CONTACT
For general inquiries e-mail: info@conservationfilmfest.org
If you want to send us mail:
American Conservation Film Festival
P.O. Box 889
Shepherdstown, West Virginia 25443
HILARY LO
Festival Director
hilary@conservationfilmfest.org
DENNIS LIU, President
Dennis is a nationally recognized expert in science education with a passion for helping diverse audiences to engage in scientific inquiry and thinking. Dennis is Vice President of Education for the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation and the Half-Earth Project. Prior to joining the Foundation, Dennis directed the production of educational media at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for two decades. In his role as Executive Director of HHMI’s Tangled Bank Studios, he was executive producer and editorial advisor on over a dozen film projects for theatre, broadcast television, Large Screen, and digital science programs aimed at the general public. He understands the creative drive and teamwork it takes to make great media. He’s passionate about the power of diverse media to stir emotions, inspire fresh thinking, and rally action. Although his formal scientific training is in neuroscience and genetics, he is keenly interested in biodiversity, ecology, and conservation. Most recently he’s been engaged in following turtles and dragonflies, diverse creatures that can be found in similar places.
Photo credit: Olivia Liu
Is it In our nature to love nature? Dennis explored questions of biophilia and protecting nature on a 3 month sabbatical at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich last summer. Read more here.
Carolyn Ruos Thomas, Vice President
Carolyn is a retired science teacher and an active member of the community. A recipient of the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators, Carolyn cares deeply about clean water, brook trout, the natural world, and community engagement.
Carolyn grew up in northern Minnesota and Howard County, Maryland, attending the University of Maryland and the University of Montana. She and her husband Bruce have two adult sons and enjoy spending time hiking and fishing.
Michele McDonnell, Treasurer
Michele moved to Charles Town in 2022, having lived in Phoenix and New York City most recently. She was excited to find the American Conservation Film Festival after searching for climate and sustainability focused groups in the area. She attended the festival in 2024 and was impressed by the climate stories the festival brings to life.
Professionally, Michele made a pivot from a career in financial services and to working with nonprofits as a fractional finance director. She is happy to serve on the ACFF Board as Treasurer and to help to further the important conversation around climate change. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, biking and exploring with her wife, Evelyn.
Elise Baach, Secretary
Elise Baach has worked in Washington, D.C. as an attorney in private practice, in the federal government and in the nonprofit sector. In addition to her legal work, Elise has served as a board member of nonprofit organizations in a variety of fields, including disability advocacy and educational opportunity. Raised in the San Joaquin Valley in California, Elise has a particular interest in issues related to water and agriculture.
Mary Wells Ball, Board Member
Mary is a creative consultant, photographer, and general store proprietor in Shepherdstown, WV. Growing up barefoot and in the woods, she developed a love and connection for nature early on. In 2013, she graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Environmental Sciences and Studio Art, and has since spent her career in conservation media. She has managed and assisted in photography studios for prominent environmental photographers, led photography production for a food media company, and developed branding and marketing strategies for a number of sustainably-minded small businesses. In 2022, she opened Dogwood General Store in downtown Shepherdstown, which offers more sustainable alternatives to everyday home and garden items. She now resides on the Potomac River with her partner Jamie, exploring ecological land management with their small herd of goats.
Larry Cumbo, Board Member
Lawrence Cumbo is most widely known for the Emmy-nominated film he made for National Geographic, Search for the Afghan Girl. The headline-making story, chronicling the discovery of Afghan refugee, Sharbat Gula, whose photograph first appeared on the cover of the National Geographic magazine in 1985.
In 2000, Cumbo accepted a staff producer position with National Geographic Television and Film. His films for National Geographic have taken him many places around the world, including war-torn Afghanistan, the rim of an active volcano in Guatemala, inside a tornado in Texas, the world’s largest prison in India, and he hiked with two eye surgeons through Maoist Rebel controlled territory in Nepal to the Himalayan Kingdom of Mustang in the Tibetan Plateau for his award-winning film, Miracle Doctors. Other films he made for National Geographic EXPLORER include Arkansas Anaconda, Through These Eyes, BioBlitz!, Special Forces: On the Frontlines, Mothers Behind Bars and One Wild Ride: Yukon to Yellowstone.
Today, he lives in the Shenandoah Valley, and continues making documentary films focusing on people and environmental issues so often ignored by mainstream media.
Sarah Gulick, Board Member
Sarah is a filmmaker who lives in Jefferson County. She is currently a film producer for the National Park Service. She previously ran a design studio focused on educational and non-profit organizations and taught at a local university. She was a Center for Environmental Filmmaking scholar and has an MFA in Film and Electronic Media from American University. When not on a film shoot, Sarah has assisted with ACFF’s Conservation Filmmaker Workshop. Sarah grew up on a farm in Virginia and enjoys paddling and climbing.
Mary Logan Hoxton, Board Member
Mary Logan, a native of Virginia Beach, moved to New York City after earning a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University. Shortly after, she and her husband decided to move back to his hometown in Jefferson County, West Virginia to settle in a quieter and more scenic place. Mary Logan has a master’s degree in social work from West Virginia University and is a licensed independent clinical social worker. She has worked as a community development specialist in substance abuse prevention and as a social worker at the VA Medical Center. Most of her career has been at The Eastern Panhandle Empowerment Center, where she worked for 16 years as a therapist to survivors of domestic abuse and other trauma related issues.
Growing up in a coastal town, Mary Logan has always been concerned about conservation, but her interest was really sparked after attending the American Conservation Film Festival. She was so moved by the films that she decided she wanted to become involved in helping to promote education and awareness surrounding these issues. She currently resides in Shepherdstown with her husband and enjoys spending time with her family and her pug, Muffin.
Pia Peltola, Board Member
Pia Peltola has been part of the Shepherdstown community since 1997 and has attended ACFF every year pretty much from its inception. Pia is delighted to serve on the ACFF Board of Directors and do her share to steward the festival forward.
Pia earned a Ph.D. in sociology from University of Maryland, College Park, and has focused most of her research career on K-12 education-related topics. Currently, she works at the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
Pia was born and raised in Finland. Her love of nature stems from the summers she spent on a tiny dairy farm milking cows, growing vegetables, swimming in lakes, and picking berries and mushrooms in the forest behind the house.
Deborah Tucker, Board Member
Deborah is a retired marketing executive in the aerospace, high tech and financial service industries. She moved to Shepherdstown in 2011, when she opened a French bistro which she recently sold. An active member of this special community, she been on its Town Council, Planning Commission and Visitor Center Board. A native Washingtonian, she attended Georgetown University. She raised her two children in northern Virginia, summering at their cabin on the pristine waters of the Canadian wilderness.
Henry “Hank” Willard, Board Member
Following a 35 year career as an office and industrial real estate developer and broker serving Fortune 500 companies, trade associations, non-profits and national law firms in facility site search, selection and acquisition in both the Washington-Baltimore and Southern California markets he began a second career in commercial aviation management after returning to the East Coast in 2001, residing in Shepherdstown, WV.
Several years ago, he launched “Agronomy Air” an aerial surveying service using advanced drone-deployed sensors to acquire data and provide a range of analytical products in support of precision agricultural and conservation efforts.
Hank has served as a board member or trustee of nonprofits with national reach and has volunteered his time for a range of local civic groups and held local elected office.
Madge Morningstar, Board Member
Madge Morningstar is an independent grants consultant who specializes in assisting smaller colleges and universities to obtain National Science Foundation funding for innovative research and institutional capacity-building projects. She is the former Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs at Shepherd University and has worked in non-profit fundraising and programming since 2010.
Madge strongly believes that the most vital and urgent project of her generation is to raise community awareness and change public policies related to environmental conservation. She feels especially connected to the American Conservation Film Festival because it is so frequently held on International Women’s Day, which is also her birthday.
Stella van Hilst, Junior Board Member
Stella van Hilst is a middle schooler at Shepherdstown Middle School. She first started attending the American Conservation Film Festival when she was just 6 years old. Some of the films made a lasting impression. In addition to watching films she enjoys swimming, softball, writing, and being outside in nature! She appreciates all animals large and small, especially chickens, and her favorite school subjects are science and social studies. Stella’s mission at ACFF is to get more youth involved in and excited about conservation.
OUR STAFF
Hilary Lo, Festival Director
Hilary joined ACFF as festival operations manager in early 2015 and has seen the organization through inspiring years of growth. Her professional background prior to ACFF includes nonprofit development, community outreach and public education. Her work has led her to serve young students, adults with a disability, and seniors. A lifelong interest in environmental and cultural conservation began on a small farm in the West Virginia hills. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in Education at WVU. Always engaged in community activism and continuing education, Hilary has served on the Shepherdstown Public Library Board, the PTO and volunteered at local schools.
Past ACFF Board Members
Keith Alexander, Lauren Ames, Amy Mathews Amos, Alice Barkus, Janna Bond, Mark Burgess, Sue Caperton, Steve Chase, Lawrence Cumbo, Chuck Dunkerly, Jeff Feldman, Alex Goetz, John Grabowska, Jeff Groff, Jeffrey Gustafson, Praise Hall, Thomas Harding, Alix Hazel, Don Henry, Michael Hobert, Chris Hoelzl, Catherine Irwin, Judy Katz-Leavy, Alex Kemnitzer, Karen Kinnett, Dave Kirkwood, Edward Leavy, David Lillard, Mark Madison, Farzad Mahootian, Bill McShea, Rachel Dorsey McGowen, John McGrath, Stan Mopsik, Wendy Mopsik, Sue Pellish, Stephen Pettler, Dave Pugh, Anne Sechler, Vanessa Serrao, Thomas “Topper” Sherwood, Michael Spensley, Nick Snow, Barbara Spicher, Dan Trezise, Susan Walter, Ann Watson, Lisa Welch, Susan Womeldorf, Lynn Yellott
