It’s Bigger than the River: Stewards of the Watershed

The Tuckasegee watershed is the foundation of health for the entire local ecosystem. It is every stream, creek, tributary, and landmass in the entire drainage basin landscape; it includes and impacts everything and everyone on in it. The Tuckasegee watershed covers approximately 655 square miles (1700 square km), and is part of the larger Little Tennessee River Basin that drains 1797 square miles (4654 square km). The Tuckasegee watershed supports local communities, local economies, and the local environment.

Meet the stewards behind WATR. WATR seeks to educate and support responsible watershed management for residents, visitors, homeowners and business owners. WATR monitors and protects water quality for our local Jackson and Swain County communities, local economies, and clean environment. Clean water is key to life. Everyone Lives Downstream.

WATR Staff

Jennifer Cooper

Executive Director

Jennifer grew up in Middle Tennessee, but she fell in love with…

… Western North Carolina after college and has spent most of her adult life in Jackson County. She earned her BA and MA at the University of Tennessee and completed additional coursework at Emory University, and she has worked in higher education and community engagement. She is passionate about doing work that supports the community, and has organized, led, and participated in hundreds of volunteer projects around the region, as well as serving on a variety of nonprofit boards, primarily with groups that focus on the environment, poverty, and education. In her free time, Jennifer loves to hike, trail run, bake, and read, and has recently gotten into learning about edible plants and foraging.

Ken Brown

Senior Advisor & Science Programs Coordinator

I grew up in Jackson County on a subsistence farm spending much of my childhood…

…exploring the forests, fields, streams and seeps all over the Tuckasegee watershed with my father. My family, and others who lived near hunted, fished, foraged, and farmed in the Cullowhee Valley. At that time, the streams supported plentiful native fishes, the forests small game(there was few deer or black bear), the numerous fields & primary succession areas supported large populations of quail, and rabbit. My interest in all things natural led me to a lifelong interest in biology, chemistry, and ecology.
I joined the Watershed Association in 2008, and thus began years of water quality monitoring, biological surveys, macroinvertebrate sampling, and observing the human impact on our forests, waterways and aquatic organisms. In 2014(15?), I joined WATR’s board of directors and served as Executive Director from 2018-2024. I support the Watershed Association as the Science Programs Coordinator and Senior Advisor. I enjoy hiking, fishing, paddling, camping, and studying the incredible diversity of life found on these excursions.

Kelsey Orr

Operations Manager

Kelsey moved to the mountains in 2022. She had fond memories of…

…the area during her childhood, especially during the Fall. When she had the opportunity to move to Sylva and live on the Tuck, she took it! Kelsey got her degree in Environmental Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University. Her past experience ranges from trail working, lab analyst, environmental inspector, and elementary education on food security. She often describes her career path as a river; there were eddies, a few rocks that spun her 360, and a lot of riding the current. Kelsey enjoys being immersed in her surroundings and loves making connections with others.She is very proud to work for a non-profit that cares about the environment and allows her to flourish.

Katie Price

Watershed Scientist

Katie joined the WATR team in 2024 and served as Executive Director through…

…early 2026. We are delighted to keep her on staff as Watershed Scientist. Her background is in watershed hydrology and geomorphology, with her graduate research all conducted right here in the Tuckasegee and Upper Little Tennessee River watersheds. Before joining WATR, she worked as a federal scientist, a university professor, and an environmental consultant. Katie has experience identifying and remediating impairments resulting from agriculture, urbanization, unpaved roads, and wetland loss – all of which affect flow processes and water quality in the Tuck. Originally from the Tennessee side of the mountains, she fell in love with WNC as a student and has finally made her way here permanently. Katie’s favorite thing about working for WATR is the community of passionate people working to restore and protect our most valuable local resource, and she relishes any opportunity to get out in the streams in her waders!

Our WATR Board Members

Mattilynn Sneed

President
Member since: 2022

Born and raised in Western North Carolina, she is a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee…

…Indians and grew up on the riverbanks of the Tuckasegee Watershed. The rivers and streams are an important part of her cultural identity and she is passionate about their care and protection. Her involvement with WATR began as a water sampling volunteer, eventually leading to a board seat and later election as president. Mattilynn graduated from Western Carolina University with a BS in Communication and uses her skills to connect WATR with the WNC community. Her favorite local aquatic creature is the eastern hellbender and her favorite creek in the watershed is Moses Creek.

Julie Thorner

Board Member
Member since: 2012

Julie is originally from Vermont and has made Bryson City, Swain County her…

…home base in Western North Carolina for more than 3 decades. An avid year-round outdoor adventure sports enthusiast, frequent traveler, and responsible tourism advocate, Julie values conservation and sustainability and sees WATR’s mission as essential to the well-being of the communities, economy, and entire ecosystem of the Tuckasegee Watershed in Western North Carolina. She is the founder of Liquid Spark, an adventure tourism marketing agency that is a 1% for the Planet agency. She believes that conservation and sustainability are principle values that individuals and organizations can and must get behind with meaningful action – whether through volunteerism, leading their own programs, or funding others’ initiatives, or a mix of all of these. As a a 1% for the Planet business member, Liquid Spark supports non-profits, like WATR, working for people, place, and planet through annual donations. Her favorite place in the watershed is Deep Creek, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. She has served on the WATR board as a director since 2012.

Ralph Murphy

Board Treasurer
Member since: 2002

Ralph is a founding member of WATR, and has served in several capacities on…

… the board. He has been the Board Chair and Treasurer for the past 4 years and recently continues at the Treasurer.

He has a BS in Zoology, a Master of Divinity and a Master of Science in Social work and is a Licensed Clinical Social worker.

A life long interest in nature and after a career as a behavioral health professional, he has a current passion for environmental ethics and justice issues related to climate change.

Living on Coopers Creek in Swain county, with his wife Becky for the past 16 years, he enjoys organic gardening, hiking, traveling, and fly fishing. His Celtic band: “Beansidhe” has supported WATR over the years by providing music for events.

Andrew Danner

Board Member
Member since: 2023

Native to North Carolina, Andrew’s affinity for forestry started…

…at a young age, exploring the nearby woods and creeks. He is an Eagle Scout, has earned an AAS in Landscape Gardening from Forsyth Technical Community College, and a BS in Natural Resource and Conservation Management from Western Carolina University. Andrew’s experience includes working for government agencies & the private sector. Residing in the Tuckasegee Community of Jackson County with his family, life in the country couldn’t be finer. His hobbies include, hiking, canoeing, bonfires with good people, growing delicious veggies, and music, playing about every stringed instrument you could name. Always equipped with a short story or tall tale, be sure to say “hello” if you see him around.”

Kara McMullen

Board Member
Member since: 2025

Kara is the trails and stewardship director for Friends of…

…Panthertown. She graduated from Western Carolina University in 2022 with a bachelor’s in environmental science, and has a passion for conserving public lands and protecting streams in WNC. She first started working with WATR in 2020 during a summer internship. She is an avid outdoorswoman who paddles, fishes, backpacks, and snowboards in these special hills.

Melissa Madrona

Secretary
Board Member
Member since: 2025

Melissa first fell in love with Western NC on a bike trip on the…

… Blue Ridge Parkway. When a pharmacist job opened up at Cherokee Hospital, she jumped at the chance to move here. Originally from Oregon, she earned her Doctorate of Pharmacy from Oregon State University, then joined the Public Health Service to work on the White Mountain Apache Reservation before finally settling in Sylva. She is passionate about environmental protection, with a special interest in native and invasive plants. This has only grown since learning more about the incredible biodiversity in these mountains. She has been a member of the Sylva Planning Board since 2020 and is looking forward to expanding her community engagement in alignment with those passions. When she’s not pulling up privet or taking pictures of wildflowers, she loves hanging out with her family, hiking, biking, snowboarding, camping, and of course, kayaking down the Tuckasegee.

Julie Fox Jones

Board Member
Member since: 2023

Born and raised in the Tuckaseegee Watershed, she has…

…fished, farmed, and foraged in these creeks and hollers for many years. During her first career as a construction manager in various locations around the Southeast she implemented measures to maintain clean waterways from construction site development to municipal planning systems. Returning home to Jackson County in 2022, she has been active with the Watershed Association as a Swim Guide sampling volunteer and board member, all while also running Wildkitchen Supply, a small business in downtown Sylva that functions as an intersection of local agriculture, wildcrafting, sustainable and low-waste home goods, and traditional Appalachian foodways. In addition, she is working to re-establish her family’s subsistence farm in Cullowhee and spends a lot of time surrounded by animals, plants, and fungi. If she had free time, she’d probably take a hike and cook some food.

Jonathan L. Bradshaw, Ph.D.

Board Member
Member since: 2026

As a land owner, avid gardener, and native plant enthusiast…

… living along a major tributary of the Tuckasegee, Jonathan is a lover of our area’s local ecology and is passionate about the health of our land and waters. Jonathan is a writing teacher with a PhD in the field of Rhetoric & Writing, and has served as program administrator for two university programs. His past research has focused on Appalachian advocacy and non-profit groups, and his current research studies the rhetorics of regenerative and sustainable agriculture. Jonathan believes many of the answers to the big questions of our times are found in the local ecosystems we know and touch everyday.

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