Jessie (she/her/hers) was born and raised in the woods of central North Carolina where she discovered a passion for nature. She received her B.S. in Wildlife Management from NC State University in 2009 and her M.S. in Wildlife Science from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in 2012.

Prior to joining Conservation Legacy Jessie worked for the NC Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, and NC State University as a conservation practitioner, program manager, and leadership educator. Jessie is a dedicated community volunteer serving on the Orange County Parks and Rec Council and Commission for the Environment. She is also a Certified Wildlife Biologist and works as a mentor for young adults considering a career in conservation.

In her free time she enjoys hiking, horseback riding, and birding and is an active member of the Feminist Bird Club’s Durham Chapter. Jessie and her husband live in rural Orange County with their rescue pup Ella.

Andy (he/him/his) got his first taste of exploring public lands in his hometown of Corbett, Oregon. There, he developed a deep affinity with the landscape surrounding him. After graduating from Oregon State University in 2013, Andy found his calling in working on the trails crew for the U.S. Forest Service in Bend, Oregon. He was able to experience serving as a wilderness trails lead, taking volunteers on backcountry hitches to perform trail work on the Pacific Crest Trail, performing extraordinary projects on the PCT from southern Oregon to northern Washington state.

After having a great time working for the Forest Service as a trails supervisor, serving as an Oregon State Parks park ranger, and working in natural resources for the City of Bend in Oregon, Andy found his way to North Carolina in 2019, finding his way to work in conservation with CCNC. When Andy isn’t out in the field, you can find him exploring new hiking and cross country ski trails, or building wood furniture on his back porch.

Randolph “Radar” Harrison (he/him/his) is the Director of Forestry Conservation Projects for Conservation Corps North Carolina. Previously he was the Assistant County Ranger with the North Carolina Forest Service in Wake County. He has also worked for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety in Emergency Management as the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know and State Emergency Response Coordinator.

Prior to coming to North Carolina, Radar worked for the U.S. Forest Service for 32 years rising through the ranks to become Assistant Deputy Director of Fire and Aviation Management for the Northeastern Area of State and Private Forestry at Radnor, PA. A native of central Virginia, Radar graduated from Virginia State University with a degree in Plant and Soil Science. He has 3 children, a granddaughter and is involved with numerous activities with his church and community organizations.

Mallory James (she/her/hers) grew up just north or Durham, North Carolina. From a young age, Mallory loved nature and spent summers chasing frogs and inspecting local rocks. If you had asked her as a child what she would do when she grew up, she would have told you an ‘animal scientist’. Mallory received a Bachelor’s in Ecology, Evolutionary, and Environmental Biology from Appalachian State University. During that time she furthered her interest in nature and eventually conservation while interning with the Houston Zoo’s Collegiate Conservation Program as well as with the Naturalist Department with the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. Mallory also found a love for leadership and personal development through serving as a Resident Assistant for 3 of 4 years at App State. Eventually, Mallory found her way to conservation corps by happening upon the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps where she lead a young adult crew for 16 weeks. She found that conservation corps are a beautiful way for her to marry her love for the conservation of the natural world and personal development in youth and young adults. Mallory went on to lead for the Montana Conservation Corps and then served as the Field Training Coordinator for the Northwest Youth Corps and Idaho Conservation Corps. After the 4 seasons of traveling and working with different conservation corps all over the US, Mallory felt it was time to come home to the state she loved and to family that was waiting on her. She’s particularly obsessed with her 2 year old nephew, Logan. Mallory is incredibly excited for the opportunity to do conservation work around the state she calls home.

Stephanie Dunton (she/her/hers) grew up in rural Maine and graduated from the University of Maine with a BA in Psychology and a minor of Sociology and the desire to make a difference. In 2017-2018, Stephanie joined AmeriCorps NCCC in the Southwest region where she served on Disaster for Hurricane Harvey in around the Houston, TX area. Then she went on to serve in Tahlequah, Oklahoma with Cherokee Nation and Habitat for Humanity as well as a teaching farm in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Stephanie continued to work with AmeriCorps NCCC out of the Pacific region serving on the Paradise Fire in Oroville, California, doing various environmental projects all around Oregon, and serving the Boys and Girls Club of Ronan, MT as well as United Way in Kalispell, MT. From then on, Stephanie worked as a Hall Director at Truman State University in Kirksville, MO, where she expanded her professional resume working with training, professional development, mentoring, advising and other various skills. Ultimately, in 2022, wanting to get back to her roots of serving communities and working with AmeriCorps, Stephanie now serves as the Recruitment and Member Support Coordinator for Conservation Corps North Carolina. In her free time, Stephanie likes to hang out with her cats Ellie and Hermione while knitting, watching movies and hiking in the great outdoors.

Jackie (she/her) grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. While attending Xavier University she led two Spring break service trips that ignited a love for simultaneously serving others and helping nature. Upon graduating college, she served with AmeriCorps NCCC in Baltimore, MD. During that time, she was a wildland firefighter, beet farmer, and disaster relief worker. She then relocated to Washington DC where she served with the Stewards Program in Conservation Legacy and worked in the volunteer department at the National Mall with the National Park Service. While she loved being in the city, the mountains were calling, and she took a seasonal job at Grand Teton National Park. After roaming around Wyoming for a summer she moved to Durham, then different mountains started calling and she worked another seasonal job at Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Jackie then came back to the Raleigh area and is now the Youth Program Coordinator with CCNC. When not working you can find Jackie working out, cheering on her Cincinnati sports teams, or howling with her Husky pup Dexter.

Joseph (he/him/his) is from Dyersburg, Tennessee and his first introduction into corps was through NCCC Pacific Region. After that completing that term of service he joined SECC and AmeriCorps St. Louis ERT. During that time he gained much needed confidence and confirmation that the outdoor/natural resource field was for him and has been outdoors ever since. In his free time he likes talking to his friends and following his favorite NFL team which is the Tennessee Titans