Love of the outdoors leads UTC alum to top job at outdoor nonprofit

Eliot Berz, executive director of the Tennessee River Gorge Trust, earned his master’s in environmental science at UTC in 2021. Photo courtesy of Eliot Berz.

When Eliot Berz was a toddler, his parents had to lock the doors to make sure he didn’t wander off into the woods.

“Since he was a little-bitty guy, he always wanted to be outdoors, and he was absolutely fearless. Wasn’t afraid of anything,” said his mother, Tracye Pool, a senior lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

“He’d always say, ‘Why can’t we live in the woods?’ and I’d say, ‘Well, I like air conditioning, and I don’t like bugs.’”

Being an avid outdoors lover has served Berz well and is one reason he was recently selected as the new executive director of the Tennessee River Gorge Trust.

“For a small grassroots conservation nonprofit, we do a wide variety of work that I’d say has a true impact on our community,” said Berz, who earned his master’s in environmental science at UTC in 2021. “We also work in the community engagement realm, creating new ways for our community to access and explore the Tennessee River Gorge.”

Founded in 1981, the Trust works to protect more than 17,000 acres in the River Gorge, which was carved through the Cumberland Mountains by the Tennessee River. Its dedication to conservation was a comfort for Berz.

“I just had to be outside until it was time to go to bed or I was called in for dinner,” he recalled. “I’ve just been drawn to being outside and always curious what’s going on in the woods, different interactions with wildlife. I was lucky to have parents that encouraged me to get outside and help facilitate that.”

With Berz’s love of the outdoors, a career in an environmental capacity seemed a perfect—and necessary—fit, Pool said.

“I was really concerned about him right out of college because it seemed like all the opportunities were business-related or sitting behind a desk,” said Pool—who received a bachelor’s degree in English and American language and literature from UTC in 1988 and a master’s degree in 1991. “I was just so worried because I knew he could not do that; he had to be outside, and he had to be moving around.”

Dr. David Aborn, professor in the UTC Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Science and Berz’s advisor during his master’s program, said “there is no shortage of positive things I can say about Eliot.”

“Both as a student and as an employee of the Trust, he applied himself 1,000% to whatever task he was given,” Aborn said. “He is intelligent, skilled, dependable, level-headed, insightful and personable. He made my job as his thesis advisor very easy, and I am thrilled with his success since graduating.”

Berz joined the Tennessee River Gorge Trust in 2016 as a field researcher and—since 2020—has served as the Trust’s conservation and access director.

He said he’s always had his sights set on the executive director slot.

“I quickly realized the River Gorge Trust was an exceptional organization and one that I wanted to work for a long time,” Berz said. “I welcomed any upward advancement and had always hoped for the opportunity to become executive director. So it was something that I certainly had on my radar and was eager to apply for.”

Along with efforts to protect the forests, plant life and animals in the Gorge, the Trust leads bird-banding expeditions and guided hikes for the public. There are paddling expeditions through the Gorge on the Tennessee River.

As executive director, Berz may not have as much time for his favorite outdoor activities such as kayaking and hiking, he said, but that doesn’t mean he has to give them up altogether.

“I’ll be helping on the ground, conducting some of our research projects and implementing some of our forest restoration work, so I’ll still have lots of opportunities to get out in the Gorge,” Berz said.

“I’ll still help with community engagement efforts to take the public into the Gorge and lead guided adventures, but it won’t be as much as it used to be.”