Lisa Rider – Executive Director
Lisa Rider is the Executive Director of Coastal Carolina Riverwatch and a proud coastal North Carolina native. She brings more than 15 years of local government experience and more than six years of nonprofit executive leadership, with a career spanning solid waste infrastructure, coastal resource management, water quality protection and policy development, and community-based environmental advocacy. She also has more than 30 years of volunteer experience focused on marine debris removal and coastal stewardship.
Lisa earned both her Bachelor of Science in Behavior and Social Science and her Master of Public Administration from North Carolina Central University, graduating magna cum laude. Her academic training, combined with decades of field and leadership experience, has shaped her practical and collaborative approach to public service, environmental protection, and community engagement.
A longtime leader in marine debris prevention and response, Lisa founded the North Carolina Marine Debris Symposium and has served on the Mid-Atlantic NOAA Marine Debris Program Consortium. Her work has centered on building practical partnerships that connect local communities, government agencies, researchers, and nonprofit organizations to protect coastal quality of water and quality of life. In her spare time, Lisa is a certified PADI scuba diving instructor and has been guiding North Carolina divers since 2014.
Lisa has been recognized throughout her career for leadership in conservation, public education, and waste reduction. Her honors include the North Carolina Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award as Conservation Communicator of the Year, the North Carolina Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award as Water Conservationist of the Year, Environmental Educator of the Year, and Recycler of the Year. She has also served in leadership and advisory roles with organizations including the National Recycling Coalition, Plastic Ocean Project, the C.A.S.H. Advisory Board at North Carolina Central University, and is a member of the Pi Alpha Alpha, the Global Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration.
In 2019, Lisa joined Coastal Carolina Riverwatch to help advance the organization’s mission through strategic collaboration, public engagement, and strong advocacy for clean water and healthy coastal communities. She is also the author of The River Remembers (2025). Lisa often says she is “a proud eastern North Carolina native, but with that pride comes responsibility — the responsibility to protect our coastal community environment for future generations.”
Riley Lewis – White Oak Waterkeeper
Riley is a Maryland native that has spent the last decade in the Carolinas. She received her BS in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina and her MS in Coastal and Ocean Policy from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Her studies and research focus on water pollutants and their impacts on local communities and she believes everyone deserves access to clean water.
Since coming to the Carolinas, Riley has served on the board of student organizations, worked in a shrimp aquaculture facility, taught environmental courses at UNCW, served as an AmeriCorps member with Conservation Trust of North Carolina, and Volunteers as the Vice-Chair of a water bill assistance organization. As the White Oak Waterkeeper, Riley continues her work to promote healthy waterways and environmental awareness in her community.
In her free time, Riley loves hands on activities that range from hiking and dancing, to sewing and playing the banjo.