in Bay issues, habitat is critical on land as well as we have worked to help the residents understand the value and critical necessity of native plants for all pollinators and the habitat that supports their food and need for protection from predation. Reviving a role from my landscaping days, I developed a free Garden Advisor role in CCC to help Capers better understand native plants and their requirements. I also help people design and coach their installation of rain gardens as well as pollinator gardens up to 2,000 sq. ft. With our changing climate, these issues supporting native plants and habitat have become critically important.