Staff and Board Listing

For general inquiries email [email protected] or call our headquarters office at 540-347-2334.

Emily Johnson

Posted on by Lindsey Loving

Land Use Field Representative – Loudoun County
[email protected]
540-347-2334 ext. 7044

Emily Johnson joined The Piedmont Environmental Council as a Field Representative for Loudoun County in the Spring of 2025. 

Growing up in Loudoun, she was that neighborhood kid running barefoot throughout the woods and falling in love with the landscape. Since graduating from the College of William & Mary with a Bachelors in Anthropology and Environmental Studies, Emily is honored to be back home and advocating for land solutions that respect her community for its deep history, beauty, and people. Like The Piedmont Environmental Council, she believes that sustainability must bridge the nature of places and the nature of people. In her prior work, Emily conducted oral histories within the Rappahannock River watershed for their preservation and integration into river herring restoration.

In her free time, Emily is an avid artist with a particular love for photography and was the Loudoun County Fair photographer for multiple years. She also loves to read poetry and spend sunny days out on a soccer field or on a hiking trail, especially with her dog, Winnie. 

Meredith Ogilvie-Thompson

Posted on by PEC

Media Strategist
[email protected]
540-347-2334 x7029

Born and raised in New York, Meredith started her career at Time, Inc before leaving for South Africa, where she worked as an agricultural and general finance reporter for the national business newspaper, Business Day. True to her lifelong passion for conservation, Meredith soon began publishing feature stories about the intersection of business and the environment and, over the years, has become known for her in-depth knowledge of and reporting on issues associated with conservation, sustainable development and climate change. An award-winning journalist, Meredith’s work has been published in the Financial Times, The Telegraph, VOGUE, Fauquier Times, and Rappahannock News, among others; she has written for both documentary and feature films.

In her capacity as communications strategist, Meredith has consulted to various entities, from private sector companies and development finance institutions to non-profits and media companies, and has served as an Executive Director and non-Executive Board Member to various organizations focused on conservation and the environment.  

Meredith holds a B.A. in political science from Columbia University and a graduate diploma in Modern Art Studies from the University of Cambridge. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, serves on the advisory board of Big Life Foundation, and is a Trustee of ERuDeF Cameroon (Environmental & Rural Development Foundation).

Bryn Sonnett

Posted on by PEC

Rappahannock-Rapidan Conservation Program Manager
[email protected]
(540) 347-2334 ext. 7067

Bryn is native to the Piedmont with roots in Rappahannock County. Growing up in the area solidified her love and appreciation for the outdoors early on and inspired her career in conservation. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Global Environments and Sustainability in 2016.

After several years in Charlottesville, Bryn returned to Rappahannock and accepted a position with Virginia Outdoors Foundation where she worked for the past 7.5 years on public access and private easement acquisitions, amendments, and stewardship of 1,000+ easements throughout the Piedmont. She also served on the Preservation Trust Fund review committee and Baseline Documentation Report Committee, and spent the last two years assisting with VOF’s long-term steward pilot program for mitigation bank easements. Previously, Bryn interned at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and worked for several local small businesses.

Bryn spends much of her spare time camping, hiking and biking around the U.S. with her husband and dog. Some of her favorite areas outside Virginia include Olympic National Park, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Grand Teton National Park, the Florida Keys, Redwood National Park and New Hampshire’s White Mountains. 

Lea Justice

Posted on by PEC

Buy Fresh Buy Local Assistant
540-347-2334 ext. 7027
[email protected]

Lea Justice joined The Piedmont Environmental Council as Buy Fresh Buy Local Assistant in the fall of 2024. She is honored to contribute to the mission of PEC as a resource-provider to the farming community and extended foodshed that sustains our region.

A vegetable farmer by trade, Lea has had her hands in the dirt for most of the last twenty years, on farms from Canada to Patagonia. Rooted more locally, Lea ran her own vegetable farm in the Shenandoah Valley since 2010. As a student and practitioner of sustainability, the importance of inter-locking support systems emerged as a core value. She spent time working and volunteering for non-profits in affordable housing, elder-care, equitable food access and outdoor education. Along the way, she learned invaluable lessons in not only how to grow food, but how to grow community. 

Lea enjoys fermenting flavorful concoctions from the garden and sharing them on picnic blankets with good folks and great views.

Keely Murphy

Posted on by PEC

Keely Murphy joins PEC as the Conservation Field Representative for the Potomac Watershed. Keely got her professional start in land conservation in Colorado where she worked for Colorado Open Lands as a Conservation Fellow. Prior to living in Colorado, she spent 10 years studying and working in Washington D.C. 

Amanda Aiyar

Amanda Aiyar

Posted on by PEC

HR & Payroll Specialist
540-347-2334 ext. 7013
[email protected]

Amanda joined The Piedmont Environmental Council team in August 2024 and serves as the HR & Payroll Specialist.

She attended Indiana University Bloomington, gaining a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Criminal Justice and Business Foundations Certificate, and later a M.S. in Communications from Purdue University. She spent 11 years in public service at a government agency before deciding she wanted to follow her passion for the outdoors.

This led to her to travel the United States for a past year and explore the country’s many beautiful parks and forests. She fell in love with Virginia while section hiking the Appalachian Trail and spending time in the multiple trail towns along the way.  In her spare time, Amanda loves to hike, climb, backcountry camp, read and spend time with her husband and dog.