Tax ID: 63-1186023
Alabama Rivers Alliance is a statewide network of groups working to protect and restore all of Alabama’s water resources through building partnerships, empowering citizens, and advocating for sound water policy and its enforcement.
Alabama has more than 132,000 miles of streams and rivers with more types of plants and animals living in them than any other state in the nation. However, we also have one of the highest extinction rates in North America, many of which are species that live in our rivers. Alabama’s precious water resources currently face many threats. From improper enforcement of environmental regulations to the lack of planning and policy to ensure sustainable water for the future, our community is tasked with protecting the waters of the state for the health of the people and the life therein, or else we risk losing natural treasures that we can never retrieve.
Click here to read the Alabama Water Agenda.
Our Team
Executive Director 205-322-6395
Cindy is the executive director of the Alabama Rivers Alliance. She joined the staff in 2005 as Watershed Leadership Coordinator and quickly became executive director in…
Cindy Lowry
Executive Director
205-322-6395
Cindy is the executive director of the Alabama Rivers Alliance. She joined the staff in 2005 as Watershed Leadership Coordinator and quickly became executive director in 2007.
A native of Alabama, Cindy was born and raised in Oneonta, Alabama. She received her BS degree in Wildlife Science from Auburn University and her Masters of Public Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The focus of her masters’ thesis was citizen participation in public policy. Cindy has more than 20 years of experience in the conservation nonprofit sector.
Cindy has been recognized as a “Wonderful Outstanding Woman” from the Metro Birmingham branch of the NAACP (2012), named one of the “Women Who Shape the State” by al.com (2016), awarded an Auburn University Alumni Spirit of Sustainability Award (2017) and has been inducted in UAB’s MPA Hall of Fame (2020). Cindy is the former president of the board of directors for Alabama Arise and was a long-time member of the board of directors for the Friends of the Locust Fork River. She currently serves as president of the League of Women Voters of Greater Birmingham Board of Directors.
Policy & Advocacy Director 205.322.6395
Jack joined the Alabama Rivers Alliance as Policy & Advocacy Director in 2020, just a couple of days before Covid shutdowns started happening across the US. He brings legal…
Jack West
Policy & Advocacy Director
205.322.6395
Jack joined the Alabama Rivers Alliance as Policy & Advocacy Director in 2020, just a couple of days before Covid shutdowns started happening across the US. He brings legal experience from corporate private practice, as well as an entrepreneurial background to ARA. Jack is a Birmingham native and grew up camping in Cheaha State Park, fishing in Lake Guntersville, and backpacking Alabama’s Pinhoti Trail.
Prior to joining ARA, he worked in-house with a solar company advising on issues of state policy. He also previously founded a technology company at Birmingham’s Innovation Depot. After hours, Jack volunteers with Citizens’ Climate Lobby and is a member of the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama’s Roundtable.
Jack graduated from Sewanee: The University of the South where he indulged his love of the outdoors caving and hiking along the Cumberland Plateau. He earned his law degree magna cum laude from the University of Mississippi School of Law, serving as an associate editor on the Law Journal.
Jack and his wife, Emily, live in the Roebuck Springs neighborhood with Ruffner Mountain’s 14 miles of trails conveniently located right outside the back door.
Communications | Southern Exposure 205-322-6395
Kelly Marshall joined the Alabama Rivers Alliance team in 2015 bringing significant experience in public relations and communication strategies. She has been an avid believer in and promoter of…
Kelly Marshall
Communications | Southern Exposure
205-322-6395
Kelly Marshall joined the Alabama Rivers Alliance team in 2015 bringing significant experience in public relations and communication strategies. She has been an avid believer in and promoter of the wealth of talent, cultural history and natural beauty throughout Alabama for more years than she cares to admit. Prior to joining ARA, she managed the communications strategies for Birmingham Artwalk, Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival (now Sidewalk Film Festival), Birmingham Arts & Music Festival and other events in Alabama. In addition to her non-profit and event experience, Kelly also developed comms strategies for a variety of clients including Barenbrug Seed Company, Simply Fashion, Curtiss Motorcycles, Village Tavern, WorkPlay and many more. You might also catch her name in the rolling credits of films like Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Two Weeks, Americano and Open Window. She is thrilled to be able to welcome and work closely with emerging documentary filmmakers each year as part of the Southern Exposure Film Fellowship program.
Kelly serves as the Secretary of the Highland Park Neighborhood Association and has been a member of the Birmingham Artwalk Board of Directors and Team for more than 15 years. She keeps busy by watching nearly every single thing on TV, and dreaming about traveling. Right before Covid hit the US, she rescued a pretty amazing kitty named Rain, who Kelly likes to believe was named after the Led Zeppelin song.
Alliance Coordinator 205-322-6395
Martha Hunter joined the Alabama Rivers Alliance team as Alliance Coordinator in 2016. She works to build and support our network of more than 90 grassroots partners across the…
Martha Hunter
Alliance Coordinator
205-322-6395
Martha Hunter joined the Alabama Rivers Alliance team as Alliance Coordinator in 2016. She works to build and support our network of more than 90 grassroots partners across the state. Martha is a natural fit for the team as she has spent her life celebrating and protecting rivers throughout the Southeast. Martha trained as a river guide and then served as the business manager for Wildwater at their headquarters on the Chattooga River. She later worked as executive director for Friends of the Locust Fork River. Her passion for sustainability and conservation of our natural resources is infectious and her enthusiasm for organizing partner groups for Alabama Rivers Alliance is unparalleled. Her experience in both the for-profit and nonprofit sector brings a unique level of professionalism to this position that enhances the benefits and services we provide to our Alliance partners.
A graduate of Auburn University, Martha is also an organic gardener, beekeeper, and lives 100% off the grid with photovoltaics and solar hot water.
Development Director 205-322-6395
Martin Taylor joined the team as Development Director in 2018, bringing 10 years of experience to the Alabama Rivers Alliance. He was born and raised in the Coosa watershed…
Martin Taylor
Development Director
205-322-6395
Martin Taylor joined the team as Development Director in 2018, bringing 10 years of experience to the Alabama Rivers Alliance. He was born and raised in the Coosa watershed in Fort Payne, Alabama. Martin became passionate about the environment at a very young age. From logging protests to picking up trash along the Litter River in middle school, experiencing the outdoors and protecting nature were important to Martin’s family and played a huge role in his career ambitions.
After graduating high school, Martin moved to Birmingham to attend The University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he earned a BA in history and political science and a Masters in Public Administration by the time he turned 23. In 2008, Martin began his career as the Director of Development for the Greater Birmingham Humane Society and then at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham. He has worked in major gifts for the Alabama Chapter of The Nature Conservancy since 2013, helping to bring in more than $19 million in gifts to the organization.
Martin lives in Birmingham with his husband Dr. Andrew Sullivan and their dog, Sophie. He has two brothers, three sisters, and many nieces and nephews. While being outdoors was his number one pastime for many years, recently, traveling abroad has taken the top spot. In the last three years, Martin has explored England, Spain and the Caribbean. Australia in next on the list!
Advocacy Assistant 205-322-6395
Victoria Miller is the latest addition to the Alabama Rivers Alliance team as Advocacy Assistant. She brings her tenacious passion for justice and public health knowledge to…
Victoria Miller
Advocacy Assistant
205-322-6395
Victoria Miller is the latest addition to the Alabama Rivers Alliance team as Advocacy Assistant. She brings her tenacious passion for justice and public health knowledge to help extend our advocacy efforts across the River State and empower Southern voices. An Alabama transplant, Victoria came to our state in 2016 and has since grown to adore all the untamed nature and scenic waterways Alabama has to offer. She graduated cum laude with her Bachelor of Science in Public Health along with a minor in Chemistry and Distinguished Honors College recognition from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2020. While in undergrad, Victoria was welcomed into the world of Alabama environmental advocacy and began volunteering with Coosa Riverkeeper. Her experience there led her to dive in feet first after graduating and she hasn’t looked back!
Victoria grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where she enjoyed the best of both worlds from the brackish bayous of the Pascagoula and Escatawpa Rivers to the salty Mississippi Sound. Her upbringing was steeped in Cajun culture and joy for the outdoors. Victoria, her partner Max, and their small pup Pixie currently reside in Childersburg where they enjoy hiking the trails at Kymulga Grist Mill and finding waterfalls in the Talladega National Forest.
Our 2022 Interns
Connor McMahon (Auburn / Opelika) Connor is a summer intern with the Alabama Rivers Alliance. They joined the team this May and they are excited for the opportunity to learn more about conservation advocacy in the policy arena.
Connor grew up in Ider, Alabama, which is at the Southern tip of the Appalachian mountains. They grew up outdoors, spending much of their time hiking and fishing with their family. They have always been a voracious reader and writer, finding joy particularly in reading and writing about Southern landscape and culture. They are a passionate believer in the rich beauty of Alabama, especially its vibrant history of pioneering activists and artists, who inspire them daily.
Connor received their BA in English Literature from Auburn University in 2021 and are currently pursuing their Master of Public Administration with a certificate in Nonprofit Management and Community Governance. They have previously interned with the Auburn University Office of Sustainability, where they facilitated a campus wide battery recycling initiative and wrote articles for the office’s monthly newsletter. They were also the Editor in Chief of Auburn University’s undergraduate literary and arts magazine, a leadership member of Alabama Students Against Prisons, and intern for Alabama Students Arts and Education Project.
Connor is a proud parent to their cat Margo; a passable barista; and an exceptional cook, since food is their love language.
Laura Kate Smith is a 3L at the University of Alabama School of Law with a passion for environmental law. She is involved with various organizations at the law school, including roles as a member of the 2022-2023 National Environmental Moot Court Team, an Articles Editor for the Alabama Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law Review, and the vice president of the Environmental Law Society.
Before working with ARA, she spent time working at the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resource Division, as well as interning with Greater-Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution (GASP) in Birmingham.
In her free time, she enjoys cooking, reading, and spending time with her fiancé and their two dogs.
Logan Mercer was raised in Birmingham by a single, artist mother and with a keen appreciation for both the environment and social justice. Splitting his free time between playing in the Cahaba River and learning obscure Presidential facts, an early curiosity in government grew into a budding obsession with how societies organize both among people and between people and nature. As the nexus of both the Civil Rights Movement and a budding environmental activist movement, Logan draws inspiration from Alabama itself.
Now entering his last semester at the University of Virginia where he studies Political Philosophy, Policy & Law, he aspires to become a community organizer before entering law school. He enjoys hikes with his Australian Shepard, Remy, as well as teaching chess to Elementary school kids at the local Boys & Girls Club in Charlottesville. Logan, always aware that his journey has only begun, strives to make a difference in whatever way he can.
About the Ed Colvin Internship Fund
2016 interns Sabrina Zizo and Marlena McConnell at River Network’s River Rally!
Interns are a super important part of our work at Alabama Rivers Alliance. We are so thankful for all the hard work our interns – past & present – have devoted to us. Interested in interning for ARA? Let us know!
2017 interns Margot Woolverton and Morgan Pennington before an EMC meeting in Montgomery.
The Ed Colvin Internship Fund was established to honor Dr. Ed Colvin who continues to offer dedication for and love of Alabama rivers and works to secure their safety. He has always given generously to others and in that spirit, we want to support young environmental heroes. Dr. Colvin is a tireless advocate for our waters and we know our interns will be thrilled to meet him, learn from him and become future leaders.
The Ed Colvin Internship Fund supports the Alabama Rivers Alliance internship program in which interns assist in water policy research, organizing and implementing advocacy campaigns, assisting with citizen water monitoring trainings and other citizen organizing activities, and assisting with organizational development needs, including marketing and communications. With only five full time staff, an internship program can greatly increase the ability of the Rivers Alliance to achieve their goals and ensure healthy water resources for all Alabamians for generations to come.
Our pop is an inspiration to us – and though it might embarrass him – we want to show him our thanks for being a wonderful leader and we want others to learn through his example. Please consider giving your support to Alabama Rivers Alliance interns. We are so proud of our father and all that he gives to others! – The Colvin kids
