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About the Mathews Land Conservancy.jpg

Our Team

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Board of Directors

The Mathews Land Conservancy is headquartered at Williams Wharf Landing in Mathews County and is governed by a Board of Directors:
 

Craig DeRemer, President
Bernadette LaCasse, Vice President
Robb Riddle, Treasurer
Tim Hudgins, Secretary
Jay White, Director
Bernard Moughon, Director
Fred Lyon, Director
Stan Grice, Director


Gwen DeForge, Operations Manager 

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President of the Board

Craig DeRemer brings the Conservancy more than 30 years experience in natural resources and the environment.  With an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Colorado State University, he has provided consulting to cities, States, and the private sector.  At the federal level, Craig was staff to the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Water Resources, and was an official for the Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Energy. He has also operated a historic Bed and Breakfast and was President of a federal credit union.  Craig enjoys fishing. kayaking, and biking in our beautiful County.

Vice President

Bernadette La Casse brings over 35 years experience in global corporate operations – including strategic level and consulting positions with manufacturing, financial services and pharmaceutical corporations. Her experience in corporate finance and change management help the Mathews Land Conservancy navigate as a high performing board. In addition, her perspective as a real estate broker and intimate familiarity with the realty, regulatory, locality and waterway information for the county and region help the MLC make key decisions about its resources. Bernadette holds a BS in Mathematics from Potsdam College and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She and her family have lived in Mathews, Virginia, on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay since 2005.

Treasurer

Robert L. Riddle joins the board with 38 years in the Commercial Industrial Real Estate Industry. As the president of Riddle Associations, founded in 1988 in Chesapeake, VA, Robb provides uncompromising representation to buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords in commercial and industrial real estate transactions, primarily in Southeastern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina. He has served on numerous boards, including Old Point National Bank, Virginia Air & Space Center and the Economic Development Authority of the City of Chesapeake. Now living in Mathews, Robb enjoys baseball, racquetball, scuba, boating and cruising in his 1959 Corvette.

Secretary

Tim Hudgins, the son of former MLC director Wayne Hudgins, brings over 35 years of design, construction and project management experience to the Mathews Land Conservancy board. As a registered architect, his expertise in managing large complex design and construction projects in the DC & Baltimore Metro areas brings a unique perspective to the board. A Mathews’ school’s alumni, Tim holds a professional degree in Architecture from Virginia Tech. He and his family have lived in Hallieford on Queens Creek in Mathews since 2010.

Directors

Jay White brings over 40 years of construction experience to the Mathews Land Conservancy board, with the last 18 years owning a commercial site concrete company named for the East River on which Williams Wharf resides. His experience will further enhance the board’s construction and facilities knowledge to facilitate the completion of the Owens Maritime Center and continue to assist in maintaining the numerous properties under MLC’s care. Jay holds a BS in Physics from Randolph Macon College. He and his family have lived in Mathews along the East River since 2001.

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Bernard Moughon is a Mathews native and lifelong resident on the East River. Bernard brings over 36 years of experience in the construction and maintenance of the Electric utility industry. He is an alumnus of Mathews Schools and a member of the first Mathews Crew team.  He and his family reside in the Glebe area of Mathews.

Fred Lyon is a native Virginian who has lived in Alexandria, Mount Vernon, Norfolk Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, and now Mathews. He has been a practicing lawyer for over 40 years with a specialty in construction law and contracts. A member of the Virginia, District of Columbia, Maryland, and Florida bars, he has offices in Virginia and Florida. He also is a certified mediator and has written and spoken frequently on issues of contract and construction law. He has been active in preservation and land conservancy organizations in various parts of the country, including Virginia, Florida, and Louisiana. He is a graduate of Duke University with a B.A in history, the University of Virginia School of Law, Rollins College with a masters in liberal studies, and the University of Edinburgh with a masters in history. He is co-author of When Not Performing, a 2012 book describing the lives of New Orleans’s musicians in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He also is a former officer in the U.S. Navy. He is chair of the Mathews VA250 Committee, created by the Board of Supervisors to organize celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026.

Stan Grice has a forty-year career in health care administration and consulting, with the last 20 years focused on oncology care and advanced diagnostics. He has extensive experience in business development, strategic planning, marketing, and public relations. As an entrepreneur, he created Affiliated PET Systems, which was the first of its kind to offer commercial Positron Emission Tomography Centers in suburban Washington, DC. Following graduate school at Tulane University School of Public Health in New Orleans, he was recruited to Washington, D.C., to work for National Medical Enterprises. In addition to his work, Grice was a member of the Association of Community Cancer Centers, Society of Nuclear Medicine, and the National Press Club. Grice and his wife, Diane, relocated from the Old Town Alexandria area to Mathews to be close to family. Grice recently completed the Extension Master Gardener course and is focused on shoreline stabilization, bioretention rain gardens to combat erosion, and habitat restoration in our community.

 

Operations Manager

Gwen DeForge was raised in Mathews County and has served as the MLC’s Operations Manager since June 2024. In her role as Operations Manager, she provides leadership for all MLC administrative functions and core support for bookkeeping, board management, special events, fundraising, and philanthropic activities. Gwen holds a B.A. in Leisure Studies with a concentration in Recreation and Tourism Management from Christopher Newport University. Her interests include history and historic homes, genealogy, boating and beaching, and spending time with friends and family. She and her family live in the Williams Wharf neighborhood.
 

1039 Williams Wharf Road, Mathews, VA
Open daily sunrise to sunset

 

AMENITIES

  • Riverfront Pavilion & Viewing Tower

  • Fishing Pier (licenses needed)

  • Floating Dock (non-motorized watercraft launch)

  • Shoreline Recreation Path & Exhibit Trail

  • Activity Building (see Facility Rental)

  • Open SpaceFive acres of

  • Restrooms

  • Parking area

  • Best Sunsets in Mathews!

Bayside Landing

Contact

If you'd like to connect with us or have interest in joining the team at the Mathews Land Conservancy, please reach out to us! 

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