Our Mission

Helping Landowners Preserve Their Farming and Ranching Heritage

Wilbarger Creek Conservation Alliance works with farmers, ranchers, landowners, land trusts, and various sources of public and private funding to prevent the fragmentation of family farms and ranches. We believe that keeping large tracks of contiguous land intact is the best way to protect the water, wildlife, native plants, grasses, and productive soils as well as the rich history and way of life in our rural communities.

Board of Directors

Jon Beall, Co-Founder

Jon Beall retired after selling a telecommunications contracting company in Austin to work on regional planning activities. He served six years on the City of Austin Environmental Board and currently serves on the Board of the Hill Country Conservancy and the Barton Springs Conservancy. Jon participated as a stakeholder in the revision of Austin’s Water Protection Ordinance and Travis County’s revision to their Environmental Criteria Manual. He earned an Economics Degree from Texas A&M University and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. Jon is a former Officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Anne Brockenbrough, Co-Founder

Anne Brockenbrough is a rancher and writer who runs a working ranch outside of Austin, Texas. She grew up on a farm in Virginia, received a BA from the University of Virginia, an MA in Creative Writing from Hollins University, and an MFA from the University of Texas where she was a Michener Fellow in Poetry. She was a migrant cowgirl, working on ranches in Wyoming and cattle stations in Australia before moving to Texas in 1997. She served on the board of the Central Texas Cutting Horse Association for over ten years.

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Pamela Fowler Dickerson

Pamela Fowler Dickerson is a retired educator of 35 years and an Army veteran of 6 years. Her family has owned the Fowler Farm in Littig, Texas since 1940. Pamela grew up on the farm with her parents and brothers before leaving to attend Prairie View A&M University obtaining her Bachelors of Science Degree in Physical Education and later obtaining her Masters Degree in Educational Administration. Pamela lived in Mesa, Arizona for sixteen years before returning to Texas in 2004 where she later retired from the Dallas ISD and Grand Prairie ISD in 2018. Pamela returned to her family farm to take care of her parents in 2018. After their passing, Pamela, her brothers Darrell and Mark and her daughter Shouneille vowed to continue the Fowler Farm Legacy. Her aunt, Willie Martin Fowler was instrumental in getting the Littig Cemetery designated as a historical landmark, which Pamela now proudly serves as the president of the Littig Cemetery Association. Pamela joined the WCCA two years ago to help carry on and preserve not only their family legacy, but to help all the farmers and ranchers in the Littig area.

Marilyn Kelinske, MD

Marilyn Kelinske is an Ophthalmologist who started a private practice in Austin, Texas in 1981. She is a native Texan—born in Texas City and raised in Corpus Christi where she was the salutatorian of her senior class. She received a BA in Mathematics from the University of Texas, graduating in three years with high honors, then an MD from UTMB in Galveston, followed by a year of internal medicine and three years of ophthalmology. In addition to her medical accomplishments, Marilyn married her college sweetheart and raised three children. She is an active member of Redeemer Church where she has served on various committees, taught English as a second language, and been on the school board for the past 15 years. She is passionate about preserving land along Wilbarger Creek.

Becky Jolin, Attorney

Becky Jolin is an environmental lawyer in Austin, TX. She graduated from the University of Texas School of Allied Health Sciences and the University of Houston Law Center. She is a member of the Austin Bar Association and the State Bar of Texas. She has been interested in the natural world since childhood and joined WCCA to help preserve wildlife habitat, open spaces, and agricultural land in Eastern Travis County, Texas.

Steve Butler, Attorney

Steve Butler is a real estate lawyer in Austin, TX. He graduated from Southwestern University and went on to the University of Houston Law Center. He is a member of the Austin Bar Association, American Bar Association, Austin’s Young Lawyer’s Association, and the State Bar of Texas. He serves as a member of the Real Estate Council of Austin and has been on the Board of Directors for the Colorado River Foundation since 2005. Butler joined WCCA to continue his family’s legacy of preserving open space and giving to parks, such as Butler Park, Butler Shores, and Butler Park Pitch & Putt.

Staff

Shelby Koebley

Programs Manager

Shelby Koebley is an environmentalist and naturalist in Austin, TX. She grew up in NE Ohio near the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. She received her BA in Environmental Policy from Sewanee: The University of the South in 2014. Shelby was an Americorps VISTA at Sewanee and worked with the University Farm to support local landowners on the Plateau with agricultural best practices in 2016. She soon moved to Austin and has a continuing passion to preserve working lands, watersheds, and wildlife habitats.

In Loving Memory

Willie Martin Fowler, Historian

Willie Mae Fowler moved to Littig in 1940 with her parents and siblings. After growing up and working on the family farm, she earned a degree in education and taught in Manor for many years. Willie is passionate about protecting the cultural heritage of Littig, especially the Littig cemetery, which she painstakingly restored. She was instrumental in getting the cemetery designated as a historical landmark "so that the community would have something of their very own." She joined the board to carry on her dedication to this beloved area.

Watch an Interview with Willie