Sarah Parmelee joined PEC in August of 2022 and covers land use and transportation issues in Culpeper County.
PEC Staff
Montana Lanier Ruffner
Montana Lanier Ruffner joined The Piedmont Environmental Council as the Meeting & Events Coordinator in May 2022.
Rob McGinnis
Rob joined PEC as the Senior Land Use Field Representative for Albemarle and Green counties in June 2022.
Valerie Peterson
Valerie joined PEC as the Deputy Director of Conservation in January 2022 with over 20 years of experience in conservation and land use planning.
Don McCown
Don McCown joined PEC in January 2022 as the Land Use Field Representative for Orange County.
Victoria Garnett
Victoria has been working with PEC since July 2021 as the Digitization Intern. She is digitizing and
processing thousands of legal documents that pertain to the condemnation of private property in order to create the Shenandoah National Park in Madison County, Virginia.
Elizabeth DiGiulian
Elizabeth joined PEC in 2021 became the Director of Finance in February, 2023. Prior to joining PEC, Elizabeth spent 15 years working, in several positions, for an agency that raised money for nonprofits nationwide.
James Bussells
James Bussells joined PEC in August 2021 as part of the development team. He attended James Madison University from which he graduated in 2020 with a degree in Public Policy & Administration.
Hechl, Gertraud
Gertraud Hechl joined PEC staff in the summer of 2019. Gertraud has a broad background in the arts and business and serves on several non-profit boards. She holds a degree in strategic management from Wirtschaftsuniversität, Vienna, where she also studied modern languages.
Kenny, Hugh
Multimedia Communications Specialist
(540) 347-2334 x7024
hkenny@pecva.org
Hugh Kenny joined the communications team at PEC in September 2019. He graduated from Bates College earlier in 2019 with a degree in Environmental Studies and a minor in history. During college, he spent his summers guiding long-distance bike trips in the US, Canada, and Europe. His time pedaling across varied landscapes taught him the value of looking at places, even familiar ones, from new and novel viewpoints.
At PEC, Hugh creates photos and videos that highlight the staff’s work and the value of the landscapes that the organization protects. He uses video to give viewers a new perspective on places they may pass by every day, display the incredible beauty of the Piedmont, and build support for PEC’s initiatives.
Born and raised in New York City, Hugh lives in Warrenton, VA and spends his free time riding his bike on Fauquier County’s endless miles of beautiful gravel roads.