Welcome new NAPS Board Members and Nominees

At its July meeting, the NAPS Board of Directors elected Anna Pridgen and Lesley Newman to fill vacancies until regular elections by the membership at the Annual Meeting scheduled for Sunday, August 21, 2022 at the Tavern Meeting Building in Heathsville VA. They are each nominees for election by the membership. Katie Wilkins has also been nominated to serve on the NAPS Board of Directors (bio to be added soon).

Anna Pridgen is a rising senior at Northumberland County High School and has been a NAPS student member for five years. She moved to the Northern Neck from North Carolina with her parents in 2016. Anna has participated in several NAPS events over the years, including creek and highway clean-ups, Earth Day Festival, and the SeaPerch competition. She looks forward to serving on the board of NAPS.

Anna is filling the seat of Rita Johnson, who resigned recently to make time for other commitments. Rita has been a member of NAPS for over 20 years and has served on the board since 2018. She has also served as Webmaster, Creek Cleanup Coordinator, and a member of the NAPS Scholarship Committee and other committees through her tenure. She regularly participates in outreach events throughout the year. NAPS extends a hearty “thank you” for her past and future help in our community.

Lesley Newman is a writer, educator, and activist who grew up in the Northern Neck. She works as the Tidal Educator for Friends of the Rappahannock. In addition to joining the NAPS board this year, she is a Master Naturalist and serves on the board as the basic training committee chair. As an educator and daughter of the Northern Neck, she is fully committed to “cherishing and preserving” this land and water for future generations. Lesley has been a member since learning about NAPS at the Earth Day Festival in 2018. She lives in Heathsville with her partner, Casey.

Lesley is filling the seat of Shauna McCranie, who served the maximum 6 years as a NAPS board member and served as Secretary throughout her tenure. Shauna also served on many committees and as liaison to the Northumberland County Schools where she was Coordinator of Gifted Services until recently taking a position with Lancaster County Schools. NAPS thanks Shauna for her many years of service with NAPS and the community.

If you have a current membership with NAPS and cannot attend the Annual Meeting, you may vote for Board Members by email – send an email to stewardship@NAPSva.org with the subject line “Vote.” We will email or message you the names and biographies of each of the nominees so you can respond with your choices or write in your own nominee(s).