Smoky Mountains Wilderness Watch Leadership

Due to the rapid growth of our chapter, we are in search of highly motivated, environmentally passionate individual who would like to become the Smoky Mountains Wilderness Watch Second Vice-President and help us fulfill our plan to become the premier environmental group in the Smoky Mountains. This position requires that you be available to attend meetings, speak on behalf of the chapter and help run events. If this sounds like you, please contact SMWW at smww@smwwnc.org

President

Vishnu Ravisangar
First Vice-President
Founding Member

Vishnu is passionate about protecting wildlife, native habitats, and the natural landscapes that make the Smoky Mountains region unique. With a background in science and research, along with hands-on experience in ecological study, wildlife care, and environmental leadership, he believes conservation works best when local communities are engaged, informed, and invested in stewardship. He is proud to support efforts that help preserve Western North Carolina’s environment for the future.

Second Vice-President

Beth Hayes
Treasurer
Founding Member

Beth’s volunteer efforts, which started in 1980 as a TRW AGE board member / newsletter publisher, and her lifelong love of the outdoors didn’t come together until moving to Florida in 1996. She became a founding member of the Apalachee Ecological Conservancy (APECO) a few years later. She served on the APECO board as secretary/ treasurer, secretary of the Alligator Point / St Teresa Taxpayers Association, and was the editor of their two newsletters. Her volunteer activities included: turtle patrol, coastal cleanups, water monitoring, and lobbying in Washington DC to effect the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act.

Tesslynn Escamilla
Secretary
Founding Member

Tricia Montague
Environmental Education
Founding Member

Claire Korzen
Chapter Leader
Founding Member

Kelsey Orr
Chapter Leader

Kelsey moved to the mountains in 2022. Her favorite childhood memories were in Sylva splashing around in the Tuckasegee River and staring at the leaves in the Fall. Kelsey has a degree in Environmental Studies and experience in AmeriCorps, private sectors, and in nonprofits. Kelsey enjoys being immersed in her surroundings and loves making connections with others. She currently works at a nonprofit, Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River, and is able to use her skills and knowledge to be a great asset to the Smoky Mountains Wilderness Watch.

Allyson Horn
Chapter leader

Ally graduated from Florida State University in 2023 with a degree in Biology and has since been working in the field of conservation. She grew up in Florida, but her love for wildlife and ecology brought her all over the US. She worked on a trail crew in Washington where she fell in love with stewardship, then moved to the realm of research where she worked in wildlife ecology and ecological silviculture labs in SW Georgia. She is currently serving in AmeriCorps Project Conserve here in WNC and works as an environmental educator where she leads adult and youth programs utilizing animal ambassadors. Her time with Balsam Mountain Trust made her fall in love with Western North Carolina, and she spends all the time she can outdoors, whether it be hiking, fly fishing, creating art, or volunteering with other local NPOs.