2025 Year in Review

January 13, 2026

Reflecting on a year of growth and impact.

As 2025 drew to a close, Dr. Mo Drinkard stepped aboard to lead the Catawba Riverkeeper team into the new year! Our new Executive Director is excited to get to work in the Catawba-Wateree River basin and help the team navigate the challenges and successes ahead. Click on the video below to hear a short message from Mo.

In 2025, the Policy Team gained traction in the NC House and Senate with the Parking Lot Reform and Modernization Bill (HB369*) and with the South Fork River State Passage Bill (SB329). It isn't often that a bill passes unanimously through both the House and the Senate, but SB329 did just that, giving a 120-mile stretch of the South Fork added protections, unlocking funding, and clearing a path for greater recreational access in the future. Click the video below to hear from Ryan and Ellie!

Our volunteers reached new heights for the river in 2025, including helping Catawba Riverkeeper pick up it's MILLIONTH pound of trash as an organization! With over 2,400 volunteers lending a hand over the past 12 months, the river is now 105,877 pounds of trash cleaner, and has 1,400 linear feet of shoreline now stabilized with live stakes. Click the video below to hear from Kaity about the hard work YOU put in over the last year.

In each sub-basin of the Catawba, our Protect Team members have been busy monitoring water quality, improving aquatic habitats, removing harmful invasive species, responding to pollution reports, reducing erosion and stormwater pollution, and so much more. Click on the videos below to hear from Grant and Jenn about the highlights of their work from 2025. View this email to learn more about what we accomplished in the Southern basin this year.

Our Education Team made a splash in the lives of many youth in 2025 through a variety of program opportunities. From gaining skills and confidence on the water at Paddling Camp, to learning about aquatic ecology on the Floating Classroom, and from assessing streambanks and learning about salamanders during the Wilderness Watershed Adventure, to macroinvertebrate sampling at Conservation Field Day, many young lives have benefited from experiencing our watershed first-hand. Click the video below to hear from Morgan & Sophie.

Thank you to the Catawba Riverkeeper community for joining us in the important work of safeguarding the water we all depend on over the past year. We look forward to continuing this work with you in 2026!

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Catawba Riverkeeper Welcomes Dr. Mo Drinkard as New Executive Director

December 17, 2025

Catawba Riverkeeper is pleased to announce that Dr. Mo Drinkard has been hired as their new Executive Director. A standout among over 100 applicants, Mo was offered the position by the Catawba Riverkeeper Board of Directors search committee on Thursday, November 20th, and she assumed her role as leader of the organization on Monday, December 1st, 2025. Catawba Riverkeeper Brandon Jones, who participated on the search committee, shared that “Mo’s education, experience, and passion are directly aligned with the organization’s mission and needs. We are excited for her perspective and leadership in continuing the critical work of protecting our waters.” Mo is a mission-driven non-profit leader, professor, and scholar with a passion for building strong organizations, nurturing future leaders, and tackling big challenges in conservation, equity, and education. With over 20 years of experience spanning academia (Kent State University, Brevard College, Miami University), community partnerships, and environmental science, she's worn many hats: executive director, grant writer, program architect, DEIB strategist, faculty and student mentor, and not often enough, field biologist in muddy boots. Mo's work lives at the intersection of applied research and social change. She specializes in transforming great ideas into funded, functional, and impactful programs, whether that’s designing experiential learning curricula, guiding strategic organizational turnarounds, or helping community-based groups access the resources they need to thrive. From leading national workforce development initiatives to restoring urban watersheds (Doan Brook Watershed Partnership) and mentoring the next generation of environmental scientists, Mo brings an entrepreneurial spirit and deep subject matter expertise in biology, ecology, sustainability, and inclusion. Mo believes that science is for everyone, and that real change happens when we build spaces where all voices can lead. “I am honored and excited to offer leadership for the next chapter of Catawba Riverkeeper’s work. I believe deeply in the mission and am fully invested in the health and future of this watershed. I look forward to getting to work supporting the waterways, communities, and people that make up this expansive and impactful basin,” Dr. Drinkard said. Catawba Riverkeeper, currently one of the ten largest riverkeeper organizations in the United States, boasts over 8,000 members across the 26 counties of North and South Carolina where the waters of the Catawba flow. As the fifth Executive Director of the organization, Mo will bring new and innovative ways to advance the work of her predecessors and the mission of the organization in this new chapter of Catawba Riverkeeper’s leadership. Mo will be supported by 11 full-time staff and 22 volunteer board members to preserve, protect, and restore the Catawba River so that it sustains plentiful, clean water for generations to come.