Lisa Raleigh

Lisa, a Montana native, resided in Colorado for the past 30 years before relocating to Asheville as Executive Director. Prior to joining RiverLink, she was a nonprofit fundraising consultant and spent eleven years as the Director of Advancement for Colorado Rocky Mountain School. Lisa also co-founded Backbone Media — an outdoor industry specialty PR firm — and is a trained hydrologist with a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from the University of Oklahoma.

Personally, Lisa is deeply committed to human rights and environmental issues. An international traveler passionate about most things outdoors, she is an avid trail runner, road biker, and climber. Lisa is the proud mom of daughters Sunni and Belle, both of whom were born in Cambodia, raised by Lisa and her husband Duane in the Colorado Rockies, and now are attending Smith College and Fort Lewis College, respectively. Lisa and Duane greatly look forward to immersing themselves in all that Asheville has to offer, and are eager to explore its natural amenities and outdoor pursuits. 

Lisa is honored to be joining the RiverLink team given the organization’s rich history and legacy promoting the environmental and economic vitality of the French Broad River and watershed and believes it is a tremendous responsibility, one that she looks forward to sharing with the talented and dedicated staff, Board, stakeholders, and community members.