The Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) is pleased to welcome two new members to its Virginia and Pennsylvania delegations: Amy Dubois, Chair Board of Supervisors for Mathews County, VA and Commissioner Donna Iannone for Sullivan County, PA. The primary goal of LGAC is to advise the Chesapeake Executive Council on how to engage and support local governments within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Both Dubois and Iannone bring with them unique perspectives, based on the Watershed regions they hail from, that further diversifies the outlook of the Advisory Committee as a whole. You can read more about them below:

Supervisor Amy Dubois

Amy Dubois was appointed by Governor Northam to serve as a Member of LGAC’s Virginia delegation. Elected to the Mathews County Board of Supervisors in 2017, she has served as a member, Vice-Chair, and now Chair. Aside from her experience in local governance, Dubois lends her skills to several boards she sits on including the Middle Peninsula Alliance and the Virginia Association of Counties’ Health and Human Services Committee. She also has 30 years of experience working with small businesses and young professionals in order to help them achieve success. 

Originally from a rural town in Kansas, Dubois has come to call the Chesapeake Bay Watershed her home away from home, and is now eager to represent a rural region on the Advisory Committee. Due to its location right on the Bay, the economy and lifestyles of those who live in Mathews County is heavily reliant on a healthy Chesapeake Bay when it comes to recreation, fishing, and boating. According to Dubois, “66% of Mathews County (166 square miles) is water – only 34% (86 square mile) is land.” She also continued by saying, “Aquaculture, commercial fishing and crabbing, recreational fishing and boating/kayaking/sailing, and white sand beaches are all at our doorsteps – and are critical parts of our economy.” 

Dubois hopes her time as an LGAC Member will not only allow her to express her own perspectives as a Mathews County native, but also allow her to get to know the laws, regulations, and governance affecting the quality of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem as a whole. “This knowledge will enable me to better affect local strategic planning and advise actions our government and other local groups can and should be involved with to sustain the Bay and safeguard our dependence on it,” she said.

Commissioner Donna Iannone

Commissioner Donna Iannone joins LGAC while serving her second term as Commissioner of Sullivan County after being elected in 2016. Appointed by Governor Wolf, she completes LGAC’s Pennsylvania delegation. In addition to her position on LGAC, Iannone also serves on various boards and committees including being a member of the Northern Tier Regional Planning Board, president of the PA Women’s County Commissioners Caucus, and being the co-founder of the Sullivan County Backpack Program. 

“For me it’s important that all of our waterways are clean so that we can enjoy them recreationally and that wildlife has a healthy habitat,” she expressed. As a true outdoorsman, being among wildlife and scenery is a natural hobby of hers — whether it is hiking to Everest Base Camp, climbing the Half Dome in Yosemite, kayaking in Belize, or biking through the Adirondacks. However, she will always enjoy cooling off near her hometown river, the Susquehanna. 

In her position on LGAC, Iannone hopes to be able to contribute to the value of clean and safe waterways. She also hopes to be a voice for Pennsylvania’s local agricultural community and the impact that any regulations will have on their ability to farm. “I believe access to clean water all throughout the Chesapeake Bay Region is imperative and finding innovative approaches to work alongside our agricultural and conservation community partners will move us closer to meet the goals of Bay restoration.”