About Us

For nearly 25 years, Appalachian Mountain Advocates has fought in court and other forums to protect our region’s environment and communities.

We formed to fight the largest mountaintop removal coal mine ever proposed. That mine would have destroyed more than five square miles of forest and mountain stream habitat and displaced the local community. We stopped that mine, and we continue to fight irresponsible mining operations, fossil fuel power plants, gas wells, pipelines, toxic chemicals, lax regulators, and other threats to our region’s health. We regularly sue extractive industries, polluters and governmental agencies in our region and beyond.

Our Staff

Joe Lovett

Executive Director
304.645.9006
jlovett@appalmad.org BIO

Joe Lovett, a founder of Appalachian Mountain Advocates, has been a catalyst for focusing local and national attention on the region’s environmental issues. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and served as a law clerk on the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. He is admitted to practice law in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Virginia. Joe is a native West Virginian, and works from the Lewisburg, West Virginia office.

Derek Teaney

Deputy Director
304.646.1182
dteaney@appalmad.org BIO

Derek Teaney is a ninth generation West Virginian. Derek graduated at the head of his class from Lewis and Clark Law School in 2004, where he was Editor in Chief of Environmental Law. After law school, Derek clerked for the Honorable Rex E. Armstrong of the Oregon Court of Appeals. He then joined Appalachian Mountain Advocates as an Equal Justice Works Fellow in 2006, becoming a permanent staff member at the end of his fellowship. Working from the Lewisburg, West Virginia, office, Derek has extensive experience in federal trial and appellate courts.

Mike Becher

Senior Attorney
304.382.4798
mbecher@appalmad.org BIO

Mike Becher joined Appalachian Mountain Advocates in August of 2010 as an Equal Justice Works Fellow. Prior to law school, Mike worked for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection as the Stream Partners Program Coordinator, serving as both a community organizer and grant administrator. He attended law school at the University of Cincinnati where he was an editor for both the U.C. Law Review and the Human Rights Quarterly. Mike spent three years as law clerk to the Honorable Robert C. Chambers of the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia before joining Appalmad. He is a member of the West Virginia State Bar and works from Charleston, West Virginia.

Isak Howell

Attorney
540.998.7744
ihowell@appalmad.org BIO

Isak Howell joined Appalachian Mountain Advocates in August of 2010. He graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2007 and clerked for one year for the Honorable Samuel G. Wilson of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. Isak worked as a reporter for the Roanoke Times for five years prior to attending law school. Isak is a member of both the Virginia and West Virginia State Bars and works from Roanoke, Virginia.

Ben Luckett

Senior Attorney
304.873.6080
bluckett@appalmad.org BIO

Ben Luckett joined Appalachian Mountain Advocates in September of 2010. Ben graduated in 2010 from Lewis and Clark Law School, where he served as a student director of the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, on the executive board of the Public Interest Law Project, and as an associate editor of the journal Environmental Law. After completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Kentucky, Ben pursued a number of opportunities including working for the National Park Service in northern California, skiing in Big Sky, Montana, and community organizing in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Ben is a member of the West Virginia State Bar and works from the Lewisburg, West Virginia office.

Evan Johns

Senior Attorney
434.738.1863
ejohns@appalmad.org BIO

Evan Johns, a native West Virginian, joined Appalachian Mountain Advocates as a staff attorney in August of 2015. Evan graduated from the West Virginia University College of Law in 2014 with distinctions as both Order of the Coif and Order of Barristers. After law school, Evan clerked for the Honorable Michael John Aloi of West Virginia’s Sixteenth Judicial Circuit. Working from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania office, Evan is admitted to the West Virginia, Virginia, and Pennsylvania State Bars.

Amanda Demmerle

Staff Attorney
757.650.2774
ademmerle@appalmad.org BIO

Amanda Demmerle joined Appalachian Mountain Advocates in 2022. She graduated first in her class from the West Virginia University College of Law in 2020, where she was the senior managing editor of the West Virginia Law Review and a writing assistant for WVU’s annual National Energy & Sustainability Moot Court Competition. Following law school, Amanda clerked for the Honorable Robert B. King of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the Honorable Frank W. Volk of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. Working from the Charleston, West Virginia office, Amanda is a member of the West Virginia State Bar.

Claire Horan

Senior Attorney
907.687.8561
choran@appalmad.org BIO

Claire Horan joined Appalachian Mountain Advocates as a Senior Attorney in June of 2023. Claire graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2018, where she was Co-Editor-in-Chief of Harvard Environmental Law Review. After law school, Claire clerked for the Honorable Travis R. McDonough of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, based in Chattanooga. She then worked at Southern Environmental Law Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, before joining Appalachian Mountain Advocates. Claire is a member of the Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia State Bars and works from Charlottesville, Virginia.

Tom Kloehn

Staff Attorney
773.332.0551
tkloehn@appalmad.org BIO

Tom Kloehn joined Appalachian Mountain Advocates as a staff attorney in January 2025. After starting his career in education and environmental advocacy, Tom went to the University of Michigan Law School where he was editor-in-chief of the Michigan Journal of Environmental and Administrative Law. Prior to joining Appalmad, Tom clerked for Chief Justice Peter Maassen on the Alaska Supreme Court. A member of the Alaska, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia State Bars, Tom works from Appalmad’s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania office.