Our Staff

Carrie Clark, Executive Director

carrie [at] nclcv [dot] org
919.839.0006

Carrie joined NCLCV in 1999, after working in the environmental community since 1996. She has worked with the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, Friends of the Earth, and with the Conservation Futures Discussion Group/Environmental Federation of NC. After graduating from college, she was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tanzania, where she saw first-hand the value of managing natural resources effectively—and the repercussions of not doing so. While she appreciates North Carolina’s special places, she does miss being able to see the horizons in her native Texas—even though that horizon is mostly peppered with oil pumpjacks. Carrie graduated from Trinity University in Texas with an English degree, and from Duke’s School of the Environment with a Master of Environmental Management. She serves on the boards of the national League of Conservation Voters, the Federation of State Conservation Voter Leagues, netCorps, and Blueprint NC.

Dan Crawford, Director of Governmental Relations

dan [at] nclcv [dot] org
919.839.0020

Dan joined NCLCV in 2008, after serving for several years on our Conservation PAC committee. Before joining NCLCV, he lobbied for ElectriCities of NC, a non profit governmental agency that represents cities and towns that operate their own electric distribution systems—bringing a unique perspective to his advocacy efforts on energy issues. Prior to this, he worked for Congressman Brad Miller (NC-13) for nearly five years. In this capacity he worked as finance coordinator, field director, and campaign coordinator across three campaigns, and as district liaison in his congressional office. Fresh out of college, he worked for the Senate sponsor of the NC Clean Smokestacks Bill that gave NC some of the most stringent clean air rules in the nation in 2002. Dan brings a particularly political perspective to his work at NCLCV, which makes him well suited to enforcing a strong cycle of accountability. Dan graduate from NC State University with a BA in Political Science. A native North Carolinian from Asheville, Dan emphasizes that he is an environmentalist by birth, but with two little girls at home, he is committed to holding our legislators accountable for protecting our environment.

Debra Rezeli, Director of Engagement

debra [at] nclcv [dot] org
919.839.0978

Debra Rezeli joined NCLCV in 2010, after working with us on various projects. She has over 15 years of experience in marketing and design, and rebranded NCLCV when we changed our name in 2011. Her corporate career included time at Capital Associated Industries and ElectriCities. But most recently, she owned her own business, 2D Designs for over four years, where she specialized in providing marketing services to non-profit and membership-based organizations ranging from the NC Museum of Science to the NC Biotechnology Center. She has served on numerous professional boards, including AIGA and the National Association of Women Business Owners. Born and raised in Pink Hill, Debra has been an unintentional environmentalist her entire life. From her childhood summer camp days in Boone, to hiking and paddling across the state with her husband and daughter, and from picking on the family farm in Pink Hill to managing a community garden in Raleigh, she knows the value of NC’s environment first-hand. She has a business degree from Peace College, a graphic design degree from NC State’s College of Design, and most recently, an MBA in marketing at NC State. She’s currently investigating her next potential degree—something environmental.

Robin Smith, Enforcement Program Director

robin [at] nclcv [dot] org
828.215.9715

Robin joined NCLCV in 2001 to help ensure that the state is holding polluters accountable for their impacts on our natural resources by enforcing our existing laws. From teasing out the stories from the depths of the basement files and the mess of data at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, to going on muddy site visits with the Department of Transportation, Robin knows how well our environmental protections are being upheld, and what our state agencies need to hold polluters accountable effectively. Before she joined NCLCV, she had over 17 years experience in water and air resource management as an environmental scientist, technical training specialist, and technical consulting, including direct experience with the EPA’s enforcement programs. She currently chairs the NC Sedimentation Control Commission, and serves on the Environmental Stewardship Initiative Advisory Board, the Water Resources Research Institute Advisory Committee, and the Yancey County Cooperative Extension Agricultural Advisory Board. While Robin has the skills needed to sort through the multitudes of data and databases she finds at DENR, she much prefers harvesting heirloom tomatoes and honey. Robin and her husband started Bee Log Farm, a 2-acre farm in Yancey County, in 2005, using organic methods and selling heritage varieties of vegetables and garden plants locally. We love it when she brings us free-range eggs. Robin has a BS from Ferrum College and a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University.

Dan Besse, Conservation Insider Bulletin Editor

cib [at] nclcv [dot] org

Dan is an attorney living in Winston-Salem, where he has served on City Council since 2001. In addition to his direct work for Winston-Salem residents as a Councilman, Dan has provided more than 20 years of service at the state level helping to shape NC’s environmental and public health policies, including numerous appointments: NC Climate Action Plan Advisory Committee, NC Environmental Management Commission, NC Sedimentation Control Commission, NC Coastal Resources Commission, and the NC Emergency Response Commissions. If it’s environmental policy in NC, he’s probably had a hand in it. His professional career as an attorney has focused on legal aid for poor families, access to healthcare, and environmental quality issues. He’s also worked as a teacher, including environmental law and policy and political science, as an adjunct or visiting professor at a number of universities in NC. Dan also served as NCLCV’s Political Director for a number of years. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in Political Science and a JD from the School of Law. Born in Hickory, Dan has a lifelong commitment to North Carolina.