AOA Board Members
Steer the AOA by adopting sound, ethical, and legal governence and financial management policies.
Al grew up in Cleveland and didn’t get hooked on nature until a camping trip with friends in South Carolina. He received a BS In Natural Resources from the Ohio State University and had a career with the Ohio Dept. of Developmental Disabilities. Al and his wife Betty live in Columbus and are frequently in Hocking and Pickaway Counties leading hikes, exploring properties and birdwatching. Al was fortunate to join AOA when they were accelerating their land conservation efforts. Al’s hope is that future generations will continue to enjoy and conserve more open space for the benefit of people and biodiversity.
Susan Clay joined the AOA Board in 2014. Susan has a BS in Environmental Zoology from Ohio University. She has experience in soil and water conservation, environmental education, environmental regulation and community service. Susan retired from Ohio EPA as an Environmental Specialist in Air Pollution Control. She lives on a farm in Hocking County with her husband, John Clay, where they raised their children, Shannon and Sean. Susan also serves on the South Central Power Foundation Board, District 18 Public Works NRAC Committee and is a member of the Hocking Hills Chapter of OCVN.
Steve has more than 50 years of experience in natural resources management. He was one of the original staff members of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Natural Areas and Preserve and retired after 30 years of service. During that time, he helped acquire and manage many of the early Ohio State Nature Preserves.
He has been Director or Assistant Director of the AOA for the last 23 years. He has been directly involved in the acquisition of more than 100 properties and 65 conservation easements for AOA.
Jeff received a MS in Environmental Biology from The Ohio State University in 1976. During his 44-year career, he worked for consulting engineering firms as a biologist and later as civil engineer on water resource projects. He was a registered Professional Engineer (PE) in Ohio for 35 years. He currently serves AOA as Webmaster and Monitoring Chairman. He is frequently out in the field with volunteers monitoring AOA properties and taking photographs. He has always been involved in outdoor pursuits including skiing, hiking, gardening, and visiting arboretums, national parks and nature preserves. Jeff and his wife Darlene have travelled extensively throughout Central America, Europe, Asia, Canada and the Western U.S.
Gary got his undergrad degree in Honors Chemistry at Purdue University and a graduate degree in Chemical Engineering focused on biomaterials from MIT. He began work at Battelle Memorial Institute and received an MBA in Finance from Ohio State while working there. He was at Battelle for 30 years when he left to work at Engineering Mechanics Corporation of Columbus (Emc2). He retired from Emc2 in 2024 after 17 years. Much of Gary’s work in those days focused on biobased materials and developing of environmentally friendly products. Gary continues to sit on the boards of several small medical and nutraceutical companies he was instrumental in creating. Gary also sits on the board of the Hilliard Food Pantry and is a commisioner of the Over 65 Softball League. Gary is married (spouse Nancy) with two grown children (Russ and Ellie) and two granddaughters (Silver and Sage).
Rob has a BS degree in Wildlife Management from Penn State. He has been employed by Summit Metro Parks for 22 years and serves as an ecological supervisor. He manages a staff of 10 and is responsible for natural area evaluation, protection and restoration. He has also worked as a wetland ecologist for EnviroScience Inc.. He currenly serves on the board of the Summit SWCD. He is a founding member of the Lake Erie Allegheny Partnership for Biodiversity. He and his wife Natasha have spent the last 30 years serving Ohio’s communities.
Greg worked as an engineer for a power generation equipment manufacturing company for 40 years before retiring in 2013. He also owned a small business that performed prairie burning and was a burn boss. Greg and his wife Dee have two daughters and six grandchildren. The entire family has enjoyed participating in AOA events. Greg and Dee live on 23 acres in Baltimore, OH and have planted about 20 acres in native warm season grasses and forbs. Greg has also been a beekeeper for 14 years. In 2022, Greg completed a 500+ mile walk of The Camino in Northern Spain averaging about 15 miles a day.
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Tony received a BS in Biology in 1968 and a M.Ed. a few years later. He founded and is now CEO of DNO Inc., a fresh fruit and vegetable wholesaler, distributor, and processor. He lives in Morrow County on a 35-acre farm along Alum Creek. He has been a local and state president of the Izaak Walton League of America, a Board Member of the Ohio Environmental Council and is an Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist and an ODNR volunteer bat surveyor. He has served the community on the Delaware City council, the MORPC Food Council and the and currently serves on the District 17 Public Works Committee and Township Zoning Board.