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Founding Directors & Members

We are standing alongside the many in our community who love and appreciate the beautiful resource that Claytor Nature Center is in Bedford County. Cloverlea Foundation will serve as a collective voice to advocate for the vision that Boyd Claytor described in his Gift Agreement to establish the Claytor Nature Center. Together we'll work to bring that vision to life through a proposed partnership with the University of Lynchburg. There are several others that are part of this work as well, our Cloverlea Foundation members that have joined our Cloverlea Community and our community partners. Thank you for staying connected; below you can learn more about the key people who have a strong passion for and connection to Claytor Nature Center's history, and serving at the forefront of these efforts.

Board of Directors

Trish Cerulli

Board President. Former outreach coordinator at the Claytor Nature Center, longtime Belk Observatory Docent, facilitator of the ongoing Cloverlea History Project, a Cloverlea bride, and adjunct instructor for chemistry and astronomy at University of Lynchburg.

Assistant Director of the Randolph College Science Festival, and Rotary 7570 Area 5 Assistant Governor

B.S. in Chemistry, University of Mary Washington '08

M.S. in Physical Chemistry, University of Virginia '14

Certificate of Nonprofit Excellence, CVANE '21

CO.STARTERS Graduate, '22

Bob Kibler

Friend of Boyd Claytor, major land donor to Claytor Nature Center in 2016, Lynchburg College alumnus, U.S. Air Force veteran, and a fervent land and environmental conservationist.

Retired Chief Information Officer at AREVA (Framatome), '09

B.S. in Business, Lynchburg College '79

M.B.A., Lynchburg College '80

Polly Flint

Lynchburg College alumna, member of the University of Lynchburg Board of Trustees from 2001-2024, and longtime advocate for Claytor Nature Center and Cloverlea Farmhouse.

Realtor with John Stewart's Walker, Inc.

B.A. in Elementary Education, Lynchburg College '71

M.Ed. in Counseling, Lynchburg College '73

Neal Sumerlin

Board Treasurer. Founding Director of the Belk Astronomical Observatory at Claytor Nature Center and benefactor of the Sumerlin Observatory Fund.

Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Lynchburg College, retired '12

B.S. in Professional Chemistry, Ouachita University '72

Ph.D. in Nuclear Chemistry, University of Arkansas '77

Steve Claytor

Nephew of Boyd Claytor and advocate for the Claytor family legacy, with an interest in sustainable agriculture for a local small-scale farm winery.

Retired Vice President of Fralin & Waldron, Inc.

B.S. from Emory & Henry College '83

Morgan Welch

Board Secretary. Bedford farm neighbor, Rotarian, and previous Sierra Club chapter president, with interest and expertise in regenerative agriculture and innovative water systems.

Environmental Engineer with the U.S. Department of State

B.S and M.S. in Biological Engineering, University of Arkansas '14

Cloverlea Foundation Founding Members

Visionary :

Trish Cerulli

Steve Claytor

Polly Flint

Kellea Hogan

Bob Kibler

Neal Sumerlin

Morgan Welch

Cloverlea Sustainer :

Courtenay Clifford

Susan Flint

Michael Overacker

Wendy Witt

Cloverlea Supporter :

Dan Cohen

Shelly Evans

Brenda Gibb

Laura Henry-Stone

Maggy Liell

Katharine McCann

John Messier

Hope Metzger

Deirdre Serio

Kyle Simpson

Lindsey Van Zile

Cloverlea Creative:

Barter Town Bobby Fuller

Christina Davis Art

Brenda Simmons Art

Peter Simmons Woodworks

Katharina Bergdoll Art

Cloverlea Community :

Maya Alexander

Randee Beckman

Kari Benson

Katharina Bergdoll

Laura Berrier

Patti Black

Shannon Brennan

Andrew Cerulli

Brian Corner

Bobbie Daniels

Brooke Dean

Vicki Deppensmith

Paul Dion

Shane Durie

Nancy Eichenberger

Bob Flint

Erin Friedman

Susan Frost

Kim Geier

Penny Hawes

Sarah Hawes

Jenifer Jay

Jesse Jay

Michael Kelly

Polly King

Athena Markham

Erik Miller

Grace Nash Peace

Bonnie & Daniel Platt

Jeff & Ruth Plum

Rachel Rosalez

Rachel Roth

Wendy Rowden

Brenda Gay & Peter Simmons

Chandra & Larry Schmehl

Michael Starkey

Nicole Woodward

We are grateful for our growing community with over 70 members!

To learn more about membership, visit the Get Involved page.

Supporter Spotlights:

Maggy Liell - Former caretaker of the Cloverlea Farmhouse and Memorial Gardens and groundskeeper for Claytor Nature Center for over 16 years, co-creator of Otter Space nature play area, friend of Boyd Claytor, and Bedford County neighbor.

Laura Henry-Stone - Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Sustainability at the University of Lynchburg, former interim-director of Claytor Nature Center, and Board member of Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences.

Lindsey Van Zile - Sustainability Coordinator at Randolph College, graduate of the Masters in Nonprofit Leadership program from University of Lynchburg, former camp counselor and volunteer at Claytor Nature Center.

John Messier - Close family friend of Boyd and Ginny Claytor and succeeding owner of Southern Flavorings Company, Inc.

Advisory Committee: With the 1998 Claytor Gift Agreement serving as a foundational document for the efforts of the Cloverlea Foundation, we intend to have open and collaborative input from University of Lynchburg, from the comparable roles as outlined in the Gift Agreement Document: In addition to the Center Director, a) Donor or donor's designate, b) Dean of the College, c) Vice President for Institutional Advancement, d) Director of the College's Center for Environmental Education, and others identified by the President of the College. As of June 2024, the identified administrator at UofL for Claytor Nature Center is the Vice President for Academics and Strategic Operations, and comparable roles for b)-d) have not yet been identified.

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