The following officers have been elected by section members for the current fiscal year. Please write them if you have any questions about membership qualifications, or to apply for sponsorship, or to participate in any of our ongoing projects, field trips, or meetings.

Officers and Contacts
	Chair: Laura Elliott, email Laura is a licensed geologist in North Carolina and Virginia. Laura earned a bachelor's degree in Geology from The College of William & Mary in Virginia, and a master's degree in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Vanderbilt University. Her professional experience has included environmental consulting in the NC Triangle and Triad, and as a hydrogeologist for NCDEQ's Division of Water Resources. Laura spends most of her time in commercial due diligence work, Brownfields projects, and solid/hazardous waste investigations. Currently, she is the environmental department manager with Terracon in Greensboro, NC.
	Vice-Chair: Meredith Ambrose, email Meredith earned her B.S. in Environmental Science with a Geology concentration, along with History and Middle East Studies minors, from North Carolina State University in 2014. She joined AEG while pursuing her undergraduate degree but decided to get more involved in the Carolinas Chapter about 3 years ago. She is the Carolina Chapter’s membership chair and co-editor of the GeoNews quarterly newsletter. Meredith currently works in the Transportation Department at Froehling & Robertson, Inc. (F&R) in Raleigh, NC and is a licensed Professional Geologist in North Carolina.
	Treasurer: Walt Plekan, email Walt is a licensed geologist in North and South Carolina and Virginia. His primary area of expertise is the assessment and remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater, risk mitigation, and client advocacy. He is a 1994 graduate of SUNY Fredonia with a bachelor’s degree in geology. He is currently employed as a Principal/Program Manager for Stantec Consulting Services. Outside of work, he enjoys tending to the yard and garden as well as hiking the trails around Asheville.
	Secretary: Carsen Adams, email Carsen is a licensed geologist in North Carolina. He earned a bachelor's degree in Geology from UNC Charlotte, where he was an active student member in AEG, and went on to complete a master's degree at the University of Tennessee. After graduation, he spent a year working as a project geologist in an underground zinc mine in East Tennessee. He is currently employed as a geologist at Martin Marietta Materials in Raleigh, NC. In his free time, Carsen enjoys cycling and spending time outdoors.
	Past Chair: Jennifer B. Thomas, email Jen graduated from Mary Washington University in 2000 with a degree in geology. She started as an environmental field technician and worked for several environmental and engineering consulting firms over the years performing soil and groundwater investigations, remediation, and monitoring primarily for underground storage tank and chlorinated solvents sites. She performed Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) as well. Jen earned her geology license in 2006. After that, she expanded her knowledge to geotechnical engineering and construction materials testing. In 2012, she started JennTec, LLC in 2012, primarily writing Phase I ESAs with some sampling for asbestos, radon, and/or lead-based paint.
	Membership Chair: Kaitlin Adkisson, email Katie is a geologist and project manager at Kennedy Jenks Consulting with 13 years of experience managing groundwater remediation projects for private sector clients. She specializes in the remediation of chlorinated solvents, bringing practical, science-based solutions to complex environmental issues. Katie earned her degree from the University of Missouri – Kansas City and moved to North Carolina one year ago after living in Kansas City. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking and has completed 25 of the 50 U.S. state high points—an adventure she’s excited to continue pursuing.
	Field Course Chair: Andrew Beaty, 704-813-6540, email Andrew is a senior staff geologist at Terracon in Charlotte, NC. Andrew is from Gastonia, NC and attended UNC Charlotte, graduating with a BS in Geology degree in 2017 and has since then been working in the geotechnical consulting industry. He is licensed in North and South Carolina. Andrew currently manages commercial geotechnical projects and assists with some DOT projects for Terracon from their Charlotte office.
	Social Committee Chair: Adam Phillips, 919-451-3370, email Adam is the business development manager for North and South Carolina at Onterris Laboratories. As chair of the Social Committee, he helps coordinate our quarterly chapter meetings and social events and promotes them on social media. Adam has more than 15 years of experience in the environmental-testing industry and previously worked for a consulting firm early in his career. He earned two degrees from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in Environmental Studies. He enjoys cooking and any outdoor activity – fishing, gardening, camping, hiking, hunting, and boating.
	Sponsorship Chair: Colleen Ranieri, email Colleen is from northern Virginia and graduated from James Madison University with a B.S. in Geology in 2020. She is a licensed geologist in North Carolina. Colleen currently works at NV5 in Raleigh managing subsurface investigations, environmental Phase I and Phase II assessments, and construction materials testing and inspection projects.
	Student Liaison: Michael Daniels, 919-723-7900, email Michael is a geologist in the geotechnical engineering profession supporting transportation and infrastructure projects throughout North Carolina. He currently serves as a Geotechnical Investigations Coordinator at Falcon Engineering where his work focuses on coordinating all of Falcon's geotechnical exploration. He began his career as a field geologist and has since progressed into roles involving project coordination, technical oversight, and operations leadership. Michael serves as Student Liaison for the Carolinas Chapter of AEG, where he supports student engagement initiatives, coordinate Visiting Professionals Program events, and helps connect students with industry professionals. Michael was first introduced to AEG as a student at Appalachian State University through the Visiting Professionals Program, an experience that played a significant role in shaping his career path and commitment to mentorship and outreach. Michael is passionate about professional development, industry collaboration, and supporting the next generation of engineering and environmental geologists. His professional interests include infrastructure geology, field operations leadership, and finding ways to adapt my industry to the ever-growing world around it.
	Newsletter Co-Editors: Meredith Ambrose, email; & Kaitlin Adkisson, email
	Regional Director: Hawkins Gagnon, email
	Advisor: Jennifer Bauer, 828-296-4500, email
	Advisor: Gary Rogers, email
	Webmaster: Brad Isles, email Brad is a freelance website manager, content developer, photographer, writer and designer fluent in Google Analytics and social outreach properties such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and others. A resident of western Pennsylvania, Brad is a past winner of numerous Keystone Press and design awards during his time as a journalist and editor for local newspapers.
	Chapter Website: www.aegcarolinas.org
	AEG National Website: www.aegweb.org