Board of Supervisors

In Ohio, soil and water conservation districts are administered by a board of five supervisors. Supervisors are elected to three-year terms in public elections conducted by the Ohio Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Supervisors volunteer their time, energy and expertise.

2024 Board of Supervisors

Jessica D'Ambrosio

Board Chair
Jessica D’Ambrosio is the Western Lake Erie Project Director for The Nature Conservancy in Ohio, where she works with agriculture to keep farming productive and profitable while protecting Lake Erie and its tributaries. She believes that we need to work collaboratively to establish a shared community vision and set of goals in order to protect the land and waters on which all life depends. Prior to joining the Conservancy, she was an assistant professor of cooperative education in the sciences for Antioch College and was a program manager for the Ohio Nonpoint-source Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) Program, an extension education program of The Ohio State University.

Jessica has a MS in environmental science and a Ph.D. in soil and water engineering from The Ohio State University. Her area of expertise includes watershed management, hydrology and agricultural drainage which has lead to being a technical adviser for many state and local groups involved in both urban and agricultural water resources management including MORPC, Franklin Soil and Water, The Nature Conservancy, watershed groups, and municipalities.

Marty Wicks

Vice-chair
Marty is a 24 year veteran with the U.S. Army and Ohio National Guard, where he was promoted through the ranks to Captain, and served as an Environmental Trainer, visiting National Guard units in Ohio to ensure their compliance with EPA regulations in their armories and surrounding areas. He has also been a science/math school teacher in the Westerville School District since 1970. Marty earned his BA of Science with a focus in sociology and psychology from Excelsior College, a minor in Business, Master in Curriculum and Instruction from Ashland University, with a Certificate of Administration from The Ohio State University. He currently teaches sixth grade math at Heritage Middle School in Westerville, and actively works with students in the Service Learning Initiative, functioning as part of a Service Learning Team that leads students into a global awareness mind set. He also runs an environmental awareness class annually throughout the summer with the assistance of the FWSCD staff where he works with students in identifying macroinvertebrates to determine the water quality index. Additionally, students walk away from the class understanding the stresses that the human population can inflict on the environment. Marty was awarded Environmental Teacher of the Year by the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District in 2004. Marty is married and a father of three and grandfather to a boy and a girl. He spends time playing his piano, learning guitar, swimming, and working out at the gym. He has also been voted onto the Franklin County Planning Commission as a board member.

Erin Miller

Treasurer
Erin Miller is the Assistant Vice President of Energy Policy and Sustainability for American Municipal Power (AMP). Erin has been with AMP since 2017. In this role, she spearheads the organization’s sustainability programs, manages the member-led Focus Forward initiative and associated electric vehicle sub-group, manages the organization’s grant services program, and tracks renewable energy policies at the state and federal level.

Previously, Miller served as the Environmental Steward with the City of Columbus for nearly eight years. In that role, she managed programs such as the Branch Out Columbus tree initiative, the GreenSpot program, and RecyColumbus. She has also occupied various positions with the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC), including Director of the Center for Energy and Environment as well as Greenways Program Manager, where she coordinated with various organizations and agencies to develop and implement the Greenways Program and Greenways: A Plan for Franklin County. Prior to MORPC, Erin served as the Executive Director of the Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW).  

She holds a bachelor’s degree in ecology and environmental sciences from Otterbein University, has completed the Ohio Environmental Leaders Institute at the Ohio State University and also has attained the designation of LEED® Green Associate™ from Green Business Certification Inc.

Miller currently serves on the American Public Power Association Smart Energy Provider Panel; the Smart Electric Power Alliance Program Advisory Committee; and the Large Public Power Council Emerging Trends Task Force.

Kim Landsbergen

Secretary
Kim Landsbergen is an Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at Antioch College, as well as a Certified Senior Ecologist with the Ecological Society of America. She earned her M.S. from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, and a Ph.D. in Forest Ecosystem Analysis from the University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences. After completing a post-doctoral climate change fellowship at Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Kim joined the faculty at Ohio University in 2001. After relocating to Columbus and marrying her husband of 12 years, Kim taught Ecology and Sustainability courses at the Columbus College of Art and Design. In 2014 she joined the faculty at Antioch College, where she now teaches courses in Botany, Ecology, Soils, Conservation Biology, Global Climate Change, and Ecosystem Ecology. At Antioch College, Kim works with undergraduate students doing applied research in the Glen Helen Nature Preserve, on the Antioch Farm, and on the campus’ urban canopy. In Columbus and Yellow Springs, she has been active designing and planting pollinator habitat and planting trees wherever possible. A resident of Franklin County for 11 years, and an Ohio resident for 20 years, Kim also has served as a Soil Water Conservation Districts Associate Board of Supervisors since 2010. She also is a member of the Tree Commission of Upper Arlington, where she resides with her family. Kim is an avid naturalist, educator, environmental advocate, and policy wonk. More information is available at http://kimlandsbergen.com.

Leigh Anne Ward

Board Member
Leigh Anne received dual degrees from Capital University in 2000, a BA in art therapy and a BSW in social work with a focus on children and families.  She is an advocate of using animal assisted therapy and horticultural therapy with children and families, especially those impacted by trauma and domestic violence.  She developed a psychological research project for the Buckeye Ranch which was presented at the 2000 North American Riders for the Handicapped Association Conference.  As a Linden resident, Leigh Anne became a community advocate in 2013, and co-founded the North Linden Community Watch and The Miracle Garden in 2014 to help address the need for food security and sustainability in at-risk communities.  As Director of The Miracle Garden, she taught gardening in the Smart 2.0 Summer Program at the Millennium School through the Afrocentric Personal Development Shop.  Also in 2014, she became a Clark County Master Gardener, helping with their seed trial plots and with the Farm Science Review.  For the past 7 years she has been the Coordinator for the Community Cleanup Crew, a sentencing alternative for the Franklin County Municipal Court, and managed the Ohio EPA Litter Management Grant which provided supplemental funding for the program.  With the support of the grant, she focused on removing and recycling illegally dumped tires from public property throughout Franklin County.  Leigh Anne was able to bring the Community Cleanup Crew to support cleanup and beautification projects with area commissions, block watches, civic associations, and environmental organizations such as the Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed, the Friends of the Alum Creek and its Tributaries, the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District, Columbus Recreation and Parks, Metro Parks, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.  Prior to that she conducted product research for Kurtz Brothers and worked as a Landscape Enhancement Specialist.