Laura (Kitchin) Greenleaf grew up on Paris Mountain in Clarke County, moving there with her family in 1975.  Childhood memories include a quiet route 601 safe enough for summer evening bike rides, starrier skies, deep snows, and the presence of AT hikers and trail crews because of her father’s active membership in the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, including as a trail overseer for many years.  Laura’s interest in land use and conservation began early as she witnessed local leaders’ choices for Clarke’s future in contrast to what was unfolding to the east in the 1980s.

Returning to the area after college, Laura lived most of the next fifteen years in the Crooked Run Valley.  Though her education and career were in social work, she became active in local conservation advocacy and served on the board of Citizens for Fauquier County in the early 2000s. She also assisted her parents in donating a conservation easement on their 45 acres in 2005.  At the same time, she earned a master’s degree in public administration focused on environmental policy and began serving as the Northern Virginia Coordinator for the Virginia League of Conservation Voters.

Marriage and motherhood took Laura to Richmond in 2007. Adjusting to life in the city led to becoming a Virginia Master Naturalist in 2010 and in 2015, founding the James River Park System Invasive Plant Task Force.  Terrestrial invasive plant management and volunteer leadership of the Virginia Chapter of DarkSky International have been her priorities along with a mix of part-time and project-based opportunities.  Laura lives with her husband and son near the James River in the City of Richmond but is never more than a couple weeks away from the next trip “home to the mountain”.