A Message from Board Chair Jeff Rader
As the 2026 South Fork Board Chair, I’m proud to lead an organization that is changing to fulfill its mission to Conserve, Restore and Connect the Creek to many stakeholders! South Fork is expanding its efforts to respond to the needs of the watershed and the people who enjoy and depend upon it every day.
When I first joined the South Fork Board in 2024, one of the first events I attended was a day-long retreat reviewing our accomplishments against our mission, and focusing on where we needed to go next. South Fork was just winding up a series of major capital projects and expansions of access to points along the creek, and looking forward to new challenges. But our retreat revealed that we understood less than we needed to know about the environmental health of the resource, and the state of the creek’s headwaters east of Emory University. As a result, the Board formed a new “Eco” committee to learn more and to gather what we learn into a tool to use to make South Fork healthier.
In 2025, South Fork worked to maintain the improvements we sponsored and to collaborate with local governments where the creek flows. We learned of plans in Clarkston and Tucker to initiate trail systems in their jurisdictions that include the South Fork. And we made the successful transition to a new Executive Director with Kayla Altland, who succeeds Kimberly Estep when she took a position with the City of Atlanta.
“We can support diverse stakeholder groups, from neighbors who want quality water to sister organizations specializing in the natural environment to government stewards.”
In November, I was on-deck to serve as Chair. Our Governance Committee, led by Julie Ralston, suggested a retreat to prepare for a new Chapter. I am thankful we did! It revealed real opportunity to supplement our prior efforts with new initiatives that can insure that people in the watershed and beyond realize and enjoy the unique contribution that our creek makes to quality of life, recreational opportunities, and the natural world. We can do this by becoming more expert on the creek, its resources, and challenges. We can support diverse stakeholder groups from neighbors interested in water quality to sister organizations specialized in the natural environment to government stewards.
The graphic below summarizes the Strategic Plan we adopted in January. We have followed up with a detailed work program, and will now set about assembling the resources to implement. We are fortunate to have a strong Board, adequate resources to begin, and a genuinely inclusive vision of our role in working with others to elevate this great natural resource to greater visibility, ecological health and recreational relevance, serving as greenspace and an essential riparian asset to the entire region. Join me on this journey; learn more about our plans by reviewing our Strategic Framework below.
