Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District

Board of Supervisors

Sam McKinley - Chairman

Sam's interest in soil and water conservation began as a Boy Scout in Hillsboro, Ohio. He is also an avid camper.

Sam holds a Bachelor’s and Master's Degree in Urban Planning from the University of Cincinnati. He is an elected member of the Sierra Club Miami Group Executive Committee, and serves on both the ICC and Board of Directors of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.

He works for RA Consultants as a Planning Liaison to Hamilton County for the Metropolitan Sewer District and lives in Northside with his wife and two children.

Steve Johns - Vice Chairman

Steve lives in the City of Cincinnati neighborhood of Hyde Park . He was formally the Director of Citizens for Civic Renewal, a non-profit dedicated to encouraging more citizen involvement in the public affairs of Greater Cincinnati.

Currently, Steve is the Sustainability Coordinator of the City of Cincinnati Office of Environmental Quality. Steve holds degrees in Community and Regional Planning; Civil Engineering; and Economics.

Steve loves to travel and explore. When exploring in Greater Cincinnati, he is amazed by the beauty of his adopted home. When traveling around the country, he is a proud booster of Cincinnati . Steve loves to be outside gardening, exercising or just having fun with his family.

Denny Benson - Secretary

Denny has been employed for 31 years as Director of Operations at the Broshear Contractors, Inc., a site development contractor, located in Ross, Ohio. He has been a member of the Ohio Valley Development council since 1994 and served on the Board of Directors since 2003. He also served on the Executive Committee of the Ohio Contractors Association since 1997 and was Chairman of the Executive Committee in 2002.

In 2001, Broshear Contractors Inc., was presented with the "Contractor of the Year" award.

Denny and his family live in Colerain Twp.. He is a member of the St. James parish in White Oak and Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 24.

Craig Abercrombie - Treasurer

Craig currently serves as Assistant Vice President and Project Manager at Abercrombie & Associates, Inc. Civil Engineering + Surveying. He is a Licensed Professional Surveyor in Ohio and a LEED Accredited Professional along with being a member of The United States Green Building Council. Craig graduated from The University of Cincinnati in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Construction Management, and in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Natural Sciences/Surveying. Craig is a lifelong resident of Hamilton County .

Craig is an active member of St. Ignatius Parish, Exchange Club of Northwest Cincinnati & the Western Economic Council. Craig has extensive experience working cooperatively with the Hamilton County SWCD on both commercial & residential projects. He has successfully designed sites that both serve the needs of the users while also protecting & conserving the surrounding areas.

Pete Mallow - Program Chairman

Pete is a Certified Planner with a Master’s degree in from the University of Cincinnati. Prior to moving to Hamilton County, he served on the Clermont County Planning Commission.

Currently, he resides in Sycamore Township and serves on the Land Use Plan Committee for Sycamore Township.

Pete has extensive experience working with both the public sector and private sector bringing environmentally sustainable projects to fruition, including the region’s first LEED Platinum project. The economic and social growth that can come through proper land use decisions is crucial to the well-being of our county.

In addition to his professional role, he teaches at UC and is enrolled in their doctoral program in Planning.