Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors is a committed group of invdividuals who care deeply for the Coosa Riverkeeper program.

David Whiteside

President

David is the Tennessee Riverkeeper, founder of Black Warrior Riverkeeper, and Board member of Waterkeeper Alliance. He attended the Altamont School and graduated from the University of Vermont with a degree in Environmental studies.

Cecil Bostany

Treasurer

Cecil Bostany is a Certified Public Accountant and partner at Warren, Averett, Kimbrough & Marino, LLC in Birmingham. He has a house on Lake Logan Martin. He is a current Board member and past Chairman of the Board of Birmingham Metro YMCAs in 2001 and 2002, and is an Executive Committee Board member of both TechBirmingham and Biotechnology Association of Alabama. Cecil is also a member (since 1986) and former President of the Shades Valley Rotary Club of Birmingham.

Steve Garrison

Secretary

Steve is the Co-Chair of the Alabama Chapter of the Sierra Club. He lives along the Coosa River on Lake Neely Henry. Steve has worked for over 40 years in the computer industry and runs his own computer service company.

Dr. Bryan Burgess

Bryan was previously a professor of Earth Sciences at Jacksonville State University. He served four years as conservation chair of the Alabama Chapter of the Sierra Club. Bryan brought the Sierra Club's Water Sentinels Program to Alabama and co-lead the program for 6 years. The program trained over 30,000 school children and placed water monitoring kits in schools and county offices throughout the state. Bryan mapped potential nutrient sources, like hog and poultry farms, in 16 states with a Geographic Information Systems databased with funding provided by the EPA

Doug Morrison

Doug Morrison is the President of the The Friends of Big Canoe Creek, a nonprofit on the Big Canoe Creek tributary of the Coosa River, where Doug lives. Doug has worked over 30 years in the computer industry, particularly the 401(k) recordkeeping industry. He is employed by Integrated Benefit Solutions, Inc. since 1995. Doug is an outdoor enthusiast, hunter, fisherman, recreational kayaker and amateur musician. Doug has two children and two grandchildren and has been married over 25 years.

Dr. Miriam Hill

Miriam is a professor of Geography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) at Jacksonville State University. She received an undergraduate degree from Indiana State University, graduate degrees from Indiana State University and Jacksonville State University, and a Ph.D. in Geography from Kent State University. Miriam received the Distinguished Teaching Award from Jacksonville State University in 2006, and the Distinguished Research Award in 2007 as well as the Ray J. and Ruth C. Ringer Faculty Award in 2008 for excellence in teaching, research and service.

Michael Strickland

Michael is an attorney and a shareholder of Strickland & Kendall, LLC located in Montgomery, Alabama and a shareholder of Warhurst, Strickland, and Kendall & Stevens with offices in Montgomery and Mobile.  He concentrates his legal practice primarily on wrongful death, personal injury, environmental cases, state and national class actions with special emphasis on products liability, vehicle accidents and property casualty claims. He presently serves as the President of the Coosa River Paddling Club which is in its 27th year of hosting the Coosa River Whitewater Festival. Michael spends any free time with his wife and children in the outdoors hunting, camping, kayaking, mountain biking and hang gliding.