2025 Cohort

Randy Smith, of Adams, Minnesota, currently serves as the district supervisor of Mower County Soil and Water Conservation District. Randy is heavily involved in soil and water conservation at the local and state levels, having served on the state board and as the southeast Minnesota area director for four years.

Josh Myers, of Greensboro, North Carolina, is the current vice chair of the Guilford County Soil and Water Conservation District. He is very involved in the Guilford community, serving as a member and leader of various state and local organizations. Before moving back to Greensboro and becoming involved with local conservation efforts, Josh was a lobbyist in D.C. He began to notice overdevelopment and water contamination within his community and decided to run for his local SWCD to help find solutions.

Sadie Lister is from Indian Wells, Arizona. She has been the chair of the Little Colorado River Soil and Water Conservation District and its coordinator for 14 years. Sadie’s involvement in conservation began in 2007 when attending a grazing meeting with her parents, who transferred their grazing permit to her. In December 2010, she became a member of Little Colorado SWCD after learning about the district during another community meeting and some of the projects they were working on when she took over the permit.

Stacey Conly, of Ringgold, Louisiana, has been passionate about conservation since her grandfather, the founder of the National Association of Conservation Districts, instilled the idea in her at a young age. She currently serves a seven-year term as the Saline Soil and Water Conservation District chair.

Carmen Bruner-Still is from Bristol, Oklahoma, and is a board member of the Creek County Soil and Water Conservation District. She has been involved with the board for two years. Carmen was drawn to work in conservation and serving on her local board and is now participating in NGLI because of the time she spent raising chickens, cows, pigs, and a dairy cow and goat on her family's farm. Carmen feels like she has always been a conservationist, but now she can be a more involved advocate for conservation in her community.

Patricia (Patti) Brown of Hornbeck, Louisiana, is the Sabine Soil and Water Conservation District board supervisor. Her involvement with the SWCD began in 2020 when she was asked to become a district supervisor after she and her husband decided to change from grazing their land to slowly turning it around and returning it to nature. It pushed her outside of her comfort zone and placed her in a position to lead her community forward with conservation efforts.