Meet Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful’s Team…

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OUR STAFF

Kathleen Gibi - Executive Director,
BOAT CAPTAIN

Kathleen has led Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful since January 2019 and served as the organization’s only boat captain until she expanded the fleet and staff in 2023. Since the inaugural boat launch in 2019, Kathleen has collaborated with an incredibly active board, invested partners, and passionate volunteers to remove over 700,000 lbs. of trash from the Tennessee River watershed. She also launched new infrastructure programs such as the largest network of electric litter skimmers on any river system in the world and art-wrapped cigarette receptacles that now total in more than 1,400 installed in all 7 states of the Tennessee River watershed. That includes Dollywood, which was the 1st theme park in the world to recycle the plastic from every cigarette butt the park collects through KTNRB’s program. Since 2019, KTNRB has received a dozen national and state awards including the Innovation Award from Keep America Beautiful and Nonprofit Recycler of the Year from the Tennessee Recycling Coalition.

Prior to her current position, she served as communications specialist at the City of Knoxville for 15 years, serving under four mayors and specializing in parks and recreation as well as other public works departments. There, she worked with Living Lands & Waters to initiate the 2015 Tennessee River Tour, which eventually led to TVA and Keep Tennessee Beautiful forming Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful. She also served as the Let’s Move! Liaison for the City of Knoxville to the National League of Cities, collaborating with local government entities. This work led to Knoxville/Knox County ranking no. 1 in the nation among Let’s Move! Cities, Towns, & Counties initiative and the National League of Cities naming Kathleen the ‘2015 Most Dedicated Staff Member’ award recipient.

Kathleen has also worked in marketing / communications consultation on the side, most notably serving 2009-2012 as media liaison for Jenny Berggren, lead singer from the 90s pop sensation, Ace of Base. Kathleen currently serves on the National Recreation and Parks Association Magazine board and serves on the board for the East Tennessee Childhood Obesity Coalition. In 2022, she graduated from the Leadership Tennessee NEXT program.

Press Release - 12.20.18

tatia harris - communications contributor

Tatia helps out with communications work for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful, including writing media and promotions content, making social media posts, and any other communications needs. She currently serves in a full-time position as Chief Culture Officer at Metro RTA in Akron, Ohio. This was a recent move for Tatia, and her prior experience was working in the Mayor’s Office of Communications and in the Community Relations Dept. at the City of Knoxville, Tenn. There, she participated in any and every outdoor activity that she could along the Tennessee River, whether it be a dragon boat racing fundraiser or running a half-marathon along the river in the Knoxville Marathon. Before moving to Akron, Tatia participated in cleanup efforts with Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful. With her dad being a competitive swimmer, her first memory is being in the ocean with her father showing her how to swim. Tatia’s excited to do her part to raise awareness for the Tennessee River watershed!

Moira Holland - administrative assistant

Moira Holland is a versatile Administrative Assistant with over 10 years of experience in leadership, problem-solving, and workflow prioritization. She has a background working in education, where she managed student records, prepared reports, and supported department operations. Moira fits right into KTnRB volunteer work as she has long been an active community volunteer, serving as the Food Bank Coordinator for her local pantry.

Garrett Mccoy - community project specialist

Garrett is KTnRB’s current AmeriCorps member and he brings valuable experience to the team! He found his way to KTnRB through a search for something more fulfilling where he could give back to the community and environment. He became fascinated with the Tennessee River watershed and surrounding woodlands while serving as a whitewater raft guide for the first time on the Pigeon River in 2023. Hailing from Texas, he previously served with American Conservation Experience or A.C.E, a branch of AmeriCorps in Utah, where he developed a strong resolve as he repaired miles of trails and reinforced wildlife habitats to preserve the environment. In Garrett’s spare time, he enjoys camping, hiking, mountain biking, and finding new creatures. All of this culminates to make Garrett the perfect fit for managing our Adopt a Storm Drain program and furthering our river cleanup efforts across the 7-state Tennessee River watershed!

Coming position - education outreach Coordinator

Soon, Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful will hire its first Education Outreach Coordinator. Among other tasks, this position will oversee community outreach to create awareness around protecting our river system and develop youth education programs. The Education Outreach Coordinator will also be trained to operate KTNRB’s 26-foot work boats to drive volunteers to clean shorelines at river cleanups. Keep an eye out on LinkedIn to apply for this position.