Press Release – Yadkin Riverkeeper Leadership Transition
For Release – July 1, 2026

Contacts:
Edgar Miller, YRK Executive Director – edgar@yadkinriverkeeper.org
Nicole Eastman, Riverkeeper – nicole@yadkinriverkeeper.org
Katie Wilder, Director of Operations and Communications – katiew@yadkinriverkeeper.org

Yadkin Riverkeeper (YRK) is excited to announce that Nicole Eastman will be succeeding Edgar Miller as Yadkin Riverkeeper effective July 1. Miller, who has served in the joint role of Riverkeeper and executive director for the past five years, will continue as executive director for the foreseeable future.

Eastman joined the YRK staff in May 2024 as the Riverkeeper assistant and watershed protection specialist. She has led the organization’s outreach efforts on the South Yadkin River and completed two years of water quality sampling on the South Yadkin this summer. Those results will be used to finalize a watershed restoration plan for the South Yadkin portion of the basin. She has been responsible for managing YRK’s Swim Guide program, which samples 26 swimming areas and paddle accesses on the River and High Rock Lake for E. coli bacteria from Memorial to Labor Day, collecting more than 300 samples annually and training and coordinating more than 20 volunteers.

Eastman has been involved with several YRK advocacy initiatives including promoting the High Rock Lake nutrient management rules, commenting on the statewide triennial review of water quality standards, reviewing and commenting on Clean Water Act 404 and 401 permits for developments, and educating the public and elected officials on the potential negative impacts of proposed data centers and power plants on water quality and quantity within the Yadkin River watershed. She also has provided staff support for the YRK Board’s Advocacy and Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Committees.

She has been an integral part of YRK’s efforts to sample water and soil around the Alcoa Badin Business Park in partnership with the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, the Concerned Citizens of West Badin and the NC Environmental Justice Network and to bring environmental justice to that community.

"I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work at Yadkin Riverkeeper over the past two years and build relationships with partner organizations and communities along the river and lakes,” Nicole said. “I am very excited to take on the role of Riverkeeper and to be a voice for the Yadkin River while advocating for the people and wildlife that depend on it. I look forward to supporting Yadkin Riverkeeper's mission and working alongside others to protect our beautiful watershed for future generations."

Miller has successfully managed the organization since coming on board in 2018 as executive director, doubling its budget and staff resources and expanding the organization’s board of directors from seven to 16 members. He also facilitated YRK becoming the official nonprofit partner with NC State Parks to promote and expand the 163-mile Yadkin River State Trail, obtaining more than $530,000 in state funds to improve access and safety on the River for paddling. He became the fourth Yadkin Riverkeeper in July 2021 and has led YRK’s advocacy and public outreach efforts on the High Rock Lake nutrient management rules, the Alcoa hazardous waste cleanup and pollution from dairy and poultry concentrated animal feeding operations or CAFOs. “Serving in the dual role of executive director and Riverkeeper has enabled me to ensure the organization’s advocacy and program priorities have the funding they need to be successful, but my true calling has been to be the voice of the River and an advocate for the communities and people that depend on it,” Miller said.

YRK recently completed a succession and leadership transition plan funded by a $25,000 capacity building grant from The Winston-Salem Foundation. “The capacity building grant allowed us to assess our current staffing capabilities and volunteer support and different organizational structures to ensure YRK’s long term sustainability,” Miller continued.

The recently approved transition plan, developed by the Raleigh-based consulting firm Armstrong McGuire, recommended separating the executive director and Riverkeeper positions to allow staff greater focus on the individual responsibilities of each job. As executive director, Miller will continue to be responsible for the organization’s administration, board relations, grant management, government relations and fundraising. In her new role as Riverkeeper, Eastman will prioritize and manage the organization’s field work and investigations and set the organization’s advocacy agenda in consultation with the executive director and 16-member board of directors. The YRK Board is currently chaired by Board president Colleen McDaniel, a landscape designer, who lives in Badin, NC.

“Working with Nicole has been an enriching and positive experience. She brings a valuable perspective and voice to the mission of the Riverkeeper through her practical experience and aspirational disposition,” McDaniel said. “Nicole’s ability to communicate factual information to the river communities and stakeholders of the Yadkin River basin has been skillful and well received. It is extremely important work, and I have great confidence she will be a formidable and strong representative of the river as the new Riverkeeper, prioritizing threats as they emerge and pushing to find ways to mitigate existing issues that degrade this vital resource that affects millions of North Carolinians.”

YRK will continue its efforts to reduce nutrient and sediment pollution in the River and the Yadkin Lakes and require cleanup of the Alcoa Badin Business Park inactive hazardous waste sites on Badin Lake and Little Mountain Creek. The organization also will continue its efforts to support communities fighting proposed data centers, pipelines, and future methane gas powerplants in the watershed that have the potential to negatively impact water and air quality and the historical and ecological character of the River.

The Friends of the Yadkin Pee Dee formed the Yadkin Riverkeeper in 2008. Yadkin Riverkeeper’s mission is to protect and enhance the Yadkin River and its lakes and tributaries through education, advocacy and action. YRK is a licensed affiliate of the international Waterkeeper Alliance.