Scott Ewert is the Board President for Cahaba Riverkeeper. Born in Dallas, TX, he has spent his entire career in the world of talent acquisition and is currently working for Regions Bank here in Birmingham. His career has taken him from his hometown of Dallas to Washington DC and he credits his time working in New York City for his laser focus on storytelling and differentiation. He holds a BBA in Marketing from James Madison University and has leveraged his education to fuel his passion for social media and community activation.
While in Dallas, Scott was an active volunteer at the Dallas Regional Chamber and served on the board of their Young Professionals Program where he helped develop the group’s first social media strategy. He also served as the Chair of the Top Investors Steward Committee and was admitted to the Leadership Dallas class of 2014, which he regretfully declined so he and his family could relocate to Birmingham to be near their family.
Scott and his family have spent their entire lives in the outdoors enjoying activities ranging from mountain biking to canoeing, snowboarding to rock climbing. Some of his favorite places include Quetico National Park, Seneca Rocks, Oak Mountain and of course the Cahaba River. Scott and his wife Sara have a son Dade, a daughter Nell and two dogs, Sully and Rosie and live in Hoover near Moss Rock Preserve. On rainy days you can find him in his garage, likely brewing a new IPA using a recipe he and Sara developed together.
Danielle Larkin is the Vice President and Secretary for the Cahaba Riverkeeper board. Dr.Larkin has her Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and has served the community as both an educator, teaching at Auburn University, and as a nurse practitioner. Aside from her community service, she also enjoys cooking and the culinary arts.
Danielle decided to work with our organization to bring medical knowledge to the community as to why having clean water is important and the consequences that polluted water can have on health and well-being.
Robert A. Webb is the Treasurer for Cahaba Riverkeeper. He attended the University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate and graduate education and attended the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. He also attended the Birmingham School of Law. Robert has his own CPA and Law Practice on Highland Avenue in Birmingham, AL.
Leigh Anne Bishop is a producer and director! She has an undergraduate degree from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, and a Master’s Degree from NYU in Art. During her university years, she performed in a professional ballet company and was a radio announcer and news reporter for WQEZ/WCRT radio. Her first job in the television industry was as an engineer, switching master control at WTTO Channel 21 in Birmingham.
Leigh Anne produced a documentary and education film series detailing British explorer, Robert Swan’s walk to the North Pole, making him the first man in history to have walked to both poles. Bishop, along with 22 students from 15 countries, worked conducting and filing environmental experiments in the field as the polar team pulled their sleds across rugged terrain. One of the many results of this international environmental expedition to the North Pole was the Public Broadcasting Service series, ICEWALK, produced and directed by Bishop. The series was an early agent of change in the environmental television movement, highlighting the impact of pollution and climate change on the Polar Regions. She carried on as Media Director for Swan as he became a United Nations Environmental Program Ambassador.
Leigh Anne has also spent a portion of her career working for ProServ television in Dallas, Texas, producing marketing programming in New York City, and producing commercials in London.
Kate Smith is the Chief Development Officer for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama., where she leads the fundraising, marketing, and public relations team. With more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit and corporate development, she previously held leadership positions at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Culverhouse College of Business at UA, the Birmingham Museum of Art, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, and Kid One Transport. In addition to Cahaba Riverkeeper, she serves on the boards of the Foundation for Arts and Cultural Connections and the Alabama Association of Charitable Gift Planners. Kate graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.A. in English and a minor in Anthropology.
As a Helena resident for more than 20 years with children who often played in Buck Creek, Kate was driven to join our board out of water safety concerns. Having grown up in New England, she was blown away by the beauty and diversity of Alabama’s wild spaces and the biodiversity of the Cahaba River. She loves to spend her time biking, hiking, and camping.
When Jeffery Roseman, PhD, MD, MPH, stepped away from his academic interests, he can often be found in Alabama’s creeks hunting for fossils and artifacts. As a retired UAB School of Public Health (SOPH) professor, Jeff now hunts for relics of the past whenever the mood strikes. His collection occupies the basement of his home and includes specimens that are hundreds of millions of years old. He also raises Lake Tanganyika cichlids. Jeff recently celebrated his golden anniversary with his wife, Sara May. They have two sons and four grandchildren whom they visit regularly.
Professionally, Jeff has long worked with underserved communities facing problems with drinking water and brings that passion to our scientific base. After degrees from Antioch College (BS), University of Chicago (PhD), Pritzker (MD), and Epidemiology (MPH), he joined UAB as the SOPH was being created and retired as Professor Emeritus in the Department of Epidemiology. Jeff was a Kellogg National Fellow. He has also been the president of the Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation, Inc. (LEAF) and Chair of the Community/Tribal Subcommittee, and a member of the Board of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).