Since 1990, we have protecting the Cape Fear together. You can be a part of the Earth’s legacy.
Make it count.
Since 1990, the Wilmington Earth Day Alliance—originally known as the Earth Day Alliance of the Lower Cape Fear—has championed environmental collaboration across the Cape Fear region. Founded by local naturalist Andy Wood, the organization was born from a vision that uniting businesses, nonprofits, and community groups would strengthen efforts to protect and preserve the environment.
The Wilmington Earth Day Alliance is committed to safeguarding a just, healthy, and sustainable planet through dynamic educational programs and events that raise environmental awareness. By fostering connections among local public, nonprofit, and private entities, the Alliance creates a platform where the community can discover ongoing environmental initiatives and support green practices.
The inaugural Earth Day celebration in 1990 brought hundreds of Cape Fear residents together to engage with knowledgeable local partners, endorse eco-conscious businesses, and honor our shared responsibility to the Earth. This tradition continues each year, growing stronger with the dedication of a diverse board of volunteers—from local government staff and NC Aquarium employees to university students—all united by a deep passion for protecting Wilmington’s unique natural landscape.
Join us in amplifying these vital environmental efforts. Together, we can nurture a sustainable future for our community and the planet. Get involved with the Wilmington Earth Day Alliance today!
Matt Williams - Chair
Matt is an environmental consultant that specializes in wetlands, streams, and threatened/endangered species. He studied fish ecology in Lake Erie with Ohio State University, orcas in the San Juan Islands with the University of Washington, and environmental management and education at UNCW. He was also a member of the City of Wilmington's Clean Energy Task Force, co-chairing the Policy & Legislation subcommittee. Matt has been involved with the Wilmington Earth Day Alliance since 2015 and loves celebrating the Cape Fear's diverse ecosystems and protecting our environment and communities.
Jaya Kandasamy - Vice Chair
As vice chair, it is Jaya’s duty to educate the community on the many benefits of volunteering and inspire Wilmingtonians to get involved! Aside from coordinating donations, exhibitors and festival logistics, Jaya also designed the Wilmington Earth Day Alliance’s website in 2022 and it's new logo which debuted in 2023. Jaya is the Director of Youth Development at DREAMS of Wilmington Center for Arts Education. Her passion for sustainable community projects sparked her interest in community gardening and native biodiversity. She loves volunteering, engaging with nature and live music. In her spare time, Jaya designs heritage jewelry and creates unique art based on her experience as a first generation Indian-American which she sells at local markets.
Jess Stitt - Secretary
Jessica Stitt is the secretary and works for New Hanover County Soil and Water as their Program Coordinator. She is in charge of all the environmental education programs in schools, as well as outreach events. Jessica has a passion for environmental education and loves to teach people about nature, especially her favorite animal which is turtles! Jessica has lived in Wilmington since 1998 and thrives to educate people about the wonderful nature the Wilmington area has to offer. She enjoys exploring parks near and far, hiking, kayaking, and playing disc golf.
Zac Long - Treasurer
Zachary Long is a community ecologist, award winning educator, and Associate Professor at UNC Wilmington, where he studies biodiversity and the ecological connections that keep our planet thriving. Passionate about conservation and sustainability, Zachary enjoys sharing his love for nature with the local community. As Treasurer for the Wilmington Earth Day Alliance, he is committed to supporting initiatives that inspire environmental stewardship and celebrate the natural beauty of coastal North Carolina.
Dru Harrison - Government Liaison
Dru started helping with the Wilmington Earth Day Alliance in 2004 as an intern with New Hanover Soil & Water Conservation District, and has continued ever since. She has a B.A. from UNCW in Geography and some graduate work in Environmental Education from Montreat College. She is a NC Certified Environmental Educator and has participated in multiple trainings throughout her career that benefit Wilmington Earth Day & New Hanover Soil & Water Conservation District, including the National Association of Counties Leadership Academy, UNCW project management, and won the YWCA Women of Achievement Environmental Award in 2017. She has 2 cats (Neville & GiGi) and 2 dogs (Roxy & Chewbacca) that she enjoys spending time with. She also enjoys hiking, kayaking, reading, and crafts.
Kristin Holloman-Noe - Kids EcoZone
Kristin is the Education Outreach Coordinator for the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher, and the Chapter Coordinator for the NC Aquariums FrogWatch USA. She’s been coordinating the Wilmington Earth Day Festival Kids’ EcoZone since 2017. Kristin has been an environmental educator for more than twenty years, having spent most of that time with the NC Aquariums. Though originally from Goldsboro, NC, Kristin has found home in Wilmington since 2011 with her husband and their two dogs. For the Wilmington Earth Day Festival Kids’ EcoZone, Kristin coordinates with environmental, STEAM, and community organizations to engage young festivalgoers in activities that spark curiosity for nature and knowledge. The goal is to inspire youth to make choices and to take actions that will have life-long positive environmental impacts.
Haley Hopkins - Logistics
Haley is a Long-Range Planner with the City of Wilmington. For the Earth Day Alliance. Haley contributes to coordinating logistics and fundraising. She has a background and passion for holistic, sustainable community development and enegaging and representing community needs in planning. She has a B.S. in Sustainability Science from Furman University and experience in academic research, urban farming and in her free time, Haley can be found visiting friends and family, reading, sewing or hiking.
Valerie Robertson - Publicity
Valerie’s interest in the environment started in 1970 with the first Earth Day, when her high school hosted an all-day Earth Day Symposium. She holds a B.A in Sociology & Anthropology from Swarthmore College. Her fifty-year career as a writer and editor has included helping her father start a publishing company and five years as a senior technical writer for Lockheed Martin. A native Midwesterner, she settled in Wilmington in 1995, where she lives in a 1922 bungalow with her partner, George Scheibner. In 2001 she started a popular local publication—Cape Fear Arts Alive—as a guide to the local arts community. Valerie now publishes Cape Fear’s Going Green magazine, the environmental quarterly she founded eighteen years ago. Going Green is a free community guide to eco-friendly activities, products and services in the Cape Fear area. Valerie won the YWCA Women of Achievement Award for Environmental in 2010, the same year her mother won the same award for Business.
Britt Evans - Logistics
Britt is the Special Events Coordinator at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher where she leads beach and roadside cleanups, plans sustainable events and strengthens community connections to conservation. A native of West Virginia, she has made Wilmington her home since 2010. Britt holds a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from Marshall University and a Master of Arts in Teaching from UNCW. She currently serves as a commissioner on Kure Beach's Planning and Zoning and Historical Preservation Commissions. She loves her work as a volunteer with Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project and is excited to be a part of the Wilmington Earth Day Alliance. Britt enjoys practicing yoga, being in the ocean, and spending time with her pets.
Tim Holder - Logistics
Tim Holder worked in urban planning in Detroit, Michigan, Portland, Oregon and Nome, Alaska for 15 years.Worked in socioeconomic impacts of o!shore oil and gas activities in Alaska and Louisiana regional o!ices of the Bureau of Ocean and Environmental Management (BOEM) U.S. Department of Interior and the headquarters o!ice Washington D.C. for 28 years.Acquired extensive understanding of Alaska Native culture by virtue of living in Nome Alaska for six years and attending public meetings in Alaska villages which were predominately Alaska Native for 25 years.Extensive experience with Russians in the 1990’s. Tim was the American co-director of a program to train Russians in small business management, based in the Siberian city of Yakutsk, Sakha-Yakutia (the coldest city in the world) in 1994. Tim and his wife had numerous Russians visit in their house in Anchorage, Alaska and housed two Russian college students. Tim became enhanced ability in conversational Russian in the 1990’s building on nine months of immersion Russian preparing for work as an Air Force Russian language specialist 1968-1972.Tim’s academic degrees are: Master of Urban Planning, Wayne State University, Detroit Michigan, 1974 BA in Economics, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, 1968Tim and his wife adopted a teenage Afghan girl in 2015 who has vastly enriched their lives. Tim retired in 2018 and currently devotes much of his time to environmental issues, helping their daughter’s family in Afghanistan, and volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club and Salvation Army.
Cassidy began participating in Wilmington’s Earth Day in 2024 and now aids with logistics and coordinating volunteers. Cassidy is currently enrolled as an undergraduate at UNCW, working towards a major in Environmental Science and minors in Sustainability and Geospatial Technologies. She spent most of 2025 interning with New Hanover County’s Soil and Water Conservation District, assisting with educational outreach and land development plans. In her free time, you can find Cassidy in the garden, spending time in a park, playing the violin, or sitting on the beach. Throughout these experiences, Cassidy has grown a profound passion for learning more about the extensive interconnectedness of the environment and continuing to grow in her field.