Board of Trustees

Keith Corkwell
President

Keith Corkwell, President of Lubrizol Additives Americas for the Lubrizol Corporation, is returning to service on the Foundation board after taking a short hiatus after serving two prior 3-year terms. Keith contributes his strengths toward administration, management, fundraising and event support. He is active with the Boy Scouts of America, formerly as Camp Director, Cubmaster, Scoutmaster and now Committee Chair of Boy Scout Troop 99.

Sheryl Vernon, CPA
Secretary

Sheryl has worked as a non-profit accountant, taught accounting at a local college, worked as an external auditor for a local CPA firm, and performed internal auditing at a local university. Sheryl joined the Foundation in 2018 as a volunteer member of the Finance Committee and joined the Foundation Board as a Trustee in 2020. She began serving as the Treasurer in 2022. She grew up loving the Metroparks in Cuyahoga County and after moving to Auburn Township, began hiking in the many Geauga County parks with her husband.

Mark Sarlson
Treasurer

Mark joined the board of trustees in January 2023. He is an attorney with Roetzel & Andress, and is active on the boards of Prevent Blindness, Cascade Capital Corporation and Growth Capital Corporation. Having served nonprofits for nearly 30 years, Mark brings a wealth of experience to FGP. For the past seven years he has explored many parks in Northeast Ohio and is looking forward to being more involved in Geauga County.

Elizabeth Basich
Trustee

Elizabeth Basich serves as the Vice President of Intelligence Operations and Collection Strategy at Babel Street. With over 15 years of experience in open source data, she has cultivated a strong passion for assisting clients across both private and public sectors in transforming data into actionable insights within a complex and continuously evolving information landscape. She is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Management with a concentration in Information Systems. Liz is a certified yoga teacher and an aspiring trail runner. You can find her most weekends running trails at the West Woods or putting in long miles on the Maple Highlands Trail. Liz also holds a position on the Board of Directors for the West Side Catholic Center, an organization dedicated to serving those in need in the Greater Cleveland area.

Carl Brondel
Trustee

Carl joined the Board of Trustees in July 2024. He has recently retired after a 30-year career directing and advising companies with their safety and environmental management efforts. Carl grew up in the Adirondack Mountains region of New York and is a graduate of Colgate University with a degree in Biology, with a concentration in environmental sciences. A resident of Geauga County for the past 25 years, he has hiked in many of its parks and fished in many of its rivers and streams. Carl also serves as a board member of EdFOCUS Initiative, a non-profit organization that provides consulting services to schools to help raise student achievement and is a volunteer with the Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity.

Andy Bushman
Trustee

Andy joined the board of trustees in January 2023 after volunteering on committees through 2022.

Charles Grasser
Trustee

Chuck joined the board of trustees in July of 2024.

Mark Halford
Trustee

Mark has worked in analysis and product development/marketing over the years, most recently as the Lead Government Programs Data Analyst for Medical Mutual of Ohio. He holds a BA from Bowling Green State University and an MBA from Lake Erie College. In addition to joining the Foundation for Geauga Parks in 2024, he is also a Trustee for Family Pride of Northeast Ohio and is involved with organizations such as Leadership Geauga County. As to why Mark was drawn to serve on the Foundation board he stated, “This county has an amazing number of natural areas being preserved at the county, township, and village/city levels. It’s uniquely Geauga. I wanted to contribute to sustaining and preserving our natural heritage." Mark resides in Chardon Township.

Engelina Koberna
Trustee

Engelina Koberna is a documentary film producer at In the Bubble Productions, following her extensive tenure of fourteen years with the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival. She brings over thirty years of experience in Special Events, Creative, and Production roles to the Foundation for Geauga Parks Board of Trustees. Her debut documentary, Hiking through Grief, is set to release this spring, exploring the therapeutic benefits of nature and community. A long-time resident of Geauga County, Engelina enjoys hiking, swimming, and outdoor activities in her free time. In addition to her professional roles, she is the President of Kensington Green HOA, currently in her third term, and was an active board member of Hope for Kids, Geauga. Engelina also led initiatives to provide internet access to over 300 low-income households during the pandemic.

William Lundstrom
Trustee

Bill recently joined the board of trustees in January 2025.

Marcia Owen
Trustee

A long time Geauga County resident, Marcia has been a park appreciator since growing up among the fields and forests near Punderson State Park. A graduate of Ohio University with a B.A. in Business Administration, she has broad experience in operations management from her years working in the media production industry and in nonprofit economic development at Geauga Growth Partnership. Retired, she also serves on the Geauga County Genealogical Society and the Geauga County Library Foundation. An avid cyclist and hiker, you will likely find her in one of our many Geauga and NEO parks or taking trips with her husband to hike in our National Parks.

Linda Brown Pallay
Trustee

Linda, who joined the board in 2020, owns her business psychology practice where she works with clients’ people-related needs in talent management, assessment, and executive coaching. She finds it difficult to sit at her desk for hours so she hikes our Geauga park trails regularly, treasuring the precious gifts that these wonderful spaces afford us.

David Patterson
Trustee

David Patterson is a 6th generation Fruit Grower in Geauga County. He feels the conservation of open lands and the education of the public to the importance of nature are two fundamentals that make the park systems so valuable to residents of Geauga County, as well as visitors from surrounding counties. As a new trustee to the Foundation for Geauga Parks in 2025, he hopes to continue providing opportunities for new land acquisitions, development of current properties, and support for naturalist programs in our local parks.

Jodi Smoley
Trustee

Jodi is a seasoned Registered Veterinary Technician and Veterinary Clinic Manager. She joined the Board of Trustees in 2025 bringing with her a fresh perspective, thoughtful opinions and passion for creating strong relationships. A proud resident of Geauga County, Jodi enjoys life with her family and pets, embracing the area's community and natural beauty.

Eric Sukalac
Trustee

Eric Sukalac is Chief Product Officer for TPA Stream, Inc., a software service organization helping with administration of employee benefits. He has a B.S degree in Computer Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. Eric hopes to contribute his enthusiasm for Geauga County and its many parks, as well a strong technical and strategic planning background.

Richard Frenchie
Emeritus Trustee

Richard J. Frenchie’s passion is for education, health care and philanthropy. He has served as a Director on many boards, working to make a difference both for Geauga County and Ohio. Richard served on the Foundation’s board from 2008 – 2014, the last five years as President, and currently serves as an Emeritus Trustee. Richard lives in Chagrin Falls.

Christine Davidson
Executive Director

Having grown up in Colorado, Christine developed an early mindset toward conservation and preservation of nature and natural resources. She moved to Ohio as an adult and fell in love with its people and its lush landscape. Christine considers it a privilege to be part of a team helping to build a legacy for all generations and inspiring youth to appreciate nature. "Having a job that aligns with my passions makes it easy to share our story and further our mission to raise money to preserve green space, enhance trails for public enjoyment and educate our children about all the natural wonders Geauga County has to offer." Christine and her husband, Matt, live in Bainbridge.

Erin Stevenson
Administrative Associate

Erin joins the Foundation with a sincere interest in the outdoors having grown up in rural Pennsylvania among the trees and streams of her family’s forest. She has extensive experience as a business analyst having worked for environmental consulting firms and local companies, most recently with the Eaton Corporation. Erin is a Penn State University graduate with a B.S. in Environmental and Renewable Resource Economics. She resides with her family in Chesterland and engages in numerous volunteer activities for West Geauga Schools, Scouts, and coaching youth sports. When she is not working or volunteering, you will often find Erin cheering for her kids on various sports fields or participating in Geauga Park programs with (or without) her children.