Our Staff - Strategic Partnerships and Special Projects

T.C. McLemore T.C. McLemore serves as Director of Jacksonville State University’s Little River Canyon Center, where he leads strategic planning, partnerships and public programming. A Fort Payne native, McLemore brings leadership experience across nonprofit management, philanthropy and statewide educational and economic development initiatives. He has overseen community-based educational programs, launched major marketing campaigns and guided signature outdoor assets through periods of growth. His prior leadership roles include working with the Alabama Humanities Alliance, Innovate Alabama and Red Mountain Park. McLemore graduated from UAB with a political science degree in 2010, followed by a master’s degree in history in 2013. Email: tcmclemore@jsu.edu Phone: 256-845-3548
Rebekah Taylor: Assistant Director Rebekah Moore Taylor is a native of Fort Payne, Alabama. Rebekah graduated magna cum laude from Troy University in 2011. She earned a bachelor's degree from Troy University in Environmental Science with a double minor in Spanish and Leadership in 2011. During college, she volunteered at Desoto State Park. After graduating from Troy, Rebekah was an experiential education teacher at Nature’s Classroom Atop Lookout Mountain. She then began her 10-year career at the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) in the Environmental Indicator Section as an Environmental Scientist, Senior. She went on to become the Chief of the Aquatic Assessment Unit in 2019. She recently moved back home to Fort Payne, AL. When not working she enjoys hiking, camping, and traveling with her family and being involved at her church. Email: rmtaylor@jsu.edu Phone: (256) 845-3548
Joubert Pierre, Educational Program Associate Joubert Pierre, a Miami native, credits his parents with fostering his love for nature, which led him to earn a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Florida International University in 2015. He has over five years of experience in commercial organic farming and seven years as a passionate secondary school STEM educator in Tennessee and Georgia, where he integrated Project-Based Learning into his Biology, Chemistry, Physical Science, and Horticulture classes. Joubert loves inspiring students to connect classroom knowledge to real-world applications. Now residing in Mentone, Alabama, with his family, he farms a homestead and enjoys biking, hiking, and foraging on Lookout Mountain.
Christian Braswell: Field School Educator Christian Braswell is a native to Lawrence County, Alabama where he grew up in rural Danville, an area full of forests, pastures, and streams that gave him a passion for biology and conservation. He obtained his bachelor's degree in biology from the University of West Alabama in Livingston in 2020, doing field work collecting and cataloguing specimens for the UWA zoological collection and caring for the educational outreach animals. During this time, he also volunteered with the Black Belt Museum to prepare dinosaur bone casts for display and excavate fossils of Cretaceous marine reptiles. He went on to get his master’s degree in biological sciences from Jacksonville State University in 2024 while doing a thesis on environmental DNA sampling for Alabama’s Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus). Christian became an educator at the JSU Field School to teach people about the values of conservation and the natural world, and what we can do to protect and preserve it for the future. Some of his favorite passions include talking about dinosaurs and fossils, herpetology, and doing science-related art projects.
Shyann Wells Shyann was born and raised in Northeast Alabama and recently graduated from Gadsden State Community College with her associates in science. She plans to attend to Jacksonville State University and study early childhood development. Shyann started working at the JSU Canyon Center in the fall of 2020 and enjoys helping customers in the gift shop and meeting new people. In her free time, she enjoys singing and playing guitar.
Cheryl Tucker: Gift Shop Cheryl Tucker was raised in Sand Rock, Alabama. After attending Gadsden State Community College she was employed with TDS Telecom for 31 years. She can now be found helping out at JSU's Little River Canyon Center's Gift Shop.
Cindi Fitzpatrick: Gift Shop and Field School Educator Cindi has lived in Broomtown Valley, southeast of Lookout Mountain, since 2015. She grew up in west Georgia, attended Emory University in Atlanta where she received a Bachelor of Science in Biology and retired from teaching in Douglas County, Georgia. Her husband's family has lived in this area since the early 1900's, and they knew this is where they wanted to retire. She loves hearing stories from our visitors and meeting people from all over. When she's not in the gift shop, she can be found teaching field trips in the JSU field school or tending grape vines and apple trees on the farm with her husband. She loves traveling and is a life-long learner; sign up for an archaeology or wildflower tour at Little River Canyon and you’ll probably see her! Phone: (256) 845-3548
Katie Burkhalter: Front Desk and Gift Shop Katie was born in Jacksonville, Alabama and is a graduate of Jacksonville State University with a degree in Social work. She began working at the Canyon Center in the Spring of 2024. She enjoys helping visitors at the desk and in the shop. In her free time she enjoys gardening, hiking and reading.
Brandy Pace: Housekeeper Brandy Pace was born and raised in Paulding County, Georgia. She's always loved Alabama and all the beautiful places it has to offer. Brandy had always planned on moving to NE Alabama even as a young kid. She said, "My grandfather had a spot on Weiss Lake, in Centre, so we would enjoy our summers and holidays there with him." She loves being around the water and going to visit but now, Brandy and her two children made the big move to Alabama, and they absolutely love it. Brady explains that "Working at Little River Canyon Center has been a dream come true. To be able to be a part of this great canyon community is mind blowing because everyone has been so welcoming, and I really enjoy learning about the canyon." She continued, "I've always come to the hippy hole and never knew the back story, but now I can say that I've not only experienced the beauty of this place, but now I'm an actual part of it."