Cory Rayburn
District Supervisor
(He/Him/His)
Cory Rayburn is a Stormwater Utility Manager for Jacobs who specializes in promoting sustainable and innovative solutions to protect and restore our water resources. Throughout his nearly two-decade long career, Cory has provided invaluable guidance in natural resources conservation and restoration, erosion and sediment control, land development, floodplain protection, and stormwater management and has produced consistent results for a variety of clients and constituents. In his current role, Cory manages the newly created Stormwater Utility for the City of Johns Creek. He oversees the asset management program for over 23,300 stormwater structures and is developing a master plan to improve water quality and reduce flooding.
Prior to joining Jacobs, Cory worked for the City of Atlanta's Department of Watershed Management for 13 years. He played a key role in integrating green stormwater infrastructure into development standards and capital improvement projects. Cory also oversaw the design and construction of Rodney Cook, Sr. Park in Historic Vine City, a $27-million project to help solve historic flooding issues using green infrastructure in a park setting. As a strong steward for the environment, Cory’s efforts have been lauded by local government and the industry, and have set the bar for green infrastructure practices in Georgia.
Cory currently serves as a District Supervisor for the Fulton County Soil and Water Conservation District, a member of Governor Kemp’s Stakeholder Advisory Board, and Immediate Past President for the Southeast Stormwater Association. Cory is a certified Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission trainer for erosion and sediment control classes and presents at key industry events and workshops nationwide. Cory received his B.S. in Environmental Health Science from the University of Georgia and his M.S. in Civil Engineering from Kennesaw State University.
Jason Ulseth
District Supervisor
(He/Him/His)
jasonulseth@gmail.com
Jason Ulseth is a Georgia native who grew up fishing and boating on the Chattahoochee River. During his childhood, he developed a love and passion for the river and our natural environment. In further pursuit of this passion, he attended the University of Georgia and earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health in 2003. He then went on to work for nearly 5 years for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission.
In 2007, he joined the team at Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (CRK) as the organization’s Technical Programs Director. Effective January 2015, Jason assumed the role of Riverkeeper and serves as the organization’s lead river protection advocate and spokesperson. He also serves as CRK’s lead boat captain and is licensed by the United States Coast Guard as a Merchant Marine Officer to captain passenger vessels of up to 50 tons.
Jason is an expert in stormwater management and is a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control and a Georgia certified Design Professional and Trainer. He is also an elected District Supervisor of the Fulton County Soil and Water Conservation District.
Jason is a graduate of the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leadership, class of 2016. In 2019, Atlanta Magazine listed Jason as one of Atlanta’s Top 500 Most Powerful Leaders.
Jason and his wife, Dawn, currently reside in Johns Creek with their two children.
Charles Greenlea
District Supervisor
(He/Him/His)
Charles Greenlea’s roots run deep in the red clay of Georgia’s soil. A multigenerational resident of Atlanta, GA and the descendant of a long line of growers, educators, entrepreneurs, and organizers, Charles was cultivated to serve his community in a unique way. Since he began nurturing his interests in agriculture and food systems in 2012, Mr. Greenlea has piloted a mobile farmers’ market, managed multiple community gardens, urban farms, and campus gardens at Spelman College in Atlanta and Tougaloo College in Mississippi. He has also taught agriculture and environmental science in public and private schools in Jackson, MS and Atlanta. While in MS, Charles worked closely with Co-op New West Jackson, a resident-led and owned community development cooperative. As the former Program Director for HABESHA, Inc., he facilitated and managed the operations of multiple agricultural and green workforce development programs that served youth, adults, and senior citizens. In 2017, Charles completed a training in tropical agriculture development from Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization (ECHO) in Ft. Meyers, FL, as well as a bamboo cultivation and construction training from the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In 2018, Charles graduated from the Small Farmers Agricultural Leadership Institute at Southern University and the Atlanta Watershed Learning Network. He currently serves as a supervisor for the Fulton County Soil and Water Conservation District, board member for Black Sustainability, Inc., Agroforestry Manager for the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, and founder of ECO-PARADIGM, LLC, a social enterprise that provides agricultural labor and infrastructure support and land management services to historically disadvantaged farmers and communities. Charles loves people and nature and sees the work he does as an opportunity to help others sustain themselves and their communities through environmental stewardship.
The Fulton County Soil and Water Conservation District is comprised of five District Supervisors: 3 elected and 2 appointed. District supervisors are unpaid state officials who work hand-in-hand with the Georgia Soil & Water Conservation Commission, NRCS, and local governments. Walter S. Rekuc
District Supervisor
(He/Him/His)
Rekuc is the Construction Project Manager for Fulton County Public Works and is managing the $330 million dollar expansion of the Big Creek Water Reclamation Facility in Roswell, Georgia.
Walter has spent over forty years in the development and construction of residential and commercial properties involving acquisition, entitlement, and development. Most recently, Walt was President at Hillside Development, Vice President at Eastern Development Group, Jim Cowart Residential, Gwinnett Partners, and Eagle Real Estate Advisors. At these firms and with his present company, he has developed over 3,200 residential lots, 30 commercial lots, 2 commercial buildings, and 10 recreation facilities within 40 different communities with construction cost for these projects over $300 million dollars, One of the communities Walter developed won the highest honor in the real estate industry from National Association of Home Builders and Professional Builders Magazine for the Best in American Living for Best Community Design, for Developments over 151 Homes, for Rivermoore Park in the City of Suwanee. The Gwinnett County Historic Society awarded one of Walter’s projects the Best Historic Preservation Project in the County. Another project of Walt’s won the Exceptional Merit Award for Development Design in the Expansion of a Town Center, presented by the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Regional Business Coalition in 2002 for The Villages at Lafayette Park in the City of Fayetteville. He is active in the Metro Atlanta Communities and serves as Supervisor on the Fulton County Soil and Water Conservation Commission for 22 years. He was the Vice Chairman of the City of Milton Board of Zoning Appeals for 10 years. He serves as a Board Member of the Gwinnett County Development Advisory Board for 12 years and is the Past President of the Georgia Section of Institute of Transportation Engineers. He recently finished 21 years of volunteer service to the March of Dimes and was awarded their Lifetime Distinguished Service Award.
Walter earned his degrees in Civil Engineering from Southern Polytechnic State University. He also worked in the public sector as City Engineer and Director of Public Works for the City of Roswell, Deputy Public Works Director/ Capital Improvement Manager for the City of Sandy Springs and as Senior Engineer for the City of Atlanta. Having worked both in the public and private sectors and through the boards he has served on he has developed relationships that prove invaluable in navigating the complex permitting processes and developing projects through the entitlement and regulatory process.
Alan Toney
Chairman
(He/Him/His)
mudflat@comcast.net
Alan Toney is a fourth generation Atlantan. He is a retired businessman and an avid fly fisherman. As a member of Friends of the River he helped create the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area. He was Vice Chair of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Atlanta Development Planning Committee during the implementation of Metropolitan River Protection Act. He has been a Soil and Water Supervisor since 1995 and he believes that protecting the Waters of Georgia is central to promoting smart growth and livability of the Metro Atlanta Area.