Flink joins board, Watts and Janowski join staff as communications team

The September 11th National Memorial Trail Alliance is pleased to welcome three new faces — a new board member and two communications staff members — to the team to support the continued growth of the 1,300-mile trail.  

Chuck Flink is the most recent addition to the Alliance's board of directors. He brings decades of experience as a greenway planner, designer, and advocate. An alumnus of NC State University, Flink is president of Greenways Inc. He has published three books on greenways and created comprehensive greenway and open space plans for over 250 communities. Flink also serves on NC State’s College of Design Leaders Council and chairs the university’s Board of Visitors.
 
“The September 11th National Memorial Trail is very fortunate to have Chuck Flink join the board of directors,” says Andy Hamilton, who chairs the National September 11th Memorial Trail Alliance board. “Chuck is internationally known as the leader in trails and Greenways. We couldn't be happier nor more fortunate to have him helping to forge the trail ahead.”
 
Lisa Watts, a seasoned communications professional, is serving as our new communications manager. She brings over three decades of experience including work with the East Coast Greenway Alliance, the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at UNC-Chapel Hill, and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. As a nonprofit communications professional, she has worked to help organizations advance their missions, raise their visibility, and build stronger engagement among key audiences. A runner and avid bicycle tourist, she and a friend biked the 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway from Key West to Canada in 2018.

Leanne Janowski joins the Alliance as our communications associate. She is a recent graduate from Virginia Tech, where she earned a BA in public relations. While taking rigorous communication classes geared towards sharpening writing techniques and PR practices, Janowski was also an active member of the women’s club lacrosse team and the Public Relations Student Society of America. She brings experience from previous intern positions at Wolf Trap, the National Park for the Performing Arts, which provided her with additional experience with nonprofit organizations and the NPS. Inspired by nonprofits and mission-oriented organizations, Janowski is excited to work with the Alliance.

“September 11th National Memorial Trail is pleased to welcome two eager team members to aid in the completion and engagement of the Trail,” says Thomas Baxter IV, president of the Alliance. “Look forward to updated web content, social media engagement, and new virtual opportunities to explore diverse and meaningful aspects that make the September 11th National Memorial Trail so unique.”