Board of Directors
We are so thankful to our Board of Directors, who give their time and talent to help Red Oaks bring the mission to life. Learn more about their unique stories.
Amy meyer
President of the Board
Amy’s earliest memories outdoors are in a tree in Texas. Her older brother added boards to be used as a ladder to his "tree house" so that she could climb as well. She spent many joyful days there and found solace among the leaves when she learned of my grandmother's passing. Throughout childhood, swinging, finding bugs, and gathering flowers and rocks continued to be some of her favorite activities.
As an adult, Amy jumped at the opportunity to use her BA in marketing and MBA to help grow the tourism industry in the Red River Gorge by working for Red River Gorge Zipline and Cliffview Resort. Spending so much time in the area, the Gorge became her second home. Now she is raising my toddler twins and teaching yoga in Lexington. She enjoys all opportunities to encourage her children's connections to nature and look forward to more opportunities to spend time in the Gorge. It always amazes her how much she learns and relishes in the moments to slow down and see the world through her childrens' eyes. She believes the Red Oaks mission to connect our little ones to nature is essential to raising confident, compassionate adults.
Amy Dourson
Treasurer
A decade ago, Amy Dourson’s favorite tree species was the Sycamore, because, frankly, its peeling white bark made it the only tree she could reliably (or even semi-reliably) identify. Similarly, she completely overlooked the lack of healthy tree culture in the city parks and small arboretums she frequented in Cincinnati (where she worked at Cincinnati Children’s hospital as a genetics research assistant), in Dayton (where she graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Biology with concentrations in Women’s Studies and Developmental Biology) or in Yellow Springs, Ohio (where she owned and operated a small organic farm named Radical Roots and was a straw-bale home builder).
It was not until a blind-date introduction to her now husband, Aaron Dourson, and her subsequent first trip down to the Gorge, that she began to see the wonder of it all. A wonder of trees, birds, mosses, rocks, leaves, sticks, water, worms – the wild and round and unimaginably intricate lacing of “the alive” with “all that supports life.” These, and a sense of true quiet and calm, are the lessons the forest demonstrated for her.
Now, eight years into her gorge-licious-life, Amy co-owns and operates Red River Gorgeous, a wilderness cabin and treehouse rental company that gladly offers everything from outhouses to solar panels. She is a founding member of the community-based planning organization Red River Gorge United, and tests her editorial prowess as assistant editor for the international academic journal Violence Against Women. But most dear to her heart, and most intimately tied to her daily waverings and sensibilities surrounding patience, love and brute perseverance, she also tows an uncharted line between unschooling (as beautifully described by Ben Hewitt in his book Homegrown), homeschooling, and letting the forest school their three children: Finn (b. 2013), Teagan (’16) and Leland (’19).
SARAH JANE WEBB
Vice president
Sarah Jane often harks back to a visceral memory of a childhood dressed in a snowsuit, hat, and gloves and carrying two buckets through shoulder-high snow from the house, bringing warm water to the family’s horses. As an adult, Sarah Jane considers herself gritty, resilient, often dirty, and most free and wild when outside. She attributes much of this behavior to life on the farm. The dedication necessary to having horses assisted in shaping her work ethic and to this day, she honors that time outside for how it promotes the continuous development of empathy, community, self-growth, and her workmanship-like approach to life.
Sarah Jane and her husband, Dane, welcomed their son, Terran Fox, in 2016 at their home in Frankfort, Kentucky. Her world was forever changed! Terran shines in nature and much like his mother, overcomes uneasy feelings when exploring and moving outside. Sarah Jane is an advocate for nature immersion for ALL ages and ALL humans and continues to teach her son by example. She guides his education through a wild, free, and empathetic way of teaching.
Sarah Jane is a professional photographer who specializes in capturing the magic of food. Check out her website here.
jamie fitzwater
Secretary
Jamie believes in the power of nature and the community that can be built around it. She has spent many years advocating for local food systems in Somerset, where she resides, including starting a farmers market, a local food retail store, and the Kentucky Green Living Fair—one of Kentucky's largest sustainability events. She is also a writer whose work has been featured in Hobby Farms and New Pioneer magazine. In 2014, Jamie was awarded the Crave Civic Agriculture award for her work as a local food advocate in Kentucky. Jamie now works at Community Farm Alliance, a nonprofit that supports small-scale Kentucky farmers.
As a long time Red Oaks member, Jamie has enjoyed seeing the transformative magic of nature through the eyes of her four children, no matter the season or weather. The friendships built and the memories made will last a lifetime. Her hope is for all children to have the privilege to go into the woods and find the solace that is freely available there.