Board of Directors

Valley View Foundation is an Ohio non-profit corporation. Just like for-profit corporations, Valley View has a Board of Directors that makes decisions, sets policy and and identifies the strategy for Valley View to implement its mission of conserving land, preserving history and sharing it with the community.

Valley View began with a five member Board of Directors with Bob Laudeman serving as our first president. Today we have the following members on our Board.

 

Chris Habel, President of the Board of Directors

Chris was instrumental in the founding of the organization and our efforts since 2002 to raise over $2 million to purchase and secure the land. He serves many roles for the organization. Chris is an attorney with a degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Chris is a partner in the Environmental Practice Group at the law firm Frost Brown Todd LLC in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a former construction worker and very involved in the management of his law firm. Chris brings all those skills to bear on behalf of Valley View with discipline and fiscal responsibility. He has made substantial financial donations to Valley View especially at times when it seemed like Valley View would never become a reality. He has committed countless hours of his professional time as well as time with his truck and tools from his construction days to stabilize and restore our barns, construct our community garden and spearhead numerous property improvement efforts. He lives in Mt. Lookout with his wife Angela and their three children.

Andy Dickerson, Vice President

Andy was involved in the efforts to protect this land long before Valley View was formed. Andy is a resident of South Milford and has extensive experience "putting conservation on the ground" through land protection, prairie and wetlands restoration projects. He serves as Chair of our Land Management Committee. Andy received a B.A. in Zoology from Miami University and a Masters of Environmental Science and Policy- Ecosystem Management from the University of Wisconsin. Andy works as a private consultant on habitat and conservation issues across North America, with a particular focus on migratory birds.

Dave Liles, Treasurer

Dave and his wife Jen became involved in the efforts to protect the land long before Valley View was formed. At that time, Dave and Jen were involved in the leadership of the South Milford Neighborhood Association, the neighborhood adjacent to Valley View. Dave is an avid outdoorsman and Jen is our main link to Pattison Elementary School. Dave serves on our Finance and Development Committee. He lives in Milford and works for Fidelity Investments.

Cathy Gatch, Secretary

Cathy's ancestors have lived in Milford since the early 1800s. As a resident of South Milford, Cathy was active in efforts to protect the land for many years before Valley View was formed. Cathy is passionate about growing Valley View to serve many needs in the community including educational programming. She also knows many people throughout Milford and Clermont County and is active in the League of Women Voters and several other organizations. She serves as Co-Chair of our Outreach Committee. Cathy owns The Milford Pottery which operates out of a historic barn on land overlooking Valley View.

Bob Laudeman

Bob is our immediate past president and founder. He represents the sixth generation of his family to live and work near Valley View. His ancestors farmed a large portion of the Valley View site and built the historic barns. Before his family was forced to sell the farmland for financial reasons in the early 1960s, Bob worked the farm with his father and grandfather. He has a vivid memory of how the farm was operated and an extensive collection of family photos, memoirs and artifacts that have been passed down for generations to document the activities on the land for almost 200 years. Bob retired from General Electric Aircraft Engines after almost 30 years of as a purchasing and contract manager.

Mark Pohlman

Mark is a resident of Indian Hill and volunteer with Valley View. Mark first became interested in Valley View when he drove by the property and stopped for a hike. Mark Joined the Board in 2009. Mark is a business development executive with BHE Environmental, a full service environmental consulting firm in Cincinnati that specializes in traditional environmental site assessment and remedial work as well as solar, wind, habitat restoration and sustainability projects.

Tom Wagner

Tom has been an important donor and volunteer with Valley View for many years. In 2006 he joined our Board. He lives adjacent to Valley View and is passionate about improving the property through proper management techniques. While he has currently conceded defeat to the deer and groundhogs that have devoured his crops in years past,

Mike McCurdy

Mike Joined our Board in 2009. Mike has been an key member of the Milford community for years. He's a retired teacher from Milford High School. He is a Board Member of the Greater Milford Area Historical Society and active in numerous other civic and community efforts. Mike has brought his crew from Habitat for Humanity to Valley View between homebuilding projects to work on the restoration of our historic barns.

Advisory Board

We also have an Advisory Board of past Board Members and community experts and supporters of the organization including:

John Hauck

John was also involved in the efforts to protect the land before Valley View was formed. John is a resident of South Milford and active throughout the Greater Cincinnati philanthropic community. John has been instrumental in securing over $300,000 in private grant funds from local private foundations and donors. John is an attorney in solo practice at the Law Offices of John W. Hauck in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Tim Langner

Tim became involved in the efforts to protect the land shortly before Valley View was formed. At that time, Tim was the president of the Milford Gun Club, an organization that has existed since the 1930s on land near Valley View. Tim is an avid outdoorsman who retired from decades of work as a sales executive (or as Tim describes it a "peddler") for a logistical software provider to the transportation industry. Tim provides the wisdom of his years and business experience to help guide the Foundation. He previously served as our Treasurer and as Chair of our Finance and Development Committee. He lives in Milford.