Blue Ridge Discovery Center is made up of a passionate contingent of staff and volunteers who are dedicated to exploring, discovering and sharing the Blue Ridge. The common thread that ties us all together is the belief that everyone should have a chance to experience the treasures of these mountains. In our midst you'll find the likes of wildlife biologists, writers, artists, birders, fly anglers, and more.
Lisa Benish - EXecutive Director
Originally from the piedmont region of North Carolina, Lisa has called the Blue Ridge her home for over 32 years. Since joining the BRDC team in 2014, she utilizes her years of volunteer experience with youth programs, extensive outdoor skills, leadership qualities, and strength in business administration, to masterfully develop, implement and manage BRDC facilities and operations, personnel, participants, and budgets.
In her free time, she is likely fly fishing, seeking a particular species of butterfly or bird, or enjoying her time in an off-the-grid walled tent. She loves to travel and has a great sense of adventure and eagerly shares her passion for nature and natural history.
Lisa employs her natural history knowledge, outdoor skill-set, and passion and enthusiasm for the Blue Ridge to inspire both BRDC and our youth.
EMMA LATHER - Program coordinator
Emma grew up in eastern North Carolina and central Virginia and spent her childhood summers pulling live sand dollars out of Outer Banks salt marshes and searching out waterfalls in the Blue Ridge mountains. After graduating from William & Mary with a B.S. in Data Science and a B.S. in Environmental Science and Policy in 2019, Emma supported families doing home learning in the Washington, DC area during the Covid-19 lockdown. She then journeyed to the Midwest for graduate school, where she studied the intersection of bird population metrics with protected areas and disturbed habitat around buildings, earning her M.S. in Forestry from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2023.
After graduate school, Emma stumbled into the world of environmental education in her search for ways to tie her love of ecology to her love of connecting kids with the outdoors. She served a one-year AmeriCorps term at The Nature Place in La Crosse, Wisconsin as an Environmental Educator, leading summer day camps and field trips and developing a homeschool science program, before returning home to Virginia and finding a new home at the Blue Ridge Discovery Center.
In her free time, Emma loves playing pretend for grown-ups (Dungeons & Dragons), exploring the outdoors with her husband and her dog, and trying her hand at new crafts.
Brendan murphy - Naturalist Educator
Growing up, Brendan split his time exploring the town of Vienna in northern Virginia and his family’s property in Greene county on the border of Shenandoah National Park. The Blue Ridge mountains harbored his love for the outdoors from a young age.
Brendan graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor's Degree of Biology. In his studies, he delved into his interests by taking classes in ecology, entomology, and environmental science. He had the opportunity to participate in projects as an undergrad research assistant, most of which involved assessing contaminated streams.
After graduating college, Brendan completed his dream of thru hiking the Appalachian Trail. He took five months to hike the 2,200 mile trail and loved (almost) every step of it. After experiencing so much of what these mountains have to offer, he is so excited to share his passion with others.
Neil Fredericksen - Naturalist Educator
Neil grew up in Ferrum, VA, surrounded by forests. Following in his parents’ footsteps, he developed a very strong love for wildlife. His house was filled with different animals from snakes to turtles to flying squirrels to owls as his mother did her job as a wildlife rehabilitator. This exposure to wildlife led Neil to become the youngest Virginia Master Naturalist at the age of 13 with the Blue Ridge Foothills and Lakes chapter.
He attended Emory and Henry College with a pursuit in wildlife conservation and biology, graduating with a B.S. in Environmental Science and a B.A. in Biology in Spring 2024. Not sure what wildlife he was most interested in, he came across Whitetop Mountain and learned about the high diversity of salamanders. Instantly enraptured by the sheer quantity of species, he pursued the goal of becoming a herpetologist. From this came multiple opportunities to speak and present on salamanders for various organizations like state parks and the Virginia Master Naturalist training courses. It also landed him a job as a lead herpetology instructor and counselor at Nature Camp Inc. in Raphine, VA, where he has worked four summers teaching children about reptiles and amphibians.
To pursue further education on reptiles and amphibians, Neil participated in and completed the Amphibian Foundation’s Master Herpetologist program and conducted research on spot-pattern recognition and camera surveys of Eastern Red-Spotted Newts. Neil had gained exposure to the Blue Ridge Discovery Center through his classes and volunteer opportunities during naturalist rallies and joined the team to continue learning more about the world, especially the salamanders and sharing his passion with others.
Sarah Collie - Public Relations/Outreach Coordinator
A seventh-generation daughter of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, Sarah grew up running wild in the hills and hollers of Taylor’s Valley—foraging for edible plants, studying aquatic critters, and building forts with her brothers and younger cousins.
A graduate of Holston High School, Sarah later obtained a B.A. in English and Communications at Milligan University, with an emphasis on environmental literature. After college, Sarah thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, realizing a childhood dream and further grounding her in her beloved Appalachian Mountains.
Sarah joins the Blue Ridge Discovery Center as the Public Relations and Outreach Coordinator. When not at the front desk writing a social media post, you’ll find Sarah hiking one of the many local trails with her partner and their dog, or choppin’ time at the nearest pickin’ circle.