Sheila’s last day at the Conservancy was Friday, August 19. She and her husband Dave Yori are planning to relocate to the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania. They look forward to traveling across the U.S. and Canada and spending more time with friends and family. Sheila and Dave both enjoy hiking with their pups Madison and Dunkin, kayaking, fishing and mountain biking.

In 2010 during the “great recession,” Sheila created an ambitious regional planning initiative called the Brandywine Creek Greenway. The Greenway would provide a forum for the Conservancy to better connect with municipalities and citizens along the Brandywine and to build a greater constituency for water quality, open space and trails.

Together with the Conservancy’s development team, Sheila pitched the project to the William Penn Foundation, which has since provided hundreds of thousands of dollars towards priority Greenway planning initiatives.

Significant accomplishments along the Brandywine Creek Greenway since 2010 include 60 miles of trail studies:

  • Northern Struble Trail Feasibility Study (13.5 miles)
  • Brandywine Trail Feasibility Study (35 miles)
  • Walkable Chadds Ford (1.5 miles)
  • Mill Trail Feasibility Study (4.5 miles)
  • Beaver Creek Trail Feasibility Study (3 miles)
  • Octoraro Trail Feasibility Study (2.5 miles)

Other notable accomplishments:

  • Strategic Action Plan (PA and DE)
  • Bike the Brandywine
  • Brandywine Creek Water Trail Feasibility Study
  • Brandywine Creek Greenway App
  • Brandywine Creek Greenway Mini-Grant