Faculty

Jackson Moller is a conservation finance specialist with Cooperative Forestry in the Washington Office of the USDA Forest Service. Jackson was formerly the director of strategic partnerships for the Conservation Finance Network (CFN) where he led a growing network of public, private and nonprofit professionals find the capital they need to advance the pace and scale of their conservation efforts. Prior to joining CFN, Jackson was the Land Protection Program Manager for The Nature Conservancy in Colorado where he focused on aligning land conservation efforts with other cross-sector strategies such as sustainable food systems, rural economic development, and climate resilience including wildfire risk management. Earlier in his career he also tracked, drafted and revised legislation as a legal fellow in the US House of Representatives and supported sustainable fisheries and farming initiatives as a volunteer with the US Peace Corps in the Federated States of Micronesia.

Jaime is REPI Program Manager, External Affairs and Communication for the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense (DoD)’s REPI Program is a key tool for combating encroachment that can limit or restrict military training, testing, and operations. The REPI Program protects these military missions by helping remove or avoid land-use conflicts near installations and addressing regulatory restrictions that inhibit military activities. The REPI Program is administered by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). Jaime went to UNC-Greensboro and George Mason University and lives in Arlington, VA.

James has recently come to North Carolina State University from being a PhD Fellow in the Integrative Public Policy and Development program at Tuskegee University, and is pursuing his PhD there. His area of expertise is broad, but he is currently focusing on the issue of heirs’ property.

Jan has spent several decades leading fundraising campaigns and initiatives in academia and conservation, including managing the successful conclusion of the Oregon Chapter of TNC’s $60 million campaign that encompassed TNC fundraising for the Trout Creek Ranch project. Prior to coming to TNC she served for twelve years as Executive Director of Development for Reed College and, before that, for eight years as Executive Director of the Portland State University Foundation.

Janelle St John is the executive director of Growing Home and also serves on the Steering Committee of Chicago Region Food System Fund. She has transformed the work of Growing Home to expand beyond workforce development using growing food as a tool to incorporate food production as a value into a disadvantaged neighborhood on Chicago’s south side. She has brought together BIPOC local food organizations to coordinate operations, fundraising, and community support.

Jasmine Williams is an organizational strategist offering guidance and partnership to individuals and organizations who are ready to explore the unique ways they can pursue equity through their world changing work.

Jason Swann serves as Intermountain West conservation finance director for the Trust for Public Land. Jason leads the creation of new local and state land conservation, parks, climate, health and equity funding in the Four-Corner states. Swann previously served as a land policy analyst at Western Resource Advocates and was appointed by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to serve on the state’s Environmental Justice Advisory Board. In 2022, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock appointed Swann as co-chair of the Sustainability Advisory Council for the Environmental Justice Committee. Before his career-change to environmentalism, Swann worked as a financial advisor in the financial services industry for over eight years.

Jay is creative strategy director of John Muir Land Trust and former chief marketing officer of Trust for Public Land. His 40-year career includes c-level marketing positions at global advertising agencies, successful start-ups, and land conservation organizations. He has a keen interest in applying the latest developments in academic research to practical business problems.

Jayne Cronlund grew up learning to value service to community from her parents who were involved in many nonprofit and religious activities. She began her professional service in land conservation, landing a position in the first ever AmeriCorps program on the Olympic Peninsula in 1994 and then volunteering for The Nature Conservancy and Whatcom Land Trust. She served as executive director of Three Rivers Land Conservancy for 13 years before it combined with Columbia Land Trust. Jayne continues to serve nonprofits through her coaching practice with Flourish Consulting. Jayne’s love of nature and the environment is incorporated into team coaching workshops where the natural world supports the interpersonal work through artistry, creative collaboration and other intangibles.

Jeanette joined the Nisqually Land Trust in November 2020 as executive director. She grew up in south Pierce County on the banks of Muck Creek, a tributary to the Nisqually River. She has a bachelor’s degree in earth sciences and also environmental studies from Pacific Lutheran University and a master’s degree from the University of Washington’s College of Forest Resources with a focus on restoration ecology. She worked for 11 years as the Salmon Recovery Program Manager with the Nisqually Tribe, coordinating the protection and restoration of salmon habitat in the Nisqually watershed. She then moved to work on Puget Sound wide and Central Puget Sound salmon recovery for the last decade. She is so pleased to have returned to her home watershed and the Nisqually family (Nisquamily) to help protect and steward these special places.

Jeb Musser is the vice president of land protection at Lancaster Farmland Trust beginning in 2019. Prior to this role he served in nearly every role in the organization’s Land Protection Department over eight years. Jeb is responsible for carrying out the programmatic activities of the Trust, including farmland preservation, implementation of best management practices on farms, fee for service activities, and grant management. He provides direction to the Land Protection staff, interns, and volunteers. Jeb is a commissioner on the Lancaster County Planning Commission and is a member of the Lancaster Clean Water Partners Watershed and Data Action TeaJeb graduated with a bachelor’s degree in geography with focus in environmental studies, plus a minor in government and political studies from Millersville University. He also has a professional certificate in Geographic Information Systems from Pennsylvania State University and a certificate in Drones for Land Trust Monitoring from Duke University. Jeb is originally from Lebanon County, where he spent his teenage years helping out on a hog farm in South Londonderry Township. He moved to Lancaster County to attend Millersville University and has stayed in the area since. Jeb currently resides in Elizabethtown with his wife, son, and three pets. Jeb enjoys gardening, camping, fishing, and tinkering.

Jeff Cartwright is the Public Land Access and Land and Water Fund Program Manager for the Bureau of Land Management. He has been working on LWCF projects in the BLM for 14 years. Prior to serving his county for the benefit of recreation and land conservation, he was an associate real estate broker and served his country in other ways as a U.S. Army Ranger. Jeff is an avid lover of rivers and single track where he and his family spend their spare time whitewater rafting and mountain biking.

Jeff LeJava is vice president and associate general counsel for the Open Space Institute where his work focuses on the preservation of natural landscapes in New York State to conserve critical habitat, provide public access, and sustain working lands. Prior to joining OSI in 2015, he held environmental legal positions in academia, government and private practice. Jeff also currently serves on the board of the Beaverkill Valley Land Trust based in Livingston Manor, NY.

Jeff Appel is a practicing attorney in Salt Lake City. He is also a member of the board of directors of a land trust, and has extensive experience with both water rights and conservation easements.

Jen “Dusty” Clitheroe is the principal consultant for Strength Perspective, a consulting firm that works with organizational leaders and their communities, empowering individuals to create more inclusive organizations, environments, and teaShe holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in organizational leadership. She has also served on a number of non-profit boards working to support sustainability and the care of the land as it pertains to community, providing consultation for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging strategic planning, leadership development, workshop facilitation and organizational change management.

Jennifer Cherry is a realty specialist for the National Park Service.

Jennifer Clinton is the senior parks and conservation economist with Trust for Public Land. In her role, Jennifer manages a portfolio of economic research projects that are used to advocate for land conservation and parks across the United States. Her recent research in New York City focused on the ecosystem services, public health, recreation, and economic development benefits provided by parks in the City. Jennifer holds a master’s degree in agricultural and resource economics from the University of Connecticut and a bachelor’s degree in politics from Fairfield University.

Jesica Blake is the associate director and director of stewardship and community conservation for the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust. She has been with the organization for 21 years. She holds a degree in environmental science and natural resource management from Northern Vermont University and graduate certificates in Forestry and Wildlife Conservation. Recently, she earned the Executive Leadership and Change Management certificates from Cornell University. Jesica oversees monitoring and enforcement of all conservation properties (both preserves and private lands) as well as preserve management for the Coastal Land Trust. Jesica works on community conservation partnerships and projects including cultural heritage and public access projects and is currently focused on work in the National Parks Service’s Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. Her favorite project is Reaves Chapel. She spends her free time outdoors on the beaches of NC Coast and on Lake Champlain in upstate NY.

Founder/principal attorney of Conservation Law, P.C., a law firm devoted to ensuring the permanence of land conservation through sound transactions. Jessica represents easement holders and landowners conserving working landscapes and environmentally significant land across the country. She guides easement holders, professionals, and landowners in educational workshops, and the next generation of land conservationists in her Land Conservation Law courses at Vermont Law School and Denver University Law School. She collaborates with the conservation community to defend easements and incentives against abuse and overreach, shape emerging law and policy reforms, and inspire new endeavors for equity and access in land conservation.

Jessie Hancock is the executive director of Bluegrass Conservancy. Jessie has over ten years of experience as an environmental engineer and project manager. Her knowledge includes in mapping and natural resource documentation, with over three years of experience assisting with land protection and stewardship for Bluegrass Conservancy. Jessie holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from Purdue University.

Jessie is Loretto’s earth education and advocacy coordinator, Jessie Rathburn spends much of her time outside – gardening, hiking, birding, and learning more about the local central Kentucky bioregion. Her background also includes English and writing instruction and operating an urban farm.

Jim Coonan is owner of the C2 Ranch, a family-owned cattle ranch along tributaries of Little Butte Creek, a priority wild salmon bearing tributary of the Rogue River near Eagle Point, Oregon. C2 comprises of a mix of Oregon white oak and mixed oak pine woodland, savanna, chaparral, meadow, riparian, and irrigated pasture. A 2006 conservation easement protects 1660 acres of pine and mixed conifer forest stands located within this 9,063 acre ranch, with goals to preserve the scenic beauty of the land while allowing sustainable timber harvest and ecologically-sound forest management to benefit the ranch and protect habitat for a diversity of native plant and animal species. C2 has partnered with the Rogue River Watershed Council to protect water quality, remove passage barriers, and restore instream habitat to enhance habitat for wild fish. The Coonan family converted from a more traditional ranching model to a certified organic cattle operation, furthering their commitment to protection of clean water in the Little Butte Creek system.

Jim Shallow is Audubon Vermont’s director of conservation and policy and has been working in Vermont’s conservation community for 21 years including creating the Vermont Natural Resources Council’s Forest Program, the first executive director of Vermont Audubon, and a member of the Vermont Forest Stewardship Committee.

Joe Plaugher is Sonoma Valley Wildlands collaborative coordinator for Sonoma Land Trust. Joe left a career in state and federal public policy to join the Collaborative, where he works with the six partner organizations to execute wildland fuel reduction and prescribed fire projects across 18,000 acres of conservation lands. He has been part of the local Prescribed Burn Association since 2019 and is working on his California State Burn Boss (CARX) certification.

John L. Barone joined with Meave M. Tooher in 2011 to open the law firm of Tooher & Barone, LLP. John has practiced for 20 years concentrating on environmental, real estate, contracts, municipal and administrative law serving clients in both litigation and transactional affairs. John represents and works with numerous land trusts, not-for-profit organizations and individuals regarding land conservation issues and related matters. He also currently serves on the boards of multiple not-for-profit organizations.

John served for 17 years as executive director of The Conservation Alliance, a group of outdoor industry companies that works together to fund and partner with organizations working to protect North America’s wild places. He left that position in 2019. Prior to his tenure at The Conservation Alliance, John was Director of Environmental Programs at Patagonia, Inc. until 2002. John is currently the President of the Oregon Desert Land Trust board of directors and is an avid runner, cyclist, ski mountaineer, climber, backpacker and an aspiring musician.

Jonathan Wagar is the vice president for Conservation Programs at Conservation Resources (CRI) and is director of land acquisition and stewardship at Schiff Natural Lands Trust. At Conservation Resources, Jon has worked with CRI’s President to provided over $100,000,000 in financial assistance to conservation organizations throughout New Jersey. At Schiff Nature Preserve, located in Mendham, NJ, Jon is in-charge of stewardship on over 650-acres of preserved Highlands forest and meadows. His responsibilities at Schiff also include acquisition and preservation of additional open space. From 1999 through 2004, Jon was a member of the staff of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, where he served as director of stewardship and assistant director of land acquisition and stewardship. Jon holds a bachelor’s in biology from Richard Stockton College, was a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, and earned a master’s in forestry from Yale University. Jon is former Chairman of the Mendham Township Open Space Trust Committee, where he worked with volunteers and Township officials to acquire and manage open space and lead development of hikemendham.org. He currently serves as a founding member of the Menhdam Township Green Team, and as the Founding Chairman of the New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team. Jon is a 2011 Fellow of Leadership New Jersey. (B16)

Jonathon Katcher is a semi-retired civil litigator and aspiring ski bum, with a B.G.S. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a law degree from the Lewis and Clark Law School, Portland, Oregon. Starting in 1981 as an assistant public defender in Anchorage, and moving into private practice in 1986, he has appeared in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout the state of Alaska. His practice emphasis is complex civil litigation, and he also serves as a hearing officer, mediator, arbitrator and legal malpractice expert witness. He has been President of the Alaska Bar Association and is currently an attorney member of the Alaska Judicial Council which, as part of Alaska’s merit based judicial selection system, nominates candidates to the governor to fill trial and appellate court vacancies. He has received the State of Alaska Attorney General’s Pro Bono Service A ward for his work on behalf of victims of domestic violence. He regularly bikes, hikes, kayaks and alpine skis (97 days during the 2021-22 ski season). Jonathon considers the Great Land Trust Eklutna River Estuary Conservation Easement case to be among the greatest accomplishments of his legal career. He lives in Anchorage with Kate Michaels, his spouse of 43 years.

Jose Oliva has been involved with the Chicago Region Food System Fund as it has evolved from a response fund and now is the Co-Chair of the Steering Committee. His work with HEAL Food Alliance has brought forward the needs of workers in the food system highlighting a part of the supply chain that had been overlooked by funders. Jose brings a sensitive, caring and challenging perspective to how funding decisions are made, how systems can be disrupted to create better outcomes, and how organizing can shift power structures.

Joe Moll has been executive director of McKenzie River Trust since 2005. Prior to that time, he worked for The Nature Conservancy of Montana in environmental education, land stewardship, and philanthropy. He also worked for the state of Montana and in Hokkaido, Japan on bear-human conflict management. He was a founding director of the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts, and since 2018 he has served as a member of the Oregon Water Resources Commission.

Josette Markline is a stewardship planner with the Maryland Environmental Trust (MET), a governmental land trust holding more than 1,000 conservation easements over 140,000 acres statewide. Prior to MET, Josette conducted environmental and safety compliance audits for the Maryland Environmental Service and served as a park ranger for the Maryland Park Service. She has a bachelor’s iegree in environmental studies from Gettysburg College and a master’s degree in environmental Mmnagement from University of Maryland Global Campus.

Josh German is a program coordinator, Water and Energy Efficiency Grants for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Josh is senior forest ecologist for Mass Audubon.

Before dedicating herself full-time to collaboration consulting, Joy had nearly 18 years of experience as a community planner, facilitator, mediator and trainer while working for the National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program. Her passion for authentic public engagement underscores her deep commitment to community dialogue and public processes where people hear each other, understand each other, and find ways to work together effectively. Her experience working within all levels of city, county, state, and federal government agencies as well as community groups and non-profit organizations, has resulted in success in reaching group consensus on contentious projects. Joy’s primary focus is to help individuals and groups translate individual power into collective action through effective collaboration.

Joy Morris is the Water 4 Coordinator for the Intermountain West Joint Venture. She played a key role in growing the Water 4 effort from concept to a well-established and recognized Program. Joy’s career has focused on water and conservation challenges in Western landscapes. She brings extensive experience previously working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the Water Basin Conservancy. Joy has a bachelor’s degree in geology from New Mexico Tech and a master’s degree in hydrogeology from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Judy Anderson of Community Consultants, LLC has worked in the land trust sector for over 35 years. She assists landowners and land trusts with their land protection strategies while considering inclusive conservation, climate change, landscape conservation. Judy applies the lens of inclusive conservation to fundraising and communications strategies, strategic positioning, community engagement and developing resilient organizations. Prior to her work as a consultant, Judy served as the executive director of the Columbia Land Conservancy, NY.