Our Team
Board of Directors
The Mathews Land Conservancy is headquartered at Williams Wharf Landing in Mathews County and is governed by a Board of Directors:
Bernadette LaCasse, President
Stan Allen, Vice President
Christine Johnson, Treasurer
Cirse Gonzalez, Secretary
Robb Riddle, Director
Tim Hudgins, Director
Travis Law, Director
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Stan Grice, Advisory Member
Gwen DeForge, Operations Manager
Contact
If you'd like to connect with us or have interest in joining the team at the Mathews Land Conservancy, please reach out to us!
President of the Board
Bernadette La Casse brings over 35 years experience in global corporate operations – including strategic level and consulting positions with manufacturing, financial services and pharmaceutical corporations. Her experience in corporate finance and change management help the Mathews Land Conservancy navigate as a high performing board. In addition, her perspective as a real estate broker and intimate familiarity with the realty, regulatory, locality and waterway information for the county and region help the MLC make key decisions about its resources. Bernadette holds a BS in Mathematics from Potsdam College and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She and her family have lived in Mathews, Virginia, on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay since 2005.
Vice President
Standish (Stan) Allen, Jr., Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus at Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and founder and former director of the Aquaculture Genetics and Breeding Technology Center (ABC) there. Stan spent his career in aquaculture genetics, specifically on the domestication of oyster species through breeding and other genetic manipulations, like polyploidy. His career started in Maine where he invented triploid oysters, then proceeded to Washington state where he commercialized triploid oysters, then at Rutgers University where he and a coinventor made tetraploid oysters for the first time, which further enabled the production of commercial triploid oysters. Triploid oysters are now grown worldwide. At Rutgers he also started an oyster breeding program that still operates today. A decade later, he started a breeding program at VIMS and transferred polyploid technology to help build the industry in Virginia. He continues his involvement in oyster culture today with Oyster Seed Holdings on Gwynn’s Island, promoting research and development initiatives Stan is new to serving on boards and committees in Mathews but is keen to give back to his community. He has been a long-standing member of the Ware Academy Board of Trustees and President during their most recent successful capital campaign.
Treasurer
Christine Johnson relocated to Mathews County in 2013, Christine has been a dedicated civic leader. She has served on several local boards, including the Mathews Family YMCA and MCVIC and is an active member of the Cricket Hill Chapter of the DAR and the Parks & Recreation Commission. In 2014, Christine founded the Mathews Outdoor Club (MOC) to promote sports tourism and encourage active lifestyles in the community. Under her leadership, MOC organizes several signature events, including the Tour de Chesapeake, the Islander Regatta, the Wharf to Wharf Swim, and the Mathews Marathon Event. A U.S. Air Force veteran, Christine lives in the Susan area of Mathews County with her husband. She is an avid cyclist, hiker, and walker, and treasures time spent with her four children and four grandchildren.
Secretary
Cirse Gonzalez is currently the Coastal Training Program Coordinator with Chesapeake Bay NERR in Virginia, Cirse works to inform and empower decision making in coastal resource management through capacity building, technical assistance and community engagement. Cirse believes that the most effective resource management is achieved through transdisciplinary means, inclusive of community and multiple ways of knowing. To her efforts in education, access and engagement, and any participatory process, Cirse brings experience in communications and outreach, natural resource management, responsible recreation and marine science. Her work and research history stems from a variety of agencies and organizations, including but not limited to: the U.S. Federal Recreation Council (aka FICOR), where she served as Executive Director; NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, where she worked in outreach as well as constituent and legislative affairs; five U.S. marine laboratories, where she studied the ecology and physiology of algae and crabs; and the Hispanic Access Foundation, for whom she recently wrote a report on Latinos and the Ocean. While navigating her career, Cirse has lived and worked in geographies from Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska, to Madagascar (nearish antipodes!). Cirse has a B.S. in Biology from Duke University and a Master of Marine Affairs from the University of Washington.
Directors
Robert L. Riddle joins the board with over 40 years of experience in the Commercial Industrial Real Estate Industry. As the president of Riddle Associations, founded in 1988 in Chesapeake, VA, Robb provides uncompromising representation to buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords in commercial and industrial real estate transactions, primarily in Southeastern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina. He has served on numerous boards, including Old Point National Bank, Virginia Air & Space Center and the Economic Development Authority of the City of Chesapeake. Now living in Mathews, he currently serves as a member of the Mathews County Planning Commission. Robb enjoys baseball, racquetball, scuba, boating and cruising in his 1959 Corvette.
Tim Hudgins is the Chair of the Advisory Council and Ex officio Board Member, Tim leads a select group of
community subject matter experts who provide value-driven insights, advice, guidance, and strategic counsel to the Board of Directors. Advisory Council members meet quarterly and act as advocates in the community promoting MLC’s mission, vision, and values. The son of former MLC director Wayne Hudgins, Tim brings over 35 years of design, construction and project management experience to the Mathews Land Conservancy board. As a registered architect, his expertise in managing large complex design and construction projects in the DC & Baltimore Metro areas brings a unique perspective to the board. A Mathews’ school’s alumni, Tim holds a professional degree in Architecture from Virginia Tech. He and his family have lived in Hallieford on Queens Creek in Mathews since 2010.
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Travis Law was born in Warrenton, VA but spent most of his childhood summers in Stingray Point, Deltaville, Like many that live in this area, Travis enjoys all of the marine-related activities that this area provides. Due to his infatuation of the coastal lifestyle offered in this area, in 2008, he moved to Deltaville full-time where he met his now wife, Whitney. He now lives full time in Mathews County and has been working as an insurance agent for 11 years, specializing in marine/coastal related exposures (flood zoning, mapping and FEMA compliance), as well as high net worth individual/families that have unique insurance needs. Travis is a father to Winter Grace (named after Winter Harbor) who attends Ware Academy. In his free time he enjoys the outdoors and the Chesapeake Bay lifestyle.
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Community Advisory Council
Stan Grice has a forty-year career in health care administration and consulting, with the last 20 years focused on oncology care and advanced diagnostics. He has extensive experience in business development, strategic planning, marketing, and public relations. As an entrepreneur, he created Affiliated PET Systems, which was the first of its kind to offer commercial Positron Emission Tomography Centers in suburban Washington, DC. Following graduate school at Tulane University School of Public Health in New Orleans, he was recruited to Washington, D.C., to work for National Medical Enterprises. In addition to his work, Grice was a member of the Association of Community Cancer Centers, Society of Nuclear Medicine, and the National Press Club. Grice and his wife, Diane, relocated from the Old Town Alexandria area to Mathews to be close to family. Grice recently completed the Extension Master Gardener course and is focused on shoreline stabilization, bioretention rain gardens to combat erosion, and habitat restoration in our community.
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Operations Manager
Gwen DeForge was raised in Mathews County and has served as the MLC’s Operations Manager since June 2024. In her role as Operations Manager, she provides leadership for all MLC administrative functions and core support for bookkeeping, board management, special events, fundraising, and philanthropic activities. Gwen holds a B.A. in Leisure Studies with a concentration in Recreation and Tourism Management from Christopher Newport University. Her interests include history and historic homes, genealogy, boating and beaching, and spending time with friends and family. She and her family live in the Williams Wharf neighborhood.
1039 Williams Wharf Road, Mathews, VA
Open daily sunrise to sunset
AMENITIES
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Riverfront Pavilion & Viewing Tower
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Fishing Pier (licenses needed)
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Floating Dock (non-motorized watercraft launch)
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Shoreline Recreation Path & Exhibit Trail
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Activity Building (see Facility Rental)
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Open SpaceFive acres of
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Restrooms
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Parking area
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Best Sunsets in Mathews!
