Board of Directors

Executive Director, Carrie Banks, MS, (919) 428-7119* Carrie Banks became the first Executive Director of North Carolina Rail-Trails in July 2010. She received her Master’s of Science from North Carolina State University in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management in 2010. She was awarded the NC Tourism Education Foundation’s 2008 Tourism Student of the Year award at the North Carolina Governor’s Conference on Tourism. Carrie also holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies, with honors, from UNC-Chapel Hill. Between 2002 and 2007, Carrie was the conservation coordinator for the North Carolina Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, where she worked with the protection staff acquiring thousands of acres of land for conservation. As a ninth-generation native of Ashe County, Carrie has a strong personal interest in seeing the natural areas of our state preserved in ways that will have the most long-term benefit for everyone. She believes that directing the activities of North Carolina Rail-Trails is a wonderful mix of environmental protection along with creation of recreation opportunities and tourism growth across North Carolina. Carrie lives in Carrboro with her husband, Matt, and their dogs, Wasatch and Kit.

Chair, John Morck, AICP, (919) 362-9822 John Morck was elected Chairman of NCRT in October of 2008. John has been a member of the board of North Carolina Rail-Trails since the mid 1990's. He has previously served as secretary of the board. John is presently a Chief Planner with the NC Division of Community Assistance (DCA). John first joined DCA as a Community Development Planner in 1993. After departing for three years to serve in local government, he returned to DCA in 2000 where he has been Senior Planner and now Chief Planner. John graduated from Ripon College in Wisconsin with a B.A. in Economics and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Masters in Urban Planning. John's areas of specialty include land use planning, meeting facilitation, growth management, and historic preservation and recreation trails. In addition to NCRT he serves on the board of the North Carolina Chapter, American Planning Association as VP for Professional Development. He is also a volunteer locomotive engineer for the New Hope Valley Railway. John's term ends 12-31-13.

Vice Chair, Dave Connelly, (919) 544-6372 Dave Connelly, NCRT vice chair, lives in Durham, near the American Tobacco Trail. By day, he's a library assistant at Duke University. His interests include cycling, walking, mapping, photography and genealogy. He has ridden on rail trails in 8 states and 1 province. Dave believes trails are vital for improving public health. And he says the crucial word for greenways is "connectivity" (getting people where they want to go). He is active in the East Coast Greenway Alliance, the Carolina Tarwheels, Habitat of Durham, and Watts Street Baptist Church. He's married and has one son. Dave's term ends 12-31-13.

Secretary, Nancy Pierce, (704) 458-5503 Nancy Pierce is a long-time trails advocate who lives near downtown Charlotte and joined the Board of Directors in 2008. Currently she serves as NCRT's Secretary. As an avid bicyclist, runner, swimmer and paddler, she believes that easy and abundant public access to trails, water and natural areas are essential to a community's quality of life. A professional corporate/editorial photographer and occasional writer, she often uses her communication skills to advocate for alternative transportation options, land and water conservation and sustainable growth. She, her husband and their two sons have bicycled many rail-trails throughout the United States and Canada. Nancy's term ends 12-31-12.

 Treasurer, Robert S. "Bob" Segal, (336) 886-3235 joined the NCRT Board of Directors in 2006 and is curently serving as Treasurer. Rail-trails are a family affair for him and his family. The family has bicycled the Virginia Creeper and New River Trails in Virginia. "We believe rail-trails in North Carolina could be successful on the basis of improving health and tourism, and we want more trails in North Carolina." He is a CPA and owns the consulting firm, Robert S. Segal, CPA PA in High Point. Bob's term ends 12/31/2013.

Director, Alison Carpenter, (919) 475-8256 Alison Carpenter, elected to the NCRT Board of Directors in 2009, is a native North Carolinian, currently residing in downtown Durham where she often enjoys the world-class American Tobacco Trail and volunteers regularly with the Durham Bike Co-op. She is a transportation planner with extensive professional experience in bicycle and pedestrian planning at the campus, municipal and regional level. While she currently works in the private sector, Alison has experience in local and regional government positions, as well as nonprofit management experience. In addition to serving on the North Carolina Rail-Trails board, Alison is an active Board member with the North Carolina Active Transportation Alliance. Alison's term ends 12-31-12. 

Director, Harry Clapp, PE, (336) 697-7499 Harry Clapp is a long time board member of NCRT. Harry is active with the Greensboro Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, and instrumental in the Battleground Trail in northwest Greensboro which is being extended toward the center city where it will form a mile long western leg of the Downtown Greenway, a 4.8-mile loop around the center of Greensboro. This trail is on the old Atlantic and Yadkin Railway (former Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railway). Harry is a founding member of the NC Alliance for Transportation Reform and active in the Carolina Association of Passenger Trains. He is a retired engineer of the railroad industry. He lives in Greensboro with his wife of 57 years along with their son David. Harry's term ends 12-31-13.

Director, Michael Domonkos, JD, (828) 884-7648 Mike Domonkos has been an NCRT Board member since 1997; attorney; former Michigan Administrative Law Judge, Michigan Assistant Attorney General and law professor; ongoing pro bono legal work for trails and court appearances in trail litigation; experienced in the research and interpretation of railroad deeds; Steering Committee member of the Friends of the Hendersonville to Brevard proposed rail-trail project; Coordinator of the Land of Waterfalls Rails to Trails organization which helped create the Brevard Bike Path, in part a rail-trail. He is married and lives in Brevard. Mike's term ends 12-31-13.

Director, Charles Farley, (252) 717-4873  Charles Farley is a long time member of NC Rail-Trails and has been active in the Greenway group in Pitt County. He was a prime mover in getting local governments to plan and build the initial phase of the Washington-Greenville Greenway. Charles' term ends 12-31-13.

Director, Jack Kiser, AICP, (704) 854-6632 AICP has 35 years experience in local planning and community development joined the NCRT Board of Directors in 2009 For 16 years he has been Director of Planning for the City of Gastonia. During that time was the development of a City's first and subsequent greenway plans, the City's first Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Plan and Master Greenway Plan, construction of the City's first 2.5 mile, multiple award-winning Avon-Catawba Creek Greenway Trail and construction of the City's first rail trail in 2008. Jack serves on the Advisory Board for the regional Carolina Thread Trail and in the Thread Trail's current planning efforts in Gaston County. He holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from North Carolina State University and Bachelors Degree in Political Science from Western Carolina University. He is married and lives in Gastonia. Jack's term ends 12-31-12. 

Director, Tony Reevy, (919) 416-0965 Tony Reevy, a long time member of NCRT is Senior associate director of the Institute for the Environment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Tony Reevy is a graduate of North Carolina State University, UNC-Chapel Hill and Miami University. He is a David P. Morgan Award winner (2006) and a Pushcart Prize nominee. His previous publications include poetry, non-fiction and short fiction, including the poetry chapbooks Green Cove Stop, Magdalena, and Lightning in Wartime. He resides in Durham, North Carolina with wife, Caroline Weaver, and children Lindley and Ian. Tony's term ends 12-31-13.   

President Emeritus, Al Capehart , PhD, (919) 542-0022 Al Capehart was a co-chair of the North Carolina Rail-Trail Steering Committee from 1987 to 1990 and has since served as the volunteer President and Executive Director of NCRT, Inc. AL facilitated North Carolina's first Federal Railbank - The Dunn-Erwin Rail-Trail, the North Carolina Rail Corridor Round Table and five rail-trail master plans (with NCSU's College of Design). In addition AL has consulted with numerous local rail-trail groups and represented rail-trail interests with other land trusts, non-profits, professional and governmental agencies. Al is also a professional Santa Claus, SantaAL.com. As ofJanuary 1, 2011 Al is serving as President Emeritus. 

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