Stacy Borden, Board President
Stacy started his career in the green industry in 1992 as a greenskeeper at the Denver Country Club. Throughout his 29 years in this industry Stacy has worked in commercial landscaping, estate gardening, greenhouse operations, commercial arboriculture, and arboriculture consulting. Stacy studied horticulture at Edmonds Community College in Lynnwood, Washington, is an ISA Certified Arborist of 20 years, an ASCA Registered Consulting Arborist of 9 years and holds qualifications in Tree Risk Assessment and Plant Appraisal.
Meet Our Board
Greg Doyle, Board Vice President
Greg Doyle is originally from Louisville, Kentucky, but has lived in the central Kentucky area since 1975. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Photography from Arizona State University in 1974, and was the owner of Doyle Water Distributors from 1986 until his retirement in 2016. In his retirement, Greg has become very involved with many nature-centric activities. He has been a volunteer at Floracliff Nature Sanctuary since 2016, at The
Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky since 2018, and Lower Howard’s Creek Nature Preserve since 2021. He worked closely with Jake Gibbs on the Tree Canopy Committee in 2017, which later turned into Trees Lexington!. He has been on the Trees Lexington! Board since 2019. He is a current Board member of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government's Tree Board and has served on this board since 2018. For the past three years, he has been involved with and participated in Tree Week, an annual Lexington event presented by the Urban Forest Initiative. His hobbies include hiking, wildlife photography, flower and native plant gardening, and identifying plants.
Anita Courtney, Board Secretary
Anita Courtney joined the Trees Lexington! board to continue the work of her late husband, Jake Gibbs, co-founder of Trees Lexington! and former Lexington 3rd District Council Member. She served as the Director of Health Promotion at the Lexington Fayette County Health Department for 28 years and led the non-profit Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition for 10 years.
Michael Potapov, Board Treasurer
Originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, Michael moved to the United States in 1999. A graduate of Georgetown College, he pursued a career in investment management. Michael serves as Treasurer on the board of Trees Lexington! and is also involved with several other nonprofits. He enjoys learning about a wide range of subjects and especially topics related to trees.
Dave Leonard, Consulting Arborist
Dave Leonard has been promoting tree health care in Lexington, Kentucky and the Bluegrass area for 47 years. As an active member of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) for 44 years, Dave has served as both president and executive director of ISA’s Kentucky Chapter and has been an active member of its Board of Directors for 25 years. Dave was part of the team that composed the ISA Arborist Certification exam and the Board Certified Master Arborist exam. He earned a
Forestry degree from the University of Kentucky in 1974 and became a member of the American Society of Consulting Arborists in 1993. Dave has been a rider in the Tour des Trees, an annual cycling event that raises money for urban tree research and education 18 times, riding over 9,000 miles around the country. Dave has personally raised over $58,000 for the TREE Fund. In 2009, Dave was recognized by the ISA as one of the first seven recipients of their new “True Professionals of Arboriculture” award, recognizing arborists who help increase public understanding of arboriculture and the skills of professional arborists. In 2010, he was awarded the “Arborist of the Year” Award by the Society of Commercial Arboriculture. He always strives to educate both himself and others on the latest trends in arboriculture. His favorite tree is the Bur Oak.
Nancy Barnett
Nancy Barnett spent 39 years in the beauty industry. After selling her business, her deep love and appreciation for nature was cultivated. The motivation to share the profound benefits that trees bestow upon us was a driving force to join Trees Lexington! Board in 2018, where she served as the secretary for 3 years. Nancy enthusiastically encourages people to participate in tree planting, mulching, pruning, tree hugging, and celebrating trees. She proudly serves on the God's Pantry Board
of Directors and volunteers to help with food drives and various endeavors that can bring nourishment to Kentuckians. Nancy also volunteers with a non-profit after school program that provides a safe and supportive place for the children it serves.
Jean Cecil
Jean Cecil enjoyed a childhood in south central Kentucky on a farm of forest, fields and creeks. Her father introduced her to Mary Wharton’s books, Trees and Shrubs of Kentucky and A Guide to the Wildflowers and Ferns of Kentucky, when she was in high school. These books were a constant reference when walking the farm and while hiking, camping, and canoeing. She continues to use these original publications today. Past board membership
includes the Birmingham YMCA Mountain Brook and Association Boards and the Alabama Folk School. Currently, she is a board member for Trees Lexington!. She volunteered for STAIR (Start the Adventure in Reading) in Birmingham, an early intervention program for second grade students. She has volunteered in various capacities for the Louisville Zoo and for the Birmingham Zoo. Jean received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Kentucky and practiced in New York, Cincinnati, Lexington, Louisville, and Birmingham and is currently licensed in Kentucky. She returned to Lexington in 2019 and is enjoying connecting with family, and old and new friends. Playing the mandolin, guitar and cello are favorite activities as well as singing with the Lexington Singers. She continues to hike and camp around Kentucky and the USA.
Bill Foster
Bill Foster spent 40 plus years as a career public servant, scientific and conservation advocate, and clinical veterinarian. He has since relocated with his family to the Lexington, Kentucky community. His past participation of leadership roles as a director of major not-for-profit organizations, for-profit board of directors, and professional and international conservation board of directors, have given him life experiences he hopes will assist in advancing the mission of Trees
Lexington! as a Board member. During his career as a veterinarian, Bill interned at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida before working as a Veterinary Clinician at Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Kentucky. He has served as the chairman and a board member of both the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians. Bill has held leadership positions with multiple zoos, including CEO & Director of Louisville Zoo & Gardens and CEO & President of the Birmingham Zoo in Birmingham, Alabama. Additionally, Bill has been on the Board of Directors for Hillerich and Bradsby, the Southeastern Zoo & Aquarium Research Consortium, and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fun International. He also served as Chairman for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. Bill is an enthusiastic explorer of the natural world and a photographer of wild places and animals.
Eveline Dungan
Eveline Dungan is a German emigrant, now living in Lexington, Kentucky. She immigrated with her family 25 years ago to Cape Coral, Florida. Eveline started as a new member of Trees Lexington! in June 2021. She considers herself a passionate tree advocate, sharing her passion on why trees are vital to our com-munities with others. Before joining Trees Lexington!, Eveline volunteered with several of Trees Lexington! tree-planting and mulch- ing events, and spends time volunteering
with Friends of Wolf Run; helping with creek clean ups and tree plantings. In her professional life, she serves as an active member of the Energy & Environmental Sustainability Committee, including ongoing volunteer events for trash collection along the Kentucky and Ohio River with Living Lands & Waters. Eveline is passionate about saving the tree canopy. She feels that joining Trees Lexington! is her way of making positive changes in the world, one tree at a time. She now spends her days inspiring individuals to join the fight to save trees and to share awareness of the importance trees have in communities.
Kelly S. Kennoy
Kelly is a Lexington native who grew up climbing trees, fishing, canoeing, and riding dirt bikes. She has been passionate about the outdoors and the environment since building her first mud fort in the fifth grade. Kelly has over 20 years of professional experience managing a wide range of traditional environmental services. Activities have included: directly overseeing the assessment and clean-up of Brownfield and Superfund
sites; supervising renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable design projects. After living in Chicago for 26 years, Kelly and her family returned to the Bluegrass. Currently, she develops and coordinates environmental health programs at the University of Kentucky. She believes a healthy environment = a healthy community and is excited to be a part of TreesLexington!. Kelly received a Master of Public Health/Community Health Science (University of Illinois at Chicago), Bachelor of Arts/Geography (University of Kentucky) and Associate in Applied Science/Nursing (Truman College).
Amy Steele, Operations Manager
Amy Steele is a local tree enthusiast who brings her commitment to increasing biodiversity on private property to the forefront of her work. Amy served as a Trees Lexington! Pocket Nursery Parent in 2019 and completed Trees Lexington!'s inaugural Tree Stewards workshop in Spring 2021. She regards the University of Kentucky’s Summer Environmental Writing Program (SEWP, Robinson Forest, 2004), and a neighborhood stormwater grant project (Living Green In
Meadowthorpe, 2011) as transformative experiences in her understanding of the natural world. Amy has lived in Lexington for 27 years, and graduated from the University of Kentucky with a B.A. in English (2005). She has worked for local and independent small businesses in Lexington since 1995, with 15 years in management positions. She is a citizen member of the LFUCG Tree Board and has previously served on the Board of Directors for Fayette Cooperating Preschool. Amy shares her passion for trees and using native plants in the home landscape with her family, friends, and neighbors, as her own urban yard transitions into a healthy and buzzing ecosystem.