Staff and Board of Directors

Board of Directors

The board of directors oversees the activities of the Sugar Bush Foundation. 

Members 

Hylie Voss, President

Hylie Voss, President of the Sugar Bush Foundation, is the daughter of Sugar Bush Founders, Don and Mary Anne Flournoy. She and her family moved back to Ohio from Texas in 2017. She currently serves as the Managing Director for Sugarbush Valley Impact Investments, a company that invests in local agricultural or environmental-related businesses. Hylie also manages her family’s farm outside of Athens, and 600 acres of pine timber in East Texas.

While in Texas, Hylie pioneered the discovery-learning garden program at her kids' school. When she taught 5th grade, Hylie trained and took students to work with the homeless and in nursing homes. In addition, she trained children's workers in Albania, worked earthquake relief in Turkey, assisted refugees in Germany, Uganda, and Texas, and once swam in a race from Asia to Europe.

Carol Kuhre, Vice President

Carol Kuhre is the founder and former Executive Director of Rural Action, a non-profit working on sustainable development initiatives in Appalachian Ohio. Prior to Rural Action, Ms. Kuhre served as co-director of United Campus Ministry — a center for social justice and spiritual growth. She also served in Lutheran campus ministry positions at Penn State University and at Ohio University and helped to form seven community-based organizations.

Carol has served as President of the Athens Foundation and the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, a national foundation based in New York City. Carol is coordinator of the Earth Justice Network, an interfaith group working on issues of global climate change and energy efficiency.

Carol is also a trained fiber artist who has exhibited and taught fiber arts for over twenty years. She has traveled and lectured in Europe, Africa, the Philippines, and Central America on art, theology and social change. She is married to Dr. Bruce Kuhre, Professor Emeritus of Sociology from Ohio University, and is the mother of two daughters and a foster daughter.

Sam Crowl, Secretary

 

Sam Crowl is the Associate Director of the Office of Sustainability at OHIO.  He also serves as an Athens city counsel member.  Sam is a member of the City of Athens Environment and Sustainability Commission, Athens County Visitors Bureau, Athens County Bikeway Advisory Committee, and is president of the Greater Athens Soccer Association.  Sam is community leader who is deeply connected to local issues of sustainability both at OHIO and in the city of Athens.

 

 

Robert Foehl, Treasurer

 

Prior to joining the faculty of the College of Business, Rob was Target’s first Director of Corporate Compliance & Ethics, establishing the vision, strategy, and team charged with ensuring an effective compliance program and advancing Target’s reputation for being one of the world’s most ethical companies. During his tenure at Target, Rob also served as senior legal counsel in Target’s Law Department. Rob has also served various legal roles, including Chief Legal Officer, for multinational organizations, was a compliance professional for one of the nation’s largest financial institutions, and served as a federal regulator.

Larson Lovdal, Technical Advisor 

Larson Lovdal is pursuing a dual Masters in Mechanical Engineering and Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan. He focuses on ethical energy systems that promote environmental and social wellbeing locally and globally. Larson works on direct heat to electricity conversion with Dr. Ashley Bucsek and is supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. In addition, he is a Conference VP for the Energy Club at the Ross School of Business and served as a research assistant for the U of M President’s Commission on Carbon Neutrality Energy Consumption Policies team. Prior to attending U of M, Larson worked as an energy strategy & facilities consultant at The Stone House Group and in residential construction. He received his B.A. in physics from Middlebury College. Larson grew up in the woods near Athens building trails, tree houses, and a deep appreciation for community.

Dakota Flournoy

 

Dakota Flournoy is a journalist specializing in social media video verification for newsrooms at Storyful, a social intelligence agency in New York. In her work at Storyful, Dakota was part of a team embedded with the New York Times video department from July, 2017, to December, 2018. She is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and previously worked on the international desk at CNN International in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Dakota is the daughter of board member Eli Flournoy, and granddaughter of founders Mary Anne and Don Flournoy.

 

Eli Flournoy

Eli is a social impact investor and co-founder of SBV Impact Investments – a company focused on environmentally sustainable economic development in Southeastern Ohio. Eli serves on the board of New Resource Solutions, a financial technology firm connecting non-profits and philosophically motivated for-profits and individuals to mission-aligned investment opportunities in renewable energy projects.

Eli has served as a director of the Sugar Bush Foundation since his parents, Mary Anne and Don Flournoy, founded it in 2005.

Eli is also a veteran journalist, living in Atlanta and consulting for international news media companies following a 24-year career at CNN. Eli is an active member of Environment Georgia and the Arbor Day Foundation, and practices sustainable forestry with family timber businesses in Texas and Ohio.

David Funk

Dr. Funk serves as Executive Director of the American Real Estate Society providing administrative leadership to one of the leading real estate research and education associations globally. Previously David was director of the Baker Program in Real Estate at Cornell University, where he also taught at the undergraduate and graduate levels as well as in the Cornell Law School.

A native of Athens, Dr. Funk founded Capstone Properties following his graduation from Ohio University with a mission focused on affordable housing, historic preservation, woodland stewardship, and community development, which Capstone Enterprises continues today with a commitment focused on Athens County.

Jessi Marsh

 

Jessi Marsh is a dedicated nonprofit professional with more than 20 years’ experience growing and leading nonprofit organizations. She began work serving the homeless and rural poor in 2000 in Appalachia. She moved to Seattle Washington and continued in the nonprofit sector serving the homeless, home-bound elders and in advocacy for patients in long term care. Now in Pittsburgh, she primarily works in fundraising and communications for social-justice focused nonprofits. 

 

 

Mary Reed

 

Mary Reed is a professional writer specializing in the environment and outdoor adventure, and has been a contributor to OHIO Today magazine.  Mary serves as an advisory board member for the Athens Conservancy.  She served on the board of the Buckeye Forest Council, and worked at Rural Action as a grant writer.

 

 

 

 

Marty Tuck

 

Dr. Martin Tuck is a retired-part time OHIO faculty in the chemistry department.  Until 2019, he was Dean of the Ohio University Chillicothe campus and was Associate Provost for Academic Affairs.  Dean Tuck has served in the Lion’s Club, Chillicothe Rotary Club and currently serves as the volunteer coordinator for the Emeriti Association.  He has extensive experience in university/community engagement, including the regional campus’ role in economic development.

 

 

Jay Warmke

Jay Warmke grew up in Athens County and returned to SE Ohio after living and working in Florida and Europe as a telecommunications professional. In 2004, Jay and his wife Annie began Blue Rock Station, a 40-acre living sustainable living farm, homestead, and classroom focused on sustainable building techniques. Blue Rock Station is the site of the first Earthship (a 2000 sq ft home made of tires, bottles, and assorted "clean" garbage) built east of the Mississippi. Since opening, over 30,000 people have visited for tours, meetings and sustainable living/construction/energy workshops. Jay is also an adjunct instructor at Zane State College in renewable energy and solar installation.  

 

Candi Withem

 

Candi Withem is a community development expert with extensive experience working with and serving in Appalachian Ohio.  As the AmeriCorps director for Rural Action, Candi has extensive experience collaborating with Ohio University and participating in joint design planning with ComCorps, rural project planning with OHIO’s Voinovich School, and AmeriCorps projects with Raccoon Creek.  

 

 

 

Bruce Voss

Bruce Voss, MAIA ’06, is the son-in-law of Sugar Bush Foundation founders, Don and Mary Anne Flournoy.  Bruce also has a Master’s degree in Global Health from Loma Linda University.  Prior to that Bruce was a corporate international travel consultant for 19 years.  Bruce wears several different hats simultaneously. He has worked on development projects in Ethiopia since 2009.  He works from home as the support person for several family businesses, and keeps the Voss family humming along most of the time. But when the weather is nice, he will be found gardening and growing berry patches, orchards and nut groves, and enjoying the 13 acres of deep-rooted native prairie grasses and pollinator plants he restored. His other passions include further development of renewable energy sources and increasing public awareness of environmental causes.

Annie Voss, Student Director

 

Annie Voss has been the Student Director on the Sugar Bush Foundation since 2017. She is a freshman at Pitzer College majoring in Environmental Analysis and is a member of Student Senate. She also is an awardee of a Red Cross Leadership Scholarship, has served on the analyst team for the Intelligent Community Forum, and is an active member of the Pitzer Garden Club.