Alexander Dowell

Born and raised in the Three Rivers area of Southwest Washington, Alex has been working for, and recreating on rivers since he was a young child. His first formal experience with riparian habitat was in execution of his High School Senior Project where he worked planting trees, helping in litter clean ups, surveying small creeks, planting salmon fry, performing community outreach to protect local rivers and writing an (as yet unpublished) essay on strategies for streamside restoration.  

He was lured to central Alabama in 2010 to earn his MS in Biology from UAB and has, subsequently, become an avid enthusiast of Alabama’s unique hydrology and freshwater ecology systems. He can most often be found in his free time wandering the beds of creeks and rivers or at the beach.  

Jean Cox

Jean is passionately devoted to protecting the Cahaba Headwaters because that is where her children play. Her two adventurous boys love to fish and explore in the beautiful clear waterways that flow through Trussville, AL. She has been organizing Cahaba Headwaters Cleanups since 2018 and she is now working hard to improve our watershed as a director of Friends of Pinchgut Creek. She also volunteers as a member of Trussville’s Tree Commission. Recently, Jean was recognized as the Cahaba River Society’s Conservationist of the Year.

She spends as much time as possible exploring and adventuring with her family. When she runs out of energy you can find her hanging around, napping in her hammock.

Brett Martin

Brett is an experienced erosion control and storm water management inspector. Before settling in Trussville, He graduated from the University of Alabama, and lived in Oakland, California where he managed a touring band and organized music and art festivals. During his travels he encountered many rivers and streams of the western part of the country. Struck by their clean clear water, Brett gained a newfound appreciation for these natural wonders. Eventually his adventures carried him back down stream to Alabama where he met his wife, Summer. Brett and Summer now have two children who love spending their days in the creeks and streams that flow through their hometown.

Olivia Jean (Jeannie) Nabers

Jeannie is a Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother and retired Physical Therapist Assistant.  She has always been “environmentally conscious” and had a love for all things in Nature.  Having worked some years for her father’s company, Jones Environmental Engineers, that built water and wastewater treatment plants across the Southeast, one of Jeannie’s main interests is ensuring clean water for everyone.  As a Member of The Friends of Pinchgut Creek, she hopes to use her varied background to encourage others to seek the same goal.

Cheryl Hamilton

Originally from the twin states of Vermont and New Hampshire, Cheryl grew up alongside the Connecticut River which serves as the border between VT and NH. In that rural upbringing, green space was something she took for granted – rolling hills, fields of cattle grazing, wading in local creeks to play with salamanders, snowshoeing in birch tree forests, collecting sap from maple trees tapped in late winter.  

When she moved to Alabama, the beautiful field behind her home and surrounding green spaces were what made her decide to settle in Trussville. 23 years later, when the field behind her neighborhood was developed, it was a wakeup call for her. Cheryl started volunteering more, fighting to keep green spaces in Trussville, and she became actively involved in work to protect our waterways that are endangered by the rapid pace of development. She is proud to be part of a group that is raising awareness of a little creek that packs a big environmental punch.