For Immediate Release        

                                                             Contact:          

                                                             Kathy Melvin, Business Integrated                                                              Communications 502-609-9813          

 River Fields Announces Three New Trustees 

New board members include University of Louisville Faculty Member, Business Owner and Community Leader  

LOUISVILLE, Ky – River Fields, Inc., the largest and oldest river conservation group along the 981-mile Ohio River, has recently named three prominent civic leaders to its Board of Trustees.  They are:  Dr. Craig Anthony (Tony) Arnold, Matthew Boone Gardiner and Debbie Linnig Michals.

“These three gifted leaders are experts in diverse professional disciplines, but they share a common passion for the environment and the desire to protect the Ohio River corridor,” said Meme Sweets Runyon, executive director of River Fields.

Professor Tony Arnold is the Boehl Chair in Property and Land Use Law at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law and is also a faculty member of the School of Urban & Public Affairs.  He is a nationally-recognized scholar in environmental regulation of land use and property.  He is chair of the University of Louisville’s Center for Land Use and Environmental Responsibility.

Arnold attended Stanford Law School and his Bachelor of Arts degree is from the University of Kansas.  The University of Louisville recruited Arnold in 2005 as part of the Kentucky Research Challenge Trust Fund.  He enjoys hiking, running and gardening.  “Kentucky’s many waterways and vibrant green landscapes helped attract me to Louisville,” Arnold said.

Arnold also served on the boards of directors of the West Jefferson County Community Task Force and Habitat for Humanity of Metro Louisville. He is co-chair of the land use subcommittee of Mayor Jerry Abramson’s Climate Change Task Force. 

Matthew Boone Gardiner, a long-time environmentalist, is the fourth-generation owner of Boone Gardiner Garden Center, a Louisville-owned and operated business since 1899.  Gardiner studied horticulture, landscape design and business management at the University of Kentucky, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in plant and soil science. 

Gardiner is president of the Louisville Nursery Association, and a board member of the Kentucky Nursery and Landscape Association.   He serves on the Horticulture Advisory Committees for Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, and for Yew Dell Gardens. He is also active in a number of civic organizations, including the Louisville Downtown Rotary.   

Gardiner is a frequently-published garden writer and speaker and has been WAVE-TV’s garden expert. 

Debbie Linnig Michals is director of communications for the Jefferson County Property Valuation Administrator.  Michals is vice president of the League of Women Voters of Kentucky and secretary of the League of Women Voters of Louisville.

Michals also spent eight years as spokeswoman for Jefferson County Circuit Courts.  She is the former chair of the Louisville Metro Police citizen advisory board, former co-chair of the Firefighters Memorial Project and has served on multiple boards and commissions, including the Louisville Crime Commission.

Michals grew up in the South End, where—for 84 years—the Linnig family has owned and operated Mike Linnig’s Place on the Ohio River. “The river is home…it is a compass,” Michals said, “I always know that when I follow the river, I will be home.”

High quality digital images available upon request.

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River Fields is the largest and oldest river conservancy along the 981- mile Ohio River.  For nearly 50 years, River Fields has utilized its resources to effectively protect, preserve and enhance the natural and cultural resources of the land and water around the Ohio River in our region.  Through its programs of land conservation, advocacy, and education, River Fields strives to create harmony between nature, history and the people who live here.  River Fields owns land or holds conservation easements on 34 properties, totaling more than 2,200 acres, most of which is preserved forever. River Fields is one of the nation's few land trusts tackling regional advocacy work and land conservation.                   

www.riverfields.org