Angel Oak

Steering Committee

Dr. Tamara T. Butler

Dr. Tamara T. Butler is a plant mom and an educator who draws upon lessons learned growing up on Johns Island, South Carolina. Currently, she serves as the Executive Director of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture and Associate Dean of Strategic Planning & Community Engagement for the College of Charleston Libraries. She earned 2 Master’s degrees and her Ph.D. from THE Ohio State University. She also holds a Bachelor of Science from her beloved Xavier University of Louisiana. Prior to joining the team at the Avery Research Center, Dr. Butler was an Associate Professor of Critical Literacies at Michigan State University, where she authored over 10 publications focused on English Education. In 2015, she launched the BlackGirlLand Project, which documents Black women’s connections to land and memory—starting with members of her Sea Island community. At the College of Charleston, she is a member of the Executive Committee for African American Studies and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning’s Advisory Board. Beyond campus, Dr. Butler serves as a board member for the International African American Museum and Coastal Conservation League, as well as a member of the Gibbes Museum of Art’s IDEA committee.

Devon Andrews

Devon joined the Conservancy in February of 2022 as the Director of Policy and Partnerships. Prior to her role at CPC, she spent a decade at the Charleston County Public Library, first working in Children’s Services, and eventually overseeing programming, outreach, and partnerships for the library system. She attended the University of South Carolina Aiken, earning a B.A. in English and the University of South Carolina for graduate school, earning a Masters in Library and Information Science.

Devon is passionate about all of the benefits that parks and gardens bring, including access to fresh foods. Devon serves on the board of Fields to Families and is also active on the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Regional Policy Committee. When not working on policies or partnerships, she can often be found with her husband, two young sons, and two sweet and mischievous beagles, exploring all of the beautiful places our city has to offer.

Jason Crowley

Jason Crowley is the Communities and Transportation Senior Program Director for the Coastal Conservation League, an environmental advocacy organization headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina. Jason works closely with citizens, grassroots organizations, and fellow non-governmental organizations to build coalitions throughout the Lowcountry to protect and enhance the unique cultural and environmental characteristics that make the South Carolina coastal plain one of the most iconic landscapes in America. In the face of major quality of life threats from climate change, exponential growth pressures, and gentrification, Jason strives every day to amplify local voices fighting for their communities, history, and culture.

Ashley Demosthenes

Ashley Demosthenes serves as the President and CEO of Lowcountry Land Trust (LLT). She has spent nearly 25 years protecting the land and water of coastal South Carolina. Born and raised in Charleston, Ashley’s commitment to protecting our vital Lowcountry landscape comes from a lifelong passion for the outdoors. After she received her B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont, Ashley returned to Charleston and began her career protecting Lowcountry land with The Nature Conservancy. Ashley enjoys spending her free time hiking, kayaking, and fishing with her husband Harry, and children Emilie, Isabel, and Harry.

Scott Farfone

Scott Farfone Johns Island Resident, Owner of Dotty’s Pharmacy  

Albert George

Albert George served as the first Director of Conservation for the South Carolina Aquarium and is a member of the Lowcountry Land Trust Board of Trustees. Prior to the South Carolina Aquarium, he worked as the Director of Education for the Georgia Aquarium, Inc. He has also held appointments as a Strategy Management Consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton and as a Research Associate for the Center for Marine Environmental Science and Biotechnology. Mr. George completed his B.S. in Marine Biology and Chemistry from Savannah State University and the P.R.E.P. program at Yale University concentrating in physiology cellular molecular genetics. He then completed a program of study from the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government in addition to completing a Master’s of Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also the founder of the Georgia Green Economy Summit and the Resilience Initiative Coastal Education (RICE) which has worked to promote green economy growth and resilience strategic planning in the state of Georgia and the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

Elizabeth M. Hagood

Elizabeth M. Hagood is former Executive Director of the Lowcountry Land Trust, and led the fundraising campaign to Save the Angel Oak from surrounding development. The successful campaign enabled the Land Trust to permanently protect the Angel Oak Preserve property as a community and natural resource. Elizabeth has focused her professional and civic leadership on the preservation and conservation of the lowcountry of South Carolina. Through her career at the Land Trust and service on non-profit boards and commissions, she has dedicated her career and civic engagement to improving the quality of life of Charleston and the South Carolina coast.

Winslow Hastie

Winslow Hastie is President & CEO of Historic Charleston Foundation, a non-profit organization that champions the historic authenticity, cultural character and livability of the Charleston region through advocacy, stewardship and community engagement.

Hastie began his career in San Francisco as a preservation consultant at Carey & Co. Architecture, and as an urban planner and preservation specialist at the City of San Francisco Planning Department. A native of Charleston, Hastie returned to his roots as the Chief Preservation Officer at Historic Charleston Foundation. Following a national search, Hastie was chosen to lead the Foundation as President & CEO, ushering in a new era of heightened advocacy engagement and strategic programming to address preservation, livability and growth issues facing the Charleston region. He holds a Master’s degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Georgia and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of the South at Sewanee.In his active civic life, Hastie currently serves on the Board of Directors of Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, an historic site outside of Charleston; the Board of Directors of Preservation Action, a national preservation advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.; the Advisory Board for the American College of the Building Arts; and the Board of the Friends of the Lowcountry Lowline.

Jason Kronsberg

Jason Kronsberg , Director of Parks, City of Charleston

Lindsey Nevin

Lindsey Nevin CEO, The Flyway Companies

Queen Quet Marquetta L. Goodwine

Queen Quet Marquetta L. Goodwine is a published author, computer scientist, lecturer, mathematician, historian, columnist, preservationist, environmental justice advocate,
environmentalist, film consultant, and “The Art-ivist.” She is the founder of the premiere advocacy organization for the continuation of Gullah/Geechee culture, the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition. In 2006 the Coalition, worked with US Congressman James Clyburn and successfully passed the “Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Act” through the United States Congress and signed into law by the president. Queen Quet was the first Gullah/Geechee person to speak on behalf of her people before the United Nations in Genevé, Switzerland, and has since been invited numerous times as a representative of the Gullah/Geechee Nation and the International Human Rights Association for American Minorities (IHRAAM).

Queen Quet has won countless awards for being a woman of distinction, for her scholarship, writings, artistic presentation, activism, cultural continuation and environmental preservation.
Queen Quet’s accolades include the United States Jefferson Award for community service, the Jean Laney Folk Heritage Award for Gullah Advocacy from the state of South Carolina, the
inaugural “Living Legacy Award” from the Association for the Study of African American Life & History (ASALH), the inaugural MaVynee Betsch Conservation Award, the National Black Herstory Award, being featured on the “Wall of Heroes” at the National Wilderness Society headquarters in Washington, DC, among many other s. In 2021, Governor Henry McMaster
presented Queen Quet with the highest honor given to a citizen in South Carolina. Queen Quet received the Order of the Palmetto Award for the work that she has done for her home state and especially in protecting and continuing the Gullah/Geechee culture.

John Taylor, Jr.

John Taylor, Jr. , raised on the Sea Islands, is a proud native of Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina. His interest in art and design led him to start a career in architecture, which eventually led to city planning. John has an education background in architecture from Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida and City and Regional Planning from Clemson University at the graduate level. John gained planning experience in the state with both the Charleston County Zoning and Planning Department and the Anderson County Planning and Community Development Department. John is currently the Planning Director for the Town of Kiawah Island, a residential coastal community incorporating a world class resort, where he administers day to
day zoning review and approvals, manages the long-term development agreements and is
responsible for the comprehensive plan for the Town. John brings an attitude of genuine service to the profession, having been emerced in community service most of his life. John serves as a board member of The Progressive Club sustaining the legacy and vision of improving conditions for and providing opportunities for the community whether in education or civil rights. John also currently serves as vice chairman of the Wadmalaw Island Land Planning Committee helping to
maintain the unique character of Wadmalaw Island. He furthermore finds much passion in community engagement and photography.