Board of Directors

Glenn has spent the last 35 years working in the technology world but his true love is the Cacapon River and the communities that surround it. Ever since his grandfather bought a farm along the Cacapon in the early 50’s, Glenn has fished, swam, canoed, tubed and kayaked in the river! He loves to fly fish, mountain bike, run, ski, and explore throughout West Virginia. Today he helps manage his grandfather’s and grandmother’s farm for all their grandchildren and, with his wife Jenny, live on their own farm along the banks of the Cacapon near Yellow Spring.

After earning B.A. (Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 1969) and Ph.D. (Zoology, Arizona State University, 1976) degrees, George worked as an ecologist. His main interests were in fishes, streams, and watersheds, and in organizations that steward these resources. Basic research studies addressed the life history patterns of livebearing fishes, parental care behaviors of darters, and an inventory of the freshwater fishes of Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica. Applied environmental projects included quantifying the effects of a nuclear electric plant on the Savannah River’s fish community, assembling the ecological baselines of two Appalachian rivers, and preparing and implementing a strategic plan for managing West Virginia’s watersheds. George also invested two decades helping grassroots watershed associations build scientific and organizational capacities. Since retiring from formal employment in 2008 George has focused on writing. He creates reader-friendly natural history stories based on basic research findings in the field of evolutionary ecology. He is currently writing a book about Appalachian birds. His wife, Nancy Ailes, and George have lived in the Cacapon River watershed for 40 years. Their daughter, Leah, grew up swimming and paddling the Cacapon River, graduated from Hampshire High School, and lives, with her husband, Ivan, in Somerville, Massachusetts. George plays drums in Rain Crow, a local band within the genre of vintage rock-and roll.

Jeff spent the past 22 years working in the Public Works field mainly for the City of Alexandria where he most recently served as the Deputy Director of Public Works. He brings to the organization years of experience in stormwater management and wastewater treatment, as well as extensive coordination with developers. In his spare time he loves paddling, floating, and fly fishing the lower end of the Cacapon River. Jeff recently left the public sector and relocated to the Berkeley Springs area where he and his wife are opening a retreat overlooking the Potomac River.

Tim lives along the banks of the Cacapon River on his family farm in Capon Bridge. As a boy, he remembers many adventures in the West Virginia woods and happily returned in 2007 after a career in construction and real estate. Tim is active in community affairs and has renovated several dilapidated buildings in town. He loves to fish, paddle and spend time with his 5 grandchildren who live a short walk away.

Colin and his wife Anne LaFond have had a property on Kilgore Rd, Largent for 20 years. Based in Alexandria, Virginia they both work in international development but get to the Cacapon as often as possible to enjoy its many opportunities for recreation, or simply watch its wonders. Colin works globally in environmental and social risk management but values the critical importance of local action like Friends of the Cacapon as the bedrock for effective safeguards. Colin and Anne have two children in their twenties who have grown up with the Cacapon, and to whom they want to leave a cleaner, sustainable watershed.

Mercedes is a Professor of Spanish language, literature and culture at Howard University, in Washington, D.C. At Howard University, she has dedicated great effort to the service of faculty and students. She has been intensely involved in the work of the Faculty Senate for many years, serving as Secretary of the Senate, and as member of the Council and of the Steering Committee of the Senate since 1994. She is the Coordinator of the Spanish Section in the Department of World Languages and Cultures. Mercedes is a long-standing member of the Friends of the Cacapon River, and has served as Secretary for over 15 years. Mercedes was born in Barcelona, Spain, and has resided in the USA since 1970, when she married Paul.

Paul was inducted into Federal Senior Executive Service in February 2004 in Department of Defense (DoD), where he served as Director of the Business Management and Modernization Program until September 2005, and then as Deputy Director of Military Health System (MHS) Office of Transformation. In December 2006, Dr. Tibbits came to VA to serve as Deputy Chief Information Officer for Enterprise Development. He is currently Executive Director, Office of Technical Integration. Previously, he served as Executive Director, Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration; Program Executive Officer, Financial Management Business Transformation; and Deputy Chief Information Officer for Architecture, Strategy, and Design. Dr. Tibbits served as Program Executive Officer for DoD medical IT, supporting MHS. He led implementation of two worldwide electronic medical record systems in DOD. Dr. Tibbits led operational test and evaluation for one EHR. Dr. Tibbits served on active duty in US Navy Medical Corps, retiring with rank of Captain (1975-2001). He was the Commanding Officer, Navy Medical Information Management Center and CIO Navy Medicine, 1995 – 1998. Dr. Tibbits is Board-certified in Internal Medicine & Cardiology; qualified in Undersea Medicine, and is a Defense Acquisition Professional. He is former Associate Editor, American Journal of Cardiology. Dr. Tibbits has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Cacapon River for over 15 years; is married to Mercedes Tibbits, PhD, is a native of New Orleans, La. Mercedes and Paul have 2 children and four grandchildren.

Peter retired in 2021 to Hampshire County after 30 years with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A native of Maryland, his first trip to West Virginia when he was 16 camping with family friends invoked his love for the mountains, lakes and rivers of West Virginia. He attended Potomac State College and West Virginia University graduating with degrees in Forestry and Entomology. He purchased land in 2002 in The Crossings, a 1,200-acre community in a horseshoe of the Cacapon River. He built a cabin in 2004 so he could spend his weekends and vacations exploring the rivers edge and nearby forest with his dogs. Now living full time in his West Virginia home he spends his time gardening, hiking, and volunteering to shine the light on our beautiful West Virginia