Contact Information

Mountain State Education and Research Foundation, Inc. (MSERF)
1500 Dixie Street
Charleston, West Virginia 25311
304 346 8928
info@mserf.org

MSERF’s officers & staff have a combined expertise of over 50 years on nonprofit administration, fundraising and program direction, and a Board of Directors comprised of health care, policy, communication and education professionals with a wide-ranging experience base. 

Staff Bios

Gary Zuckett (Executive Director) also a founder of MSERF. He most recently coordinated MSERF's participation in the successful coalition West Virginians United to Protect Social Security. He also serves as the office's technical expert (nerd) on databases and computer maintenance. As development director, he fostered our affiliation with the national USAction Education Fund, which has led to the growth of our organization and increased the scope of our work. Currently he serves as president of West Virginia Community Shares (a United Way type agency for progressive non-profits). He is a past president of the WV Environmental Council, and was coordinator for the WV Citizen's Health Care Reform Coalition. He is on the boards of the WV Environmental Council, Southern Appalachian Labor School and the Commission on Religion in Appalachia. Gary's published articles include "Dirty Money vs. Clean Elections" and "Why Money Doesn't Equal Free Speech." Gary has first-hand knowledge of the problems created by money in politics through an unsuccessful campaign for the WV House of Delegates in 1994, and through years of lobbying efforts on behalf of the WV Environmental Council, CAG, AFSCME and other organizations.

Linda Frame (Project Manager)  She helped produce many of the PERC campaign finance reports and press releases. She is currently working on updating and expanding our e-mail and on-line donation systems. Linda is a former board member of the WV Environmental Council where she was the treasurer for 5 years. She has an M.S. in Environmental Science and Public Policy and has worked on environmental and social issues for 12 years. She lives in Charleston with her husband Mike, their sons Donald and Josh, and a multitude of pets.

Julie Archer (Project Manager) She manages the PERC-WV databases on contributions to West Virginia political campaigns for our joint project with the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition (OVEC) and MSERF’s sister organization, West Virginia Citizen Action Group, helps produce reports based on the data, and handles requests for campaign finance information.  Her political experience includes lobbying for the Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club and working as an intern for the Equality State Policy Center in Wyoming.  She is a former member of the WV Environmental Council board of directors. She has also served on the board and staff of WV FREE, a statewide organization that advocates for reproductive rights.  She grew up near Parkersburg and attended Shepherd College and Marshall University. She lives in Lincoln County with her husband Terry and their many dogs and cats.  

Marge Michau (Outreach Coordinator) joined MSERF in 2004. In 2004, she led MSERF's non-partisan voter registration and Get Out the Vote effort and helped coordinate MSERF’s campaign to protect Social Security. In addition, she coordinates MSERF's volunteers and makes sure the office doesn't come crashing down. Marge lives in Charleston.

Robin Wilson (Project Assistant) joined MSERF in the Summer of ‘07.  He organizes MSERF's anti Iraq War campaign with US Action. including sign and bumper sticker distribution, conferences, petition drives, a Capito’s Missing campaign, plus demonstrations, articles, films, books to amplify a peace message.   He also works on an independent project - WV Peace News Net - to link a broad spectrum of individuals and groups involved in peace action.  Robin is on the board of Heartwood in the Hills, Roane County Community Development, WV Economic Justice Project, and WV Patriots for Peace.  His peace activities started with working to ban atmospheric nuclear testing, followed by war tax resistance – protesting military spending and living on a non-taxable income in intentional communities / communes.   During the Vietnam War, he said no to the draft and sat in to block shipments to the Vietnam War effort.  Recently he has worked as a teacher and social worker helping students for whom public school didn’t work.  In addition to trying to change policies that support an unsustainable world, he enjoys personal choices of biking, using solar energy, and growing a vegetable garden and orchard with his wife Brenda.