Kentucky Heartwood Council, 2020

​Xyara Asplen
Doug Osborne
Chris Schimmoeller
Angela Powell
​Cora Weer
Chris Smith
Lauren Kallmeyer
Julian Campbell
Stephen Dorsett
Dave Cooper
Levi Gordon
Bluebird Whitehead
Clay Goebeler

​Kentucky Heartwood currently supports four staff for a total of 2.25 full-time equivalents and is governed by the Kentucky Heartwood Council. The Council currently includes 13 of our most active volunteers and serves as our board of directors. 

Kentucky Heartwood Staff

Ashley Lipscomb, Director

​Ashley joined Kentucky Heartwood as the Director in October 2020. She brings eleven years of forest watch experience learned in the wilds of the Northern Rockies. She started as a volunteer and became the Membership and Development Director for a small, grassroots group called Friends of the Clearwater. In her spare time, she co-led the Palouse Broadband of the Great Old Broads for Wilderness. Ashley gleaned many skills and strategies from some of the best forest activists in Idaho and looks forward to protecting biologically significant public lands in Kentucky through citizen engagement. 
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Ashley received her Associate of Science in Ecotourism and Adventure Travel from Hocking Technical College in 2009 and proceeded to earn a Bachelor of Science in Resource Recreation and Tourism from the University of Idaho in 2010. Post education, she monitored public lands across Idaho’s Clearwater Basin for ORV abuse, impacts of logging, and wildlife movements. Along the way, she made time to identify native flowers and swim in the cool, clear waters of the West.
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At Kentucky Heartwood, Ashley is responsible for analyzing land management proposals using sound science and the law, creating communication lines with our supporters, growing a diverse membership base, grant acquisitions, and foundation relations. In her downtime, Ashley enjoys backpacking, drinking coffee, reading the newspaper, and walking her doggy named Akadia. 

​Jim Scheff, Staff Ecologist

​​Jim Scheff worked as the Director of Kentucky Heartwood from 2008 through 2020, transiting to his new role as Staff Ecologist in October, 2020. Before moving to Kentucky, Jim was active in national forest protection efforts on the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri from 2000 through 2008, and has been involved with several regional and national forest protection groups.

Jim earned his B.S. in Biology from Webster University in St. Louis, M.A. in Environmental Science from Washington University in St. Louis, and M.S. in Biology and Applied Ecology from Eastern Kentucky University. The subject of Jim's graduate research at EKU was an investigation into the development of old-growth forest characteristics in second-growth forests in the Daniel Boone National Forest.

When not actively working to protect our public lands and wild places, Jim prefers to spend his time outside removing invasive species, hiking, or climbing various trees, rocks, and mountains. Jim lives in Berea. 

​Tina Marie Johnson, Coordinator

​Tina Marie joined Kentucky Heartwood in the role of Coordinator in April 2010, after serving on the Council for four years. She lives in Berea with her husband, Jim Scheff and their children.

Macro photography, mycology and cooking are among Tina Marie's interests. She hopes that the her photography for Kentucky Heartwood inspires people to fall in love with the biodiversity that exists in Kentucky's public lands.

​Over the years, Tina Marie's work for Kentucky Heartwood has shifted from administrative work to outreach and communications. She takes care of our website, publishes the newsletter, and manages our social media accounts at Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Tress La'Ree, Administrator

​Tress La'Ree accepted the position of Administrative Associate with Kentucky Heartwood in February of 2017, and now serves as our Administrator.  She grew up in the Pacific Northwest, with the forest as her playground. Tress became passionate about protecting our nations’ forest after witnessing widespread clear cutting, without restoration in the 1980’s.  After moving to Berea in 2008, she became a member of Kentucky Heartwood and her family became involved in 2010 during the Save Climax and Little Egypt campaign. 

Tress lives in Berea, Kentucky with her partner, Jason who is a music instructor.  Her cats, Walter, Mango and Lyra and her dogs, Hazel & Gus keep her company. She spends her time with her friends, family, and enjoying music and dancing. She is passionate about her other endeavor as an out of hospital Midwife and herbalist.