Staff and Board of Directors
Shawn HalifaxExecutive Director
Shawn Halifax is a hands-on leader championing natural and historic resource protection and public education. His work is guided by four core principles: aligning natural and historic resource management strategies; teaching how those resources are fundamentally connected; collaborating with underrepresented communities to elevate their place-based histories; and building meaningful, lasting relationships among diverse stakeholders.
Shawn has served as Manager of Charleston County Parks’ Caw Caw Interpretive Center, a 654-acre nature and history preserve in South Carolina, and Executive Director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Woodlawn Plantation and the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Pope-Leighey House in Alexandria, Virginia. Most recently, he was an internal consultant to the Fairfax County Park Authority. Career highlights include initiating the Charleston Area Master Naturalist program; developing and facilitating the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture’s Ethical Interpretation Workshop; founding the American Association for State and Local History’s History in Our Parks initiative; and leading the first-ever ownership transfer of a United States Army museum at Fort Monroe’s Casemate Museum.
A graduate of Christopher Newport University, Shawn is certified by the National Association for Interpretation in planning and training for nature- and history-based sites. Contact Shawn at shawn@ivycreekfoundation.org.
Rochelle GarwoodDirector of Operations
Rochelle Garwood was a board member of the Ivy Creek Foundation from 2014-2019 and a member since the early 1990s. Her previous work experience includes serving as Senior Environmental Planner for the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. She holds a Master's Degree in Environmental Science. Rochelle is responsible for day-to-day operations such as website maintenance, building booking and administration. Contact Rochelle at rochelle@ivycreekfoundation.org.
Chloe Fridley
Director of Education
Chloe Fridley has extensive experience working in public museums and collaborating with large volunteer groups. Her research specializes in African American placemaking and migration between the end of the nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries. Chloe has a degree in History from the University of Virginia where she focused her studies on the American South. She is a lifelong birder and hiker. Chloe loves connecting with Ivy Creek’s visitors and volunteers over a shared love of the natural and historical world around them. Contact Chloe at chloe@ivycreekfoundation.org.
Kathy Mallory-Watson
Youth Programs Director
Kathy Mallory-Watson is a local Charlottesville area resident originally from Madison County, VA. A veteran educator, Kathy retired from the Albemarle County Public Schools after thirty-three years of service as an elementary school classroom teacher.
Kathy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Child Psychology from Ferrum College as well as a Masters in Education (Curriculum and Instruction) and an Administration and Supervision License Pre K-12 from the University of Virginia.
In her new role Kathy is looking forward to working with staff, volunteers and stakeholders to enhance the science curriculum at Ivy Creek Natural Area for students. Contact Kathy at kathy@ivycreekfoundation.org.