Chair Person
Natalie Jefferis
Title: Lawyer
Term: 2022-Present
Bio: Natalie N. Jefferis, chair of the Davis College
Visiting Committee, is a graduate of WVU’s College of Law, an adjunct lecturer
at the College of Law and a visiting speaker for the Energy Land Management program
at Davis College. In addition to her support for the Davis College, Mrs.
Jefferis is also a member of the WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital Campaign Advisory
Counsel and former member of the WVU College of Law Campaign Committee.
Mrs. Jefferis has worked in the energy industry since graduating from law school as an attorney in private practice, a business leader at one of the largest natural gas producers in the country, and currently as senior counsel for BHE GT&S. Her work in the energy industry has allowed her to understand the value of timber and agriculture through the lens of mineral development, which can both support these industries through economic partnerships and impact them by creating competition for land use.
As a native of West Virginia, Mrs. Jefferis continues to encourage students to seek out opportunities to build a better future for themselves and the state. In addition to her support of WVU, she also serves as the vice president/president-elect for the Women’s Energy Network, West Virginia chapter and is a trustee and past president of the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation.
Members
Roger Hanshaw
Title: Lawyer/West Virginia Delegate
Term: 2018-Present
Bio: Roger Hanshaw is from Charleston, West Virginia. He currently serves as
the Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates. He has been in office since
August 2018 representing District 33 Calhoun, Clay and Gilmer counties. He served
as assistant director and director of research for WVU Extension from 2008 to 2012.
He holds a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame and represents clients in the science-driven field of environmental law. He also is a certified magistrate court mediator and member of the board of directors for the West Virginia Farm Bureau.
Richard Snuffer
Title: Retired, Natural Resources Conservation Service
Term: 2017-2019, 2020-2023
Bio: Richard “Rick” Snuffer II is a lifelong resident of Raleigh County,
West Virginia, graduating from Trap Hill High School in 1973. He attended WVU where
he graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in animal science. While
at WVU, Snuffer was a graduate assistant teaching meat science, beef production
and livestock evaluation. After graduation, he taught vocational agriculture in
Fayette County teaching landscaping and horticulture for two years.
Snuffer was elected and has served on the Raleigh County Board of Education for 17 years, serving 10 years as president. He is past president of the West Virginia School Board Association and still serves on the board of directors. He is the past president of the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center, board of director for Theater West Virginia and founding member of the Raleigh County Farm Bureau.
Snuffer worked for the United States Department of Agriculture for 38 years, retiring as the state executive director in 2017. He is managing partner of Snuffer Farm LLC, a state-awarded cattle farm enterprise that has been in his family for over 130 years. The farm was West Virginia Conservation Farm of the Year in 1982, and his family was recognized as the first Farm Heritage Family by the West Virginia State Fair. Snuffer was appointed to the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design visiting committee in 2016 and still serves to the present. He was inducted into the West Virginia Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2018.
Laura Staley
Title: Marketing Director, Farm Credit of the Virginias
Term: 2011-2013, 2014-2016, 2017-2019, 2020-2023
Bio: Laura Staley is the director of marketing for Farm Credit of the
Virginias with over 30 years of experience in marketing and public relations.
As part of a nationwide network of the largest single provider of agricultural
credit in the U.S., her tenure at Farm Credit has afforded her the opportunity
to work with and for agriculturalists throughout West Virginia, Virginia and
Maryland.
Staley is a graduate of Essentials of Marketing for Bankers, Farm Credit Joint Leadership Development and Women in Leadership. She is a member of Romney Rotary and a Paul Harris Fellow; member of the Hampshire County Farm Bureau; West Virginia Department of Agriculture Veterans and Heroes Advisory Council; the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design Visiting Committee; recipient of the Hampshire County Honorary Chapter FFA Degree; and a West Virginia 4-H All Star.
She is a proud Mountaineer, receiving her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the WVU College of Business and Economics. Her son and daughter are fourth generation Mountaineers.
Eric Carlson
Title: Executive Director, West Virginia Forestry Association
Term: 2020-2023
Bio: Eric Carlson is the executive director for the West Virginia Forestry
Association with over 48 years of experience in natural resources and government
relations. He has been a private forestry consultant, worked at the United States
Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service leaving as senior
legislative specialist serving as congressional state liaison with Environmental
Protection Agency, served as president and CEO of the Empire State Forest Products
Association, and executive director for the West Slope Colorado Oil and Gas Association.
Carlson has been appointed to many state boards overseeing natural resource agencies and environmental regulations in New York and Pennsylvania. He received a bachelor’s degree in forest management from WVU in 2019 and a master's degree in forest science from Pennsylvania State University. Carlson has been a strong supporter of WVU since his undergraduate days as a student athlete (wrestling). He is a registered forester in West Virginia and resides in Charleston.
Carlson has been appointed to many state boards overseeing natural resource agencies and environmental regulations in New York and Pennsylvania. He received a bachelor’s degree in forest management from WVU in 2019 and a master's degree in forest science from Pennsylvania State University. Carlson has been a strong supporter of WVU since his undergraduate days as a student athlete (wrestling). He is a registered forester in West Virginia and resides in Charleston.
Philip Osborne
Title: Retired, WVU Extension Specialist
Term: 2020-2023
Bio: Dr. Phillip Osborne earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from
Western Carolina University and a bachelor’s degree in animal science from North
Carolina State University. He then attended Clemson University where he completed
a master’s degree in animal science and a doctorate in animal physiology.
Osborne joined WVU Extension Service in 1981 as a livestock marketing specialist. Most of his career focused on beef production and marketing, where he worked with producers, livestock markets, Extension agents and the West Virginia Department of Agriculture to expand markets for feeder cattle. He stressed using the state’s forage resources to improve growth and health of cattle. He incorporated video technology into livestock sales, making West Virginia cattle among the first to be sold using that method. Osborne also helped develop the West Virginia Quality Assurance Feeder Cattle Marketing Program, which now includes 230 producers in 16 pools and has resulted in $16 million in additional revenue for producers.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association presented Osborne with its Outstanding Service Award in 2013, and he was the recipient of the Gamma Sigma Delta Extension Faculty Certificate of Merit in 2006, among other awards. He was granted professor emeritus status at his retirement in 2014. Following retirement, he was elected as a supervisor for the West Fork Conservation District.
Evan Hansen
Title: West Virginia Delegate, Owner of Downstream Strategies
Term: 2020-2023
Bio: Evan Hansen was elected to his first term in the West Virginia
House of Delegates in 2018. Evan has lived in Monongalia County since 1997.
Hansen founded a company in Monongalia County that now employs 15 people, creating new jobs for West Virginians and attracting working professionals to Monongalia County. His company helps local governments and organizations diversify the state economy, researches new energy opportunities and works with water utilities across West Virginia to keep drinking water clean. Previously, Hansen consulted on water and energy issues across sub-Sahara Africa, and in China and Egypt.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from M.I.T. and a master’s degree in energy and resources from U.C.-Berkeley. Hansen serves on the board of directors for the Morgantown Rotary Club, the Spark! Imagination and Science Center, Read Aloud of Monongalia County and the Canaan Valley Institute.
Jorge Atiles
Title: WVU Dean of Extension and Engagement /Director of WVU Extension
Term: 2020- Present
Bio: In 2020, Dr. Jorge Atiles became WVU dean of extension and engagement
and director of WVU Extension. He is a professor in the WVU Davis College of
Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design. Dean Atiles is responsible for WVU
Extension across West Virginia’s 55 counties and oversees other units including
Fire Service Extension, Safety and Health Extension, and the WVU Center for Community
Engagement.
Before coming to WVU, he served as associate dean for extension and engagement, and professor in the design, housing and merchandising department at Oklahoma State University. Until 2010, he was associate dean for extension and outreach, and professor of housing and consumer economics at The University of Georgia. His research interests include workforce housing, water, energy, waste, indoor air quality and housing policy. Atiles holds a doctorate in housing, interior design and resource management and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from Virginia Tech. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Ureña, Dominican Republic.
Atiles worked in local government managing federally funded housing programs for the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia. He also worked in the banking industry with the Dominican Republic’s National Housing Bank.
John Crites II
Title: President, Allegheny Wood Products
Term: 2022- Present
Bio: John W. Crites, II has served as the president of Allegheny Wood
Products, Inc. since April 2006. He has served as a member of the board of directors
of the company since 2016. Prior to this time, Crites served as general manager
of Allegheny Wood Products, Inc., where he was actively involved in the overall
operations of the company. Crites also serves as the president and owner of Appalachian
Wood Pellets, Inc.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in forestry and wood industries from WVU. Crites serves on the board of directors of the Hardwood Federation and is a member of the WVU Forestry Endowment Trust Committee and the Young Presidents Organization. He is a past member of the board of directors of the National Hardwood Lumber Association and Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Association. He also has served on the Strategic Planning Committee for the Grant County Board of Education and was a member of the Strategic Review Committee for the WVU School of Forestry.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in forestry and wood industries from WVU. Crites serves on the board of directors of the Hardwood Federation and is a member of the WVU Forestry Endowment Trust Committee and the Young Presidents Organization. He is a past member of the board of directors of the National Hardwood Lumber Association and Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers Association. He also has served on the Strategic Planning Committee for the Grant County Board of Education and was a member of the Strategic Review Committee for the WVU School of Forestry.
Mackenzie Bouch
Title: Interior Designer, Arris
Term: 2022- Present
Bio: Mackenzie Bouch isn’t afraid to craft her own path—and it all started
at WVU Potomac State College in Keyser. After earning her associate degree in
business administration, this budding artist moved on to a bachelor’s degree
in interior design at WVU’s flagship campus in Morgantown, where she combined
her love of design with her love of community, taking on roles as a transfer
ambassador and resident assistant.
Today, Bouch is an interior designer at Arris, a premier design studio in Baltimore, Maryland, and a certified LEED Green Associate. “My desire to incorporate humanity into design is a driving force in my work,” she says.
Today, Bouch is an interior designer at Arris, a premier design studio in Baltimore, Maryland, and a certified LEED Green Associate. “My desire to incorporate humanity into design is a driving force in my work,” she says.
Alexis Behrens
Title: Interior Designer, Mills group
Term: 2022-Present
Professionally, she is most proud of her two years spent as the chairman of the NCIDQ Practicum Committee and her years as one of the eight-person committee that wrote several of the Interior Design Qualifying exams.