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Meet Fresh Air Family
In search of nature, we find family.
Verna Gates
Founder & Executive Director
Email: verna@freshairfamily.org
Phone: (205) 540-6642
Verna founded the organization in 2006 to help families and children get back outside. A "Plant Nerd," she teaches using the folklore stories about plants. A former journalist, she is recipient of a lifetime achievement award by the National Federation of Press Women for her work on the original crew that launched CNN and with TIME Magazine and Reuters International.
Education Director
Dr. Amanda Clark
Email: amanda@freshairfamily.org
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A passionate educator who started with FAF as an undergraduate, Amanda
delights in teaching children. Today, she is the only African-American woman in the Southeast with a Ph.D. in Molecular Wildlife Ecology.
Charles Rose
North Alabama Coordinator
Email: Events@freshairfamily.org
Phone: (256) 381-2826
An excellent naturalist, Charles leads outings in North Alabama. He is President of Shoals Environmental Alliance, a Shoals Audubon Society board member and active with Shoals Wildflower Society. An original member of the Muscle Shoals Horns, he has played with Elvis, John Lennon and Bob Dylan. He has a star in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
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