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Kellie Parr, Operations and Outreach Manager
Kellie is a self-proclaimed, avid environmentalist with a passion for all things water-related. She believes that the most valuable gift we can give our children is a thriving and healthy natural world and strongly believes in the principle "think globally, act locally". Working for Satilla Riverkeeper provides a perfect opportunity to put this theory into practice and also gives her the chance to inspire others to do the same. Kellie lives on St. Simons Island with her 4-year-old son, Fisher. When not working for the Satilla or spending time with her son, she can be found playing guitar and singing at local clubs and restaurants. Her show schedule and CDs are available at www.kellieparr.com.
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Kellie grew up in Brunswick on the banks of the Little Satilla River, spending most of her time water skiing, fishing and crabbing (back when you could catch a washtub full of crabs with a couple of handlines in less than 2 hours). She graduated from Glynn Academy and earned a B.S. in Marketing and an MBA from Florida State University. After working in the corporate world for several years, Kellie decided to follow her heart and became a U.S. Coast Guard Master boat captain and a PADI-certified SCUBA instructor. She moved to Abaco, Bahamas and started a live-aboard charter company. After returning home, she helped found and fund a non-profit marine education center for kids on St. Simons Island. Kellie has been working as an accountant and business consultant for the last 9 years.
Carol McNeary was raised with the belief that responsible citizens need to understand and then act on the key issues in their everyday lives. After living in Blackshear for ten years and spending time around the Satilla River, she realized that the future of this fragile watershed is one such issue and for that reason she joined the staff of Satilla Riverkeeper after retiring from teaching. As her daughters grew up in Gainesville, GA, she taught for twelve years at North Hall Middle and High Schools, and later taught English and public speaking at Waycross College. She has been both an instructor and student at Okefenokee Technical College, recently completing its horticulture program. Before becoming an educator, Carol worked as director of several non-profits focused on art in education, rural health and early childhood. As a volunteer, she has been involved with the Okefenokee Heritage Center, Okefenokee Arts and Education and most recently as president of SaddleUp, a therapeutic riding program for disabled children. Over the past thirty-five years, she has written many grants and is particularly interested in creating networks of funding. She has always loved being near, in or on the water. As a child, Carol built a 14-foot wooden sailboat with her father, and together they raced it on the Long Island Sound. More recently she took her kayak thirty miles across the Okefenokee Swamp with her paddling buddies from Blackshear.
John retired and left Washington, DC in 2002 after a career in veterans healthcare policy and politics. He joined the Satilla Riverkeeper staff in 2007.
I love the water, rivers, oceans, muddy marshes…all of it. I especially love being out in it. Early on, in my teens, I was a water-safety instructor at summer camps. Later I tried surfing when no one surfed on the East Coast. (That tells you how old I am.) Later yet, I co-sponsored a Sea Scout Explorer troop out of Lake Lanier, and we all learned how to sail. I moved to Brunswick and continued to sail but with the added complications of tides and sandbars. Recently I qualified for my USCG Master Mariner certification.