Chadds Ford, PA March 12, 2008 - Kathie Shirk Gonick has joined the staff of Brandywine Conservancy as a Senior Planner in the Environmental Management Center's Municipal Assistance Program. Her responsibilities include municipal planning, historic preservation planning and management, and legal analysis of land use issues, among other duties.

Gonick joins the Conservancy with extensive experience in land use issues, including over 25 years as a practicing attorney representing townships, boroughs, authorities, and developers; resource planning and preservation; and zoning and environmental law. She previously practiced law for many years with K. L. Shirk Jr., and more recently worked for the Pinelands Commission in New Jersey, taught at Cheyney University in Pennsylvania, and conducted field research related to archaeology at several historic and prehistoric sites.

Gonick received her Master of Arts degree from the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at Temple University and is a candidate for a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the institution. She also holds a Juris Doctor from the Dickinson School of Law at Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sweet Briar College.

Founded in 1967, the Brandywine Conservancy is a nonprofit organization that preserves the history, art and natural resources of the Brandywine Valley. The Conservancy's Environmental Management Center has been instrumental in permanently protecting more than 40,000 acres of open space in southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware, and the Conservancy's Brandywine River Museum has introduced millions of visitors to the area's rich artistic heritage. For more information about the Brandywine Conservancy, call 610-388-2700 or visit www.brandywineconservancy.org.