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Abby Weinberg
Open Space InstituteSee EventsAbigail Weinberg develops science-based approaches to climate change and water quality for foundations, non-profits and public agencies as director of conservation research for the Open Space Institute (OSI). Abby leads research and education and outreach programs to clarify how land protection can contribute to landscape-scale solutions to climate change and water quality. Her work informs grant criteria and geographic priorities, informing placement of millions of dollars for conservation across the Eastern U.S. each year. Abby has a master’s degree in forestry from the Yale School of Forestry and a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s College (the “Great Books School”), Santa Fe.
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Adam Draper
Draper Law PLLCSee EventsDraper Law PLLC is a solo law firm focused on all aspects of land conservation — from serving as transactional counsel for the purchase, sale and donation of properties and conservation easements, to providing strategic guidance on the stewardship, management and enforcement of conservation easements. Adam Draper has over 15 years of attorney experience, with the past 10 years as in-house counsel at two land conservation organizations before entering private practice in December 2018.
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Alex Czayka
Western Reserve Land ConservancySee EventsAlex Czayka joined Western Reserve Land Conservancy in 2013. Alex’s involvement with the land conservancy includes working on conservation transactions, ranging from donated conservation easements to fee acquisition and habitat restoration. Prior to joining the land conservancy, Alex worked for the Nature Conservancy in Ohio.
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Alicia Pellegrino
Shirley Heinze Land Trust, Inc.See EventsAlicia Pellegrino is project manger for Shirley Heinze Land Trust and has a background in in engaging communities, facilitating conversations in and with community organizations, and coordinating partners to achieve successful projects. She is responsible for developing, managing and pursuing funding for several organizational programs including the agricultural land and water quality programs, student experiences in conservation, and community-based conservation initiatives.
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Alison Delaney
Peconic Land TrustSee EventsAlison Delaney (she/her) is the Senior Manager of Major & Planned Gifts at the Peconic Land Trust in Southampton, NY, where she has worked since 2018. Prior to the Trust, Alison worked as a farmer, in institutional asset management, and at a fine art auction house, all in client facing roles. She is a Vice Chair of the Southold Town Democratic Committee and serves on the Southold Town Deer Management Task Force.
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Alison Souders
US Environmental Protection AgencySee EventsAlison Souders is a financial analyst with EPA’s Office of Wastewater Management. She has served as a member of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Branch since 2017, where she helps implement and evaluate the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and provides technical assistance to EPA’s regional offices. Alison has a bachelor’s degree from American University in economics and international studies and is currently pursuing a master’s degree of public management at Johns Hopkins University.
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Allison Handler
Travertine StrategiesSee EventsAllison Handler has been working with conservation organizations and housing and community development organizations for 25 years as a practitioner and consultant. A former environmental educator, land use planner and housing land trust executive director with a master’s degree in environmental studies, she engages primarily with organizations focused on the built and natural environments.
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Allison Schichtel
Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation & Open Space DistrictSee EventsAllison Schichtel is the senior conservation planner at the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District where she has enjoyed over six years supporting conservation planning and decision-making through GIS, spatial analysis, and modeling. Allison holds a bachelor’s degree in botany and environmental biology from Humboldt State University and a master’s degree in GIScience from San Diego State University.
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Amanda Abraham
Peconic Land TrustSee EventsAmanda Abraham (she/her) is the Director of Development at the Peconic Land Trust in Southampton, NY, where she has worked since 2017. She has over 20 years of experience working in small to mid-sized not-for-profits, including universities and arts organizations, and previously served on the board of the Peconic Community School in Riverhead, NY.
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Amanda Hults
Great Land TrustSee EventsAmanda P. Hults is the Lands Manager & Stewardship Director at Great Land Trust, a regional land trust based in Anchorage, Alaska. Her responsibilities include overseeing the stewarding, administering, and defending of conservation easements, drafting baseline documentation reports and easement amendments, GIS analysis and mapping, and assisting with land conservation project development. Amanda has more than twenty years of professional experience in natural resource and land management including land-use planning, managing and monitoring public lands, outdoor recreation and wildlife management, cartography and GIS analysis for the National Park Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. She has been with GLT since 2014.
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Amy Beatie
Keep it ColoradoSee EventsAmy’s extensive background includes serving as deputy attorney general for the Attorney General’s Office Natural Resources and Environment Section of the Colorado Department of Law; executive director of the Colorado Water Trust; and attorney and clerk in the private and public sectors. She earned a Juris Doctorate with an emphasis in environmental law from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in religious philosophy from Dartmouth College. Amy enjoys spending time with family – especially in fluffy Western snow and on Western rivers; fly-fishing; local food; books about the West; and independent bookstores.
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Amy Fisher
Maine Farmland TrustSee EventsAmy Fisher joined Maine Farmland Trust as president and CEO in August 2021. After only four months on the job the PFAS “Forever Chemical” contamination crisis hit Maine farms and Amy led the organization’s response, creating a model for how land trusts can take action nationally on this critical food and farmland safety issue. Amy brings significant leadership experience to the role having served for the previous seven years as executive director of the foundation for the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) where she became interested in farming through her work with the shellfish aquaculture industry. Prior to joining VIMS, Amy was based in New England, with roles at Boston University, Simmons University, and St. Francis House. She launched her career as a grassroots organizer and led national electoral skills training and organizing efforts to get young people to vote leading up to the 2004 elections. She is a graduate of Bates College and holds an MBA in finance and nonprofit management from Boston University.
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Amy Lindholm
Appalachian Mountain ClubSee EventsAmy Lindholm is the LWCF coalition manager for the Appalachian Mountain Club, where she successfully led AMC’s campaign to permanently reauthorize and fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund. She now oversees work on implementation of that scaled-up program with a focus on both large landscape conservation to meet the climate crisis, and on increasing equity of access and participation for disinvested communities. Prior to joining AMC, Amy led LWCF Coalition efforts for The Wilderness Society in Washington DC, where she previously worked for the House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee and at the Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division.
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Andi Colnes
New England Forestry FoundationSee EventsAndrea (Andi) is deputy director and climate fellow of the Exemplary Forestry Center at New England Forestry Foundation (where she previously served on the board of directors). She oversees programs that drive forward climate solutions based on the management and protection of New England’s forests. Andi has led strategic campaigns on energy, large-scale land conservation and sustainable forestry over a 30-year career, most recently as the director for Global Green Bank Development at the Coalition for Green Capital.
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Andrea Reese
Reese Conservation Consulting LLCSee EventsAndrea M. Reese is the principal of Reese Conservation Consulting and works in capacity building, grantwriting, and project management. She is a volunteer commissioner with the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, previously served as the conservation director of Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, and has worked in regional park acquisition, stewardship fieldwork in Virginia’s Piedmont and Shenandoah Valley, battlefield grant funding for the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, and farmland preservation in Connecticut. Andrea holds two master’s degrees from Duke University and a bachelor’s degree from Pomona College. She was raised in the Palouse region of Idaho and lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband and young son.
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Andrew Purkey
AMP InsightsSee EventsAndrew Purkey began his water career as the first executive director of the Oregon Water Trust, a position he held for nine years. He then worked for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for 16 years, first as director of the Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program and then as director of the Foundation’s Western Water Program where he did extensive work in California, including on the Central Coast. In 2018 Andrew began consulting with clients throughout the West on program assessment, strategic planning, organizational development, fundraising, capacity building, policy analysis, water transactions, and communications and outreach. Andrew has an undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon and a graduate degree from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he earned a master’s degree in natural resource policy.
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Andrew Szwak
Land Trust AllianceSee EventsAndrew Szwak manages mid-Atlantic programming at the Land Trust Alliance. His 20 years in conservation span the eastern U.S. and include managing governmental affairs for a Chicago land trust, the Georgia State land protection program, and planning projects for New Jersey land trusts. Andrew is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame as well as a master’s degree in city and regional planning from Rutgers University.
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Angela West Blank
Groundswell ConservancySee EventsAs executive director, Angela is Groundswell’s chief steward, leading, and managing the organization to protect our special places forever and for everyone. Angela has a depth of nonprofit experience advocating for conservation and underrepresented communities. As former Director of Strategic Development for Wisconsin Conservation Voters, she oversaw the development program and played a leading role in strategy and capacity building. She also helped support and amplify Indigenous voices through the organization’s Native Vote program – one of her proudest achievements. Awakening people to and connecting them with the wonder and power of nature is her passion and the first step towards protecting our lands and our planet. Angela grew up between the mighty Mississippi and Rock Rivers and spent her early years hiking through woods that were once part of the Sac and Fox Nation. Some of her best memories are of taking long walks along the river with her father, watching bald eagles fly overhead, and talking about her hopes and dreams for making the world a better place. She lives with her husband Steve and two rough collies Veda and Rose in Middleton, WI, where they enjoy paddling, hiking, and spotting sandhill cranes and monarch butterflies in the area’s woods and wetlands.
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Anthony Sutton
University of MaineSee EventsDr. Anthony Sutton is the Community Food Facilitator for the Maine Shellfish Learning Network. He recently completed his Ph.D. in Ecology and Environmental Sciences at the University of Maine where he focused on Wabanaki food systeThis focus required understanding how community involvement and feedback can shape research to support robust fisheries and healthy communities. He sees a natural extension of his work with the MSLN due to Maine’s local approach to shellfish management. Sutton’s role with the MSLN supports a broad range of identities as shellfish provides economic opportunities and ways to feed Mainers.
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Ashley Demosthenes
Lowcountry Land TrustSee EventsAshley Demosthenes began her formal conservation career in 1998 with The Nature Conservancy in South Carolina. She worked for sixteen years negotiating local, state and federal land acquisition projects and conservation easements across the state. Ashley became Lowcountry Land Trust’s first director of conservation in 2013, managing the conservation and land stewardship program for the Trust. In March of 2015, Ashley was promoted to President & CEO. Ashley oversees the entire operation of the Trust with a special emphasis on strategic conservation leadership, fundraising and public policy. Ashley graduated with a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Vermont. She is a Liberty Fellow from the class of 2019, serves on the Land Trust Alliance National Board, the Alliance’s Leadership Council and leads the South Carolina Land Trust Network as vice chair of the board. She is deeply rooted in the Lowcountry where she and her husband and three children live, work and play.
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Ashley Greathouse
Bluegrass Land ConservancySee EventsAshley Greathouse is an attorney serving as general counsel and director of conservation for Bluegrass Land Conservancy, the first nationally accredited land trust in Kentucky. She began her career at the Conservancy in 2007 as the Easement Manager and has worked with board, staff, and professional advisors to significantly increase the pace of conservation in the Bluegrass. In 2016, Bluegrass Conservancy and Limestone Land Trust merged to create Bluegrass Land Conservancy which has helped 159 landowners permanently protect over 32,000 acres for future generations. Prior to joining the private, nonprofit land trust, Ashley was an associate attorney for McBrayer in Lexington, Kentucky.
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Barbara Freeman
Shirley Heinze Land TrustSee EventsBarbara Freeman is a retired executive leader in nonprofit health with extensive background in grant and proposal development, board development, nonprofit management, and community health. Barbara is a resident of Gary, IN and serves on the Board of Directors for Shirley Heinze Land Trust. She enjoys making connections in the community and building awareness of nature as a resource.
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Becky Bremser
Save the Redwoods LeagueSee EventsBecky Bremser is the director of land protection for Save the Redwoods League leading the team who acquires land to protect California’s redwood forests. Prior to the League, she was with The Trust for Public Land (TPL) working in Florida, US Virgin Islands, and California. Before TPL, Becky worked as a program manager for the Friends of Virgin Islands National Park. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with degrees in conservation biology and environmental studies.
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Ben Helphand
NeighborSpaceSee EventsFor more than twenty years, Ben Helphand has focused on ways to help communities have a direct hand in the creation and stewardship of the built environment. He is the executive director of NeighborSpace, a nonprofit urban land trust dedicated to preserving and sustaining community-managed open spaces in Chicago.
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Ben Meader
Rhumbline MapsSee EventsBen is the sole proprietor and director of Rhumb Line Maps, LLC. He grew up and went to school in New England. He recieved a degree in geography at Middlebury College.
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Beth Ridout
The Nature ConservancySee EventsBeth Ridout is the director of estate administration for The Nature Conservancy and has been with the organization for 18 years. She was previously a high net worth Trust Officer at Merrill Lynch where she helped clients plan their philanthropy and saw charitable giving from their perspectives. She has her juris doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor’s in accounting. Beth lives in Marin County, California but her team is located at The Nature Conservancy headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
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Bill Garber
Appraisal InstituteSee EventsBill Garber, director of government and external relations for the Appraisal Institute, serves as head of the AI Washington operations. He represents the interests of AI professionals before Congress, federal agencies and aligned real estate organizations. Bill has a range of expertise with real estate issues, including residential and commercial valuation and finance, economic development and land use, conservation and historic preservation issues, financial reporting, asset backed securities, and real estate disposition and acquisition.
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Bob DeForrest
Maine Coast Heritage TrustSee EventsBob is a land protection project manager for Maine Coast Heritage Trust where he has over 20 years of experience partnering with state and federal agencies and local land trusts on conservation in Downeast Maine. Bob has a degree in human ecology and is currently president of the Downeast Conservation Network, a Regional Conservation Partnership in Eastern Maine.
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Bob Stokes
Galveston Bay FoundationSee EventsBob Stokes is president and general counsel of the Galveston Bay Foundation in Kemah, Texas. He has served in that role since June, 2004. Prior to that, Bob practiced law for 10 years, most recently in the Environmental Division of the Harris County Attorney’s Office. Bob is a 1990 graduate of Yale University and a 1994 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law.
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Bonnie Lewkowicz
Bay Area Outreach and Recreation ProgramSee EventsBonnie Lewkowicz is program manager, Access Northern California, Bay Area Outreach & Recreation Program. Bonnie has 40 years’ experience as a passionate advocate for increased access to outdoor recreation for people with disabilities. She authored an accessible trail guide of the San Francisco Bay & shoreline for the California Coastal Conservancy and has created two websites of accessible trails in CA. In her work she aims to expand the DEIA conversation to include accessibility and be approached as an opportunity to embrace and not a limitation or burden. In 2023 she received an award from CA Trails & Greenways for her work to bridge the accessibility information barrier.
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Brandon Hayes
Bold Bison Communications and ConsultingSee EventsBrandon Hayes founded Bold Bison Communications & Consulting in 2019 after 20 years in the nonprofit sector. In his role as principal, Brandon leverages his pragmatic approach to communications and audience engagement with expertise in facilitation, network stewardship, and stakeholder collaboration to support organizations in the conservation, local food, and fine arts sectors. He is the current chair of the board of directors of the Institute of Conservation Leadership and president of the board of Chicago Artists for Action. Prior to Bold Bison, Brandon led communications efforts for Chicago-area nonprofits throughout his career, including Openlands, Marwen and the Goodman Theatre.
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Brenda Gallegos
Hispanic Access FoundationSee EventsBorn and raised in El Paso, Texas Brenda grew up primarily focused on her studies. She was not initially exposed to the outdoors until her early teen years when she enjoyed several school field trips and family vacations to Mexico. Her interest in science blossomed after failing a ninth-grade biology class, which pushed her to understand the subject and grow to love it. Before joining Hispanic Access Foundation, Brenda worked with New Mexico Specialized Wildlife Services as a biologist researching Montezuma quail. She later joined Friends of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks as a Tribal VISTA, eventually becoming the Associate Director after finishing her service year. There, she worked on several conservation issues including the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the ANTIQUITIES Act of 2019. She also worked on introducing underprivileged youth to the outdoors by establishing an outdoor club at a local high school and outdoor summer programs with local organizations.
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Brenda Rubio
The Trust for Public Land, California State OfficeSee EventsBrenda Elisa Rubio is currently a project associate and member of the leadership, diversity and equity-focused “Generation Now” cohort for the Trust for Public Land. She works with the Land Protection team in the Bay Area and Central Coast and helps lead TPL’s California Climate Conservation Initiative. She graduated with an undergraduate degree from St. Lawrence University with a double Major in Economics and Environmental Studies and a Minor in Statistics. She has experience working in interdisciplinary teams, such as The World Bank, The North Face, and Greening Youth Foundation, in projects related to environmental policy, academic research, environmental education , and grassroot movements.
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Brendan Taylor
Ojai Valley Land ConservancySee EventsBrendan Taylor is the director of field programs for the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy. Taylor has over 15 years of professional experience in trails and land management, including consulting on trail development all around the world and in countless ecosystems and landscapes.
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Brent Fenty
Oregon Desert Land TrustSee EventsBrent has lived and worked in Oregon’s high desert for most of his life. Before founding Oregon Desert Land Trust, Brent worked for nearly two decades in the region on successful efforts to create several conservation areas including three Wilderness areas as well as the 800-mile long Oregon Desert Trail. His other experiences include hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, serving as a research assistant at the United Nations, volunteering for the Peace Corps in West Africa, and working as an environmental scientist in Alaska. Brent spends as much time as he can exploring Oregon’s high desert with his wife, daughter, and canine co-pilot Eddy.
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Brian Larkin
Center for Community ProgressSee EventsBrian Larkin is the director of the National Land Bank Network at the Center for Community Progress, America’s nonprofit leader for turning “Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places.” A 20-year nonprofit executive and local government leader, Larkin’s passion for community development was ignited at age 21 when he was appointed to serve as a neighborhood planner and vacant land program manager for his home community of Flint, Michigan, through LISC and AmeriCorps.
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Brian Rae
The Nature Conservancy, Oregon Field OfficeSee EventsBrian Rae is a senior campaign advisor for The Nature Conservancy. In this role Brian engages throughout the Western United States on ballot measures and State Legislative campaigns to secure money for conservation, wildfire resilience and advance climate solutions. In his time with TNC and as a staffer on political campaigns Brian has developed an expertise in public opinion research, strategic message development, campaign tactics and conservation funding policy development.
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Bridget Harrison
Shirley Heinze Land TrustSee EventsBridget Harrison is the deputy director for Shirley Heinze Land Trust. She has several years of experience in non-profit management, fundraising, volunteer recruitment, and community engagement. She leads the engagement team comprised of the programs, volunteer, and communications coordinators and supports the fundraising efforts for the organization. She believes the table is large enough for all community stakeholders and partners to work together for mutually beneficial solutions in conservation.
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Byron Kominek
Jack's Solar Garden / Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning CenterSee EventsByron Kominek is the owner/manager of Jack’s Solar Garden and the executive director of the Colorado Agrivoltaic Learning Center. He is one of the most well-known agrivoltaics advocates in the U.S. and provides consulting services of organizations and land owners on specific projects. Byron is a former U.S. diplomat having served with the U.S. Agency for International Development to conserve forests and wildlife in southern Africa. He has been an international consultant on biodiversity and environmental management issues, namely in the African context. Byron is a returned Peace Corps volunteer and former volunteer of Doctors Without Borders. He holds a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Byron seeks to improve his family’s farm in Boulder County, Colorado while making an example of his land for society to learn from the integration of solar technology with agricultural practices.
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Caitlin Dyckman
Clemson UniversitySee EventsDr. Caitlin Dyckman is an associate professor in the Planning Program at Clemson University.
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Carl Palmer
LegacyWorks GroupSee EventsCarl Palmer is the founder of LegacyWorks, a group dedicated to enabling donors, investors, nonprofits and government agencies to collaboratively restore, enhance and protect the places and communities they love. In the early 2000’s Carl founded and led two pioneering impact investment firms (Beartooth Capital and Greenbridges) after previously serving as Executive Director of the Ogden Nature Center. Carl holds bachelor’s degrees from Brown University and an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.
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Cassie Adams
US Department of Agriculture Forest ServiceSee EventsCassie Adams works at the USDA Forest Service State, Private and Tribal Forestry, she comes from a legal and recreation background and now specializes in the Forest Legacy and RERC programs.
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Catherine Game
Brushwood Center At Ryerson WoodsSee EventsCatherine Game is the executive director of Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods. Catherine leads Brushwood Center’s organizational strategy to advance health equity and access to the outdoors through community action, partnerships, and the arts. Catherine has held previous positions in environmental policy development, communications, program evaluation, and education. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in biology and art from Albion College. Catherine is a past recipient of the Doris Duke Conservation Fellowship, Morris K. Udall Scholar Program and Kinship Conservation Fellowship.
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Catherine McCullough
Lowcountry Land TrustSee EventsCatherine McCullough is a distinguished grant writer and major gifts consultant with a proven track record in nonprofit development. With an impressive career spanning more than two decades, Catherine brings her expertise to organizations to empower them to define priorities and secure critical funding. Catherine loves to write proposals of all kinds and has mastered the art of crafting successful fundraising cases. She is a graduate of Middlebury College and has a Master’s Degree in English Literature from the Breadloaf School of English and the University of South Carolina. A newly certified beekeeper, Catherine lives in Mount Pleasant, SC with her husband, two children and dog, Seamus.
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Cheryl Fox
See EventsCheryl Fox was part of the group of people who formed the organization that became the Summit Land Conservancy in 1998 and was its first staff person.
Raised in Southern California, Cheryl worked in the financial industry in New York City before finding a home in the mountains of Utah. She taught English at Westminster College in Salt Lake City for 12 years, and wrote freelance articles for publications across the Intermountain region. She also worked at Dolly’s Bookstore on Park City’s Main Street and has taught skiing at Deer Valley Resort for over 30 years.
After a reproductive sabbatical, a term on the Conservancy’s Board, and a stint as Development Director, Cheryl shouldered the job of the Conservancy’s Executive Director again in 2005. Since that time, she has grown the organization into the regional land trust that it is today, saving land in 4 counties along the Wasatch Back (an area larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined). She also led the Conservancy to be the first land trust in Utah to achieve national accreditation in 2011 and through accreditation renewals in 2017 and 2021. In 2011, she shared the honor of the Park City Board of Realtors’ Community Service Award with Utah Open Lands’ Wendy Fisher. She was likewise honored as the co-Professional Citizen of the Year with Wendy Fisher by the Park City Rotary in 2017 for their collective efforts to save Bonanza Flat, 1300 acres of public open space high above Park City. In 2012 she was honored to be selected to participate in what is now called the Wentworth Executive Director Leadership Program.
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Chet Work
Gallatin Valley Land TrustSee EventsChet has spent the last 20 years working in conservation, a majority of that time within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Before coming to GVLT Chet led three of the nation’s most successful land trusts, the Teton Regional Land Trust in Eastern Idaho, The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County in California and currently the Gallatin Valley land Trust in Bozeman, Montana. In addition to his land trust leadership experience, Chet has worked as a land manager for The Nature Conservancy in Idaho and has completed an environmental education residency at the Teton Science Schools in Jackson Hole. Chet holds a master’s degree in environmental management from Duke University, as well as certificates in nonprofit management and geospatial analysis.
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Chris Baillie
Eastern North Carolina Sentinel Landscape/North Carolina Coastal FederationSee EventsChris Baillie is the Resilience/Climate Adaptation Coordinator for the Eastern North Carolina Sentinel Landscape (ENCSL), a three year pilot position to evaluate the benefits of Landscapes having a second coordinator to focus on projects addressing resilience and climate adaptation. In this role, Chris will be leading a broad group of stakeholders in the development of a Strategic Resilience/Climate Adaptation Plan for the ENCSL while concurrently facilitating the development of proposals to support resilience-focused projects within the Landscape. Chris is originally from Durham, NC, and holds a doctorate in ecology, evolution and marine biology from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. With expertise in habitat conservation and restoration, ecosystem service quantification and coupled human-natural system management, Chris has extensive experience translating applied research and stakeholder engagement into actionable State-level plans. Outside of work, Chris is an outdoors enthusiast.
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Chris Carlson
Sonoma Land TrustSee EventsChris Carlson is stewardship program manager for Sonoma Land Trust, where he manages Sonoma Valley preserves and leads their Living with Fire program, making forests and communities safer. He joined the land trust in 2022, after working as a restoration project manager in the Sacramento Delta region. Chris has worked across the Western US monitoring and studying natural resources, including wildfire response to thinning in the Sierra Nevada, and has a master’s degree in forestry from the University of Montana.
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Chris Colson
Ducks Unlimited, Western Regional OfficeSee EventsChris Colson, a regional biologist with Ducks Unlimited, makes his home in Boise, Idaho but he spends a lot of time in Harney County as an active partner with the Harney Basin Wetlands Collaborative (HBWC). Chris manages a wetland and waterfowl conservation area that encompasses eastern Oregon and southern Idaho. Working with others within Ducks Unlimited as well as local and regional partners Chris works on conserving, restoring and enhancing wetlands like the wetlands of Harney Basin. This work is all-encompassing and incorporates elements of science, planning, policy, advocacy, education and outreach.
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Chris Vaughn
See EventsChris Vaughn serves as executive director for Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust located in Charleston, South Carolina. Prior to joining the Trust, Chris enjoyed a variety of staff assignments in land conservation including Director of Field Operations with Lowcountry Land Trust, Lowcountry Program manager with Ducks Unlimited and Land Protection Specialist with The Nature Conservancy. Chris holds a master’s degree in forestry from Clemson University which complements his hands-on experience in stewardship and land protection. He resides in Charleston with his wife Kathryn and their two young children, Will and Emma.
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Chrissy Allen
Blue Hill Heritage TrustSee EventsChrissy Beardsley Allen is the associate director- director of development and operations, for Blue Hill Heritage Trust in Downeast Maine. As a member of the Land Trust Alliance’s Council on Disabilities and co-author of “Open to All, a Disability Inclusion Guide for Land Trusts”, she has been a strong advocate for accessibility within the land trust world.
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Christian Dietrich
Neilson, Swanson, Dietrich, PLLCSee EventsChristian Dietrich serves as general counsel for The Montana Land Reliance, the nation’s largest statewide land trust, with over 1,000,000 acres of Big Sky country under easement. He chairs the nonprofit section of the State Bar of Montana, and is a graduate of St. Paul’s School, Yale University and the University of Montana School of Law. Christian is the co-author of Conservation Easements: Tax and Real Estate Planning for Landowners and Advisors (American Bar Association, 2011).
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Christian Schorn
Midcoast ConservancySee EventsAs director of land conservation and ecology, Chris merges his overall love and knowledge of ecology with his geographic data management skills to help determine the best ways to manage and protect the many properties in Midcoast Conservancy’s care. In 2018 he earned a master’s degree from the Field Naturalist & Ecological Planning Program at the University of Vermont, completing a master’s project analyzing forest restoration strategies in the Champlain Valley with The Nature Conservancy and contributing to ecological management planning projects for the Greensboro Land Trust and Vermont Land Trust.
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Christy Fischer
The Trust for Public Land, California State OfficeSee EventsChristina Fischer is a native of California’s Central Coast with a passion for exploring and protecting wild places. She is the Conservation Director for the Northern California Coastal Region at the Trust for Public Land, where she works to integrate biodiversity, equitable access, and climate conservation across her portfolio. Prior to this work, Christy led the Santa Lucia Conservancy, a California Land Trust, and also spent eleven years with The Nature Conservancy in the Monterey Bay region, where she received state and national awards for working with farming interests to permanently protect over 23,000 acres of wildlife habitat and ensure new federal agricultural policies protect biodiversity. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and is an alumna of the California Agricultural Leadership Program, a two-year fellowship.
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Claire Harper
USDA Forest ServiceSee EventsClaire L. Harper is coordinating the development of a national open space conservation strategy for the U.S. Forest Service. She also is the program manager for Forest Legacy and other cooperative forestry programs in the Rocky Mountain Region. She has a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University.
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Cleveland Justis
Potrero GroupSee EventsCleveland Justis is the founder and principal of Potrero Group. An accomplished organizational leader in entrepreneurship and the environment for the past 25 years, Cleveland has worked and consulted widely with nonprofits, foundations, and governmental organizations, including the National Park Service, Resources Legacy Fund, and Grand Canyon Conservancy. His expertise spans strategic business planning, board development, public/private partnerships, network analysis and innovation. He currently teaches Social Entrepreneurship at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
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Connie Best
Pacific Forest TrustSee EventsA conservationist, successful entrepreneur, and forest owner, Ms. Best is a recognized leader in advancing strategies that harness the power of commerce to accomplish conservation objectives. At Pacific Forest Trust she has led the conservation of over 100,000 acres of managed forestland in partnership with families, tribes, major timberland owners and communities to secure lasting climate, watershed and biodiversity benefits. For her work in developing rigorous accounting methodologies for forest-based carbon credits she won the EPA Climate Protection Award. Ms. Best is the principal author of America’s Private Forests: Status and Stewardship and “Capital Markets and Sustainable Forestry: Opportunities for Investment.” She is a past board member of the American Forest Foundation, the Land Trust Alliance, and Ecotrust, among others.
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Craig Bienz
The Nature Conservancy, Oregon Field OfficeSee EventsCraig Bienz is the lead representative for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in south-central Oregon. Craig has over 30 years of experience developing partnerships (e.g., Klamath, Lake Forest Health Partnership) and administrative tools (USFS Master Stewardship Agreement, Master Participating Agreement) to achieve landowner objectives. His focus is on disturbance in natural systems.
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Craig Owen White
Hahn Loeser and Parks LLPSee EventsCraig Owen White, a graduate of Williams College and the University of Virginia School of Law, is partner-in-charge with Cleveland-based law firm Hahn Loeser & Parks LLC. White is board chair of Western Reserve Land Conservancy. He lectures internationally on issues of global commerce and enterprise governance, delivering an annual series in Africa. He serves on the boards of the International Senior Lawyers Project, Western Reserve Historical Society and the Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio.
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Craig Steinley
Appraisal InstituteSee EventsCraig Steinley, MAI, SRA, AI-GRS, AI-RRS, of Rapid City, South Dakota, is the 2023 president of the Appraisal Institute. He serves on AI’s Executive Committee and chairs the policy-setting Board of Directors. He will serve as immediate past president in 2024. He also will serve as chair of the National Nominating Committee in 2024. Steinley’s previous national service includes six years on the Appraisal Institute board of directors as a representative from Region II, both as its vice chair and chair. He served on the Audit Committee, including as chair and vice chair; on the Strategic Planning Committee; on the Professional Liability Insurance Program Committee; as Region II third director; on the Governance Structure Project Team; and on the Professional Standards and Guidance Committee. He also has served as president of the Wyoming and Western South Dakota Chapter in 2012 and 2013. He participated three years in the Leadership Development and Advisory Council conference and received a 2015 Volunteer of Distinction recognition. Craig is an education developer and instructor for the Appraisal Institute and is also an AQB-Certified USPAP Instructor.Steinley is the principal of Steinley Real Estate Appraisals and Consulting in Rapid City, South Dakota. He has also been active in the appraiser regulatory arena since the mid-1990s, including service as the 2018 president of the Association of Appraiser Regulatory Officials. He is a graduate of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology with bachelor’s degrees in both Mathematics and Computer Science, and a minor in Electrical Engineering. He also received a master’s degree in Mathematics and worked as an assistant professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at SDSM&T for five years, where he instructed engineers and scientists of all ages.
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Cris Coffin
See EventsCris Coffin helps guide AFT’s federal and state policy engagement, and also directs the National Agricultural Land Network, which supports state and local governments, land trusts, agricultural service providers, planners, and conservation organizations and builds their capacity to advance farmland protection. From 2015 to 2018, Cris served as policy director for Land For Good, a New England-based organization with which AFT often collaborates. But before that, Cris served for fourteen years as AFT’s New England director. She has held several positions in the U.S. Senate, including as professional staff on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and as chief of staff to Senator Herb Kohl. She has worked for Resources for the Future and the Vermont Department of Agriculture. Cris farms part-time with her husband, running a small pastured poultry operation in western Massachusetts.
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Csenka Favorini-Csorba
Washington State Department of Natural ResourcesSee EventsDeputy policy director Csenka Favorini-Csorba has worked in conservation and natural resource management for nearly a decade. At the Washington Department of Natural Resources, she has led on the agency’s carbon work, including releasing the Carbon Playbook, launching the agency’s carbon project, and drafting and advocating for the agency’s request legislation. Previously, she worked at an international nonprofit focused on creating responsible and sustainable natural resource supply chains.
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Curtis Berkey
Berkey Williams LLPSee EventsCurtis Berkey is a partner at Berkey Williams LLP in Oakland California, a firm exclusively serving Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations. Curtis has represented Indian Tribes in land claims litigation, water rights, cultural resource protection, environmental protection, and tribal jurisdictional disputes for more than 40 years.
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Dale Threatt-Taylor
The Nature Conservancy South Carolina ChapterSee EventsDale Threatt-Taylor is the Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy South Carolina Chapter. She received a Bachelor of Science in Conservation from North Carolina State University and a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University in 2011. In 2012, she was selected as one of 30 agriculturalists in North Carolina identified to participate in the Agricultural Leadership Development Program at North Carolina State University.
Her career began as a Soil Conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and later joined the Wake Soil and Water Conservation District. In 2008 she was selected as District Director of Wake SWCD and Wake County Soil and Water Conservation Department. Her role as Executive Director for TNC SC has provided the opportunity to build new relationships between natural resource conservationists and environmentalists across the nation.
Dale’s conservation and environmental leadership includes service on many national, state, and local boards and committees. On August 1, 2020, Dale made history when elected to serve as Chair of the Soil and Water Conservation Society’s national Board of Directors. She also serves on TNC’s North American Agriculture Committee and on the Executive Board of Sustain SC. In 2021, she was accepted as a Fellow of the inaugural class of the Sustainability Leadership Initiative (SLI) in South Carolina. On April 22, 2021, Dale was invited to join the Board of Visitors of the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. In the Fall of 2022, she completed The Riley Institute’s Diversity Leaders Initiative (DLI) at Furman University, becoming a 2022 Riley Fellow. Dale was asked to join NC State University’s Natural Resources Board of Directors beginning in 2023. Having received many awards throughout her career, one caught her by surprise, The Order of the Long Leaf Pine from North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper for her dedicated work in conservation. She has served as keynote speaker on several occasions, most recently as the 2022 Spring Commencement Guest Speaker for Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment graduation ceremony. Dale wants everyone to understand that locally led conservation begins with an individual, and together, our conservation work is so important in protecting the lands and waters on which all life depends.
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Dan Bell
Friends of the Columbia GorgeSee EventsDan Bell has been land trust director at Friends of the Columbia Gorge in based in Hood River since early 2018. In this capacity he oversees the acquisition, management and disposition of lands held by the land trust. Dan’s experience includes more than a decade with the Nature Conservancy in both Oregon and North Carolina, including seven years as the Willamette Basin conservation director.
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Dani Abboud
Brushwood Center At Ryerson WoodsSee EventsDani Abboud is the director of community programs and partnerships at Brushwood Center, working with community partners to increase equitable access to nature and art for youth and families. Dani graduated from Loyola University Chicago’s Institute of Environmental Sustainability, and has a background in community engagement and environmental justice issues. They also co-chair Chicago Wilderness Alliance’s JEDI Roadmap and Increasing Equitable Access to Nature Initiatives, and are on the leadership team of Out in Nature.
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Daniel Goldeen
US Department of Agriculture Forest ServiceSee EventsDan Goldeen works at the USDA Forest Service State, Private and Tribal Forestry. He previously worked for the Student Conservation Association and served in the US Peace Corps in The Gambia.
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Daniel Guy
The Nature Conservancy, Southern Resource OfficeSee EventsDaniel W. Guy is a senior attorney for The Nature Conservancy, serving multiple states and with special practice areas in Conservation Easements and Prescribed Fire.
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Daniel Student
Potrero GroupSee EventsDaniel Student has been a cultural, environmental, and social sector leader for over twenty years. He is a senior consultant for Potrero Group. His clients have included Peninsula Open Space Trust, Outdoor Afro, and Zion Forever Project, for which he has led strategic planning and board and executive search. Notably, Daniel also led Potrero Group’s engagement with Resources Legacy Fund to provide program management for the development of California Natural Resource Agency’s 30×30 strategy.
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Darren Ranco
University of Maine, Department of AnthropologySee EventsDarren Ranco is a Penobscot Nation anthropologist and academic. His scholarship centers on how climate and environmental science interfaces with Indigenous knowledge systeHis research focuses on how using Indigenous diplomacy and critiques of the liberalism applied to practices of environmental upheaval, to protect cultural resources, specifically looking at exposure to environmental risks.
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David Allen
Development for Conservation, LLCSee EventsDevelopment for Conservation assists conservation organizations raising money from individual donors by improving renewal, cultivation, and major gift systeDavid Allen brings 30 years’ experience to the practice, including 13 with The Nature Conservancy. He has devoted his professional career to helping conservation organizations and land trusts pursue excellence in all aspects of their conservation endeavors. David is a skilled seminar presenter, particularly in major gift fundraising. Specialties include Development Audits, board training and campaigns.
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David Grusznski
The Conservation FundSee EventsDavid Grusznski manages The Conservation Fund’s implementation of the Milwaukee Metroplitan Sewerage District’s Greenseams and Working Soils prograFor the past 20 years, David has worked in Southeast Wisconsin helping to preserve over 5,000 acres of land. This work includes developing creative partnerships with land trusts, local units of government and everyone in between.
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David Hindin
U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySee EventsDavid Hindin was an enforcement attorney, supervisor and executive at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. David’s EPA career included: developing and implementing compliance programs, rules, and policies; training state and federal staff; litigating enforcement cases to reduce pollution; managing national environmental information systems; running voluntary programs; promoting public access to government information; and leading initiatives to modernize environmental programs using evidence and behavioral science knowledge and research methods. David has published papers on the potential of advanced monitoring technology to reduce pollution, how to design effective rules, the root causes of our environmental crises we prefer to ignore.
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David Lewis
Confederated Tribes of Grand RondeSee EventsDavid G. Lewis is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Indigenous Studies at OSU. David is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, a descendant of the Takelma, Chinook, Molalla, and Santiam Kalapuya peoples of western Oregon. He served as Cultural Department manager, curator, and historian of the Grand Ronde Tribe and help plan and open the Chachalu Museum. David researches Oregon tribal histories, and their traditional ecological knowledge, conducts presentations about tribal histories, and writes essays for publication and for his blog, the Quartux Journal at ndnhistoryresearch.com. David’s book, Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley is being published by Ooligan Press and is available November 2023. He is currently teaching and contracting with local tribes and municipalities about local tribal history. David lives in Salem with his wife Donna, and sons Inatye and Saghaley.
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David Metz
Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3)See EventsSince 1998, FM3 research partner and president Dave Metz has provided opinion research to conservation organizations including The Nature Conservancy, the Trust for Public Land, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and the National Wildlife Federation. Dave’s research has supported passage of statewide land and water conservation ballot measures in 15 states, and has informed messaging recommendations to guide the environmental community in addressing challenging issues like wildfire, natural climate solutions and “regulatory takings.”
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David Weinstein
The Trust for Public Land, Montana and Northern Rockies OfficeSee EventsDavid Weinstein rejoined The Trust for Public Land in 2020 as Western conservation finance director. He advises local and state governments throughout the Western United States on how to design, pass, and implement legislative initiatives and ballot measures that create funding for land and water conservation and climate-smart solutions. A Wyss Foundation Fellow and Coloradoan, David has been involved in conservation politics for more than a decade, most recently as Outdoor Industry Association’s state and local policy director, and formerly with U.S. Senator Mark Udall’s Office and Colorado Governor Hickenlooper’s first gubernatorial campaign. He serves on the board of directors for the Montana Conservation Corps and Alaska Wilderness League Action. David lives in Bozeman, MT, and is an avid backcountry skier, mountain biker, boater, angler, runner, backpacker, birder and packrafter.
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Dawn Cunningham
RES.usSee EventsDawn Cunningham is a senior ecologist with RES, a national ecological restoration company with a regional office in Sacramento. She is responsible for the ecological management of conservation and mitigation banks throughout California, Oregon, and Washington. Several of the banks are vernal pool lands that harbor federally threatened fairy shrimp and a range of rare plants, including a mitigation site that is a SOLC conservation easement. Cattle grazing is among the tools for invasive plant management as well as hydrological connectivity in the ephemeral vernal pool systems, which have shrunken to 40% or less of their historic extent from California to southern Oregon through land conversion and development.
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Dawn Haight
Klamath Lake Land TrustSee EventsAs an executive director and only staff member of a small land trust in southern Oregon, Dawn Haight currently works with the board to deliver on the mission of the organization. She also leads fundraising, educational programming and restoration efforts. Dawn has deep knowledge about land conservation from her 20+ years of experience at four land conservation organizations. Dawn served on the Board of the Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation and volunteered for the National Trust for Scotland while there on a three-month sabbatical. She was the visionary and Coordinator for the 2014 NYS Land Conservation Summit, was an Advisory Committee member for the development of two NYS Open Space Conservation Plans and served on the Central Pine Barrens Commission on Long Island, NY. She has a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the University of Guelph in Ontario, and her undergraduate work at the University of Victoria led to a bachelor’s degree with a double major in environmental studies and English.
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Denise Lopez
Friends of the Columbia GorgeSee EventsA passionate community organizer and coalition builder focused on empowering others and building relationships, Denise has five years of experience working with communities of color and equitable access to natural resources. She joined Friends in August 2021 as a conservation organizer. Prior to joining Friends, Denise worked for the Portland Bureau of Planning & Sustainability, the Environmental Law & Policy Center in Chicago, and the Nature Conservancy in Markham, Illinois. She’s driven to be a part of change in her community by encouraging others to join, dream, and accomplish more together. Denise holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental sociology and public health from Northwestern University.
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Don Gentry
Klamath Lake Land TrustSee EventsDon Gentry has been actively involved in Klamath Tribes matters for over three decades. From 2012 through 2021 he was chairman of the Klamath Tribes Council. His involvement including years as the Tribes’ natural resources specialist where he coordinated resource management with state and federal agencies. His background, along with lifelong interests as a hunter and fisherman, have provided him with a perspective that has made him a sometimes-controversial advocate for tribal treaty rights, including ongoing disputes involving water issues.
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Dorsey Dick
Montezuma Land ConservancySee EventsYa’teeh/Mayk (“Hello” in Dine/Nuche) I am Dorsey Francis John Dick. I am Kinlichini (Redhouse Clan) born for Todichinii (Bitter Water Clan) my Maternal grandfathers clan is Naashteezhi Tabaaha (Zuni Water Edge Clan) and my Paternal Grandfathers clan is Ashiihi (Salt Clan). I reside on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation in Towaoc Colorado, I am originally from Naaki Toh (Mexican Water, Utah). I am Navajo/Paiute and ties going back to Hopi/Zuni. This conservation work has always been held high in my values because to be Indigenous is to be brought up knowing that mother earth is to be protected, to be loved and cared for. With my position I feel as if I can do that work in aiding Mother Earth or as in Dine, we say ‘Keyah’. For example, many times have I been able to go and speak about something I hold dear, like protecting the land, or have been able to support projects from traditional harvest to removing invasive species or working with youth on restoration. This job has allowed me to mesh culture with the ever-changing world while also being able to say “Aheehee”, or thank you, to those before and after me for being able to do this work. What drives me to do this work is that anything is possible, that your culture or orientation should never excuse you from monumental opportunities.
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Duane Emmons
Washington State Department of Natural ResourcesSee EventsDuane Emmons is the assistant deputy for state uplands with the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR). He has programmatic oversight of the 3 million acres of trust and conservation lands managed by the department and serves as a senior advisor to the Commissioner of Public Lands and the Board of Natural Resources. Duane has been with DNR for 12 years, and prior to coming to DNR worked for over a decade as the forest manager for the University of Washington’s Center for Sustainable Forestry at Pack Forest. In 1999 he was named a Society of American Foresters Presidential Field Forester of the Year.
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Duron Chavis
Central Virginia Agrarian CommonsSee EventsChavis engages in coordinating innovative and dynamic initiatives around the topics of urban agriculture and local food systems in a culturally relevant way. In 2009 Chavis launched the Richmond Noir Market, a Saturday farmer’s market targeting low-income communities located in what the USDA has designated as food deserts in Richmond Virginia. 2012 marked the development his first community garden; which subsequently led to the development of urban farms, urban orchards, urban vineyards and work in poverty mitigation, workforce development, health and racial equity.
Chavis has received numerable accolades for his work. He served in 2011 as a Clean Air Ambassador on behalf of Earthjustice and the Hip Hop Caucus. He is an alumni of Leadership Metro Richmond’s class of 2011, received Style Weekly’s Top 40 under 40 award in 2010, and the Style Weekly Power List in 2014 & 2015. Chavis served as the inaugural director of the Harding Street Urban Ag Center; a recreation center repurposed into an indoor farm by VSU. Chavis served as the first Community Engagement Manager for Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. Currently, Chavis serves as director of The Happily Natural Day. -
Ed Contreras
Intermountain West Joint VentureSee EventsEd Contreras coordinates bird habitat conservation for the Intermountain West Joint Venture in Southern Oregon and Northeastern California (SONEC). He has been involved in collaborative private lands habitat conservation for a decade, previously working in Montana and Idaho. Ed works closely with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, and a multitude of state, local and NGO partners to implement habitat improvements, including conservation easements, on farms and ranches.
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Eileen Chauvet
Conservation Partners LLPSee EventsEileen Chauvet, partner at the law firm of Conservation Partners, LLP is an experienced real estate and conservation attorney, whose experience includes representation of land trusts and owners in conservation transactions, local governments, and commercial lenders, developers and property owners.
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Elise Turrietta
US Environmental Protection AgencySee EventsElise Turrietta is an ORISE Fellow in the Nonpoint Source Management Branch at EPA headquarters where she conducts research to support the Healthy Watersheds Protection program and Clean Water State Revolving Fund partnerships. Elise has a master’s degree in environmental sciences from the University of Virginia where she studied hydrology, ecology, and water quality in restored coastal seagrass systems.
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EliYahu Ysrael
Local Lands Organically Grown GardensSee EventsEliYahu Ysrael is a New Yorker turned Georgian when his father felt a draw to the state in what EliYahu describes as a “divine calling”. EliYahu is a 2nd generation farmer whose family operates Local Lands Organically Grown Gardens, a farm business with two locations in Georgia, as well as Atlanta Harvest, the market outlet for the produce and meat products produced on the farm.
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Ellen Fred
Conservation Partners LLPSee EventsEllen Fred is a partner at Conservation Partners LLP, practicing in California and Michigan in the areas of real estate and tax law, focusing primarily on land conservation transactions and nonprofit tax issues. She represents land trusts and landowners on myriad aspects of conservation transactions. Ellen earned her law degree in 2003, summa cum laude, from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Prior to Conservation Partners, Fred was with the San Francisco law firm of Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass, LLP, where she practiced for four years in its land conservation section, and also served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Melvin Brunetti of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Reno, Nevada.
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Ellen Kazary
Great Land TrustSee EventsEllen Kazary, Great Land Trust Executive Director since 2016. She is responsible for leading the organization to fulfill its mission to conserve and steward the lands and waters essential to the quality of life and economic health of Alaskans. Working in partnership with private and public landowners, GLT permanently protects the integrity of natural ecosystems, wetlands and streams, and public access to recreational lands throughout Southcentral Alaska. Ellen has more than twenty years of experience in non-profit management and has specialized in financial management for stability and sustainability as well as leading efficient and productive teams to complete large-scale, complex projects in remote and urban areas of Alaska. An avid outdoors person, Ellen was introduced to GLT when she and her partner, Chris, purchased a wetlands property from GLT. The protected property provides wildlife habitat near the cabin they built themselves.
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Ellie Cosgrove
Southern Oregon Climate Action NowSee EventsEllie Cosgrove serves as the master climate protector (MCP) program coordinator for Southern Oregon Climate Action Now and the education program manager for Rogue Valley Farm to School. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Portland State University and a master’s degree in environmental education from Southern Oregon University. Ellie uses her background in science and education program design and delivery to teach children, teenagers and adults about regenerative agriculture, climate change, food systems and nutrition.
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Ellie Oldach
See EventsEllie is the program manager for First Light and New Learning Journey.
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Emily Boedecker
Momentum CommunicationsSee EventsEmily Boedecker has more than 25 years of experience supporting and growing organizations in the US and Europe. After holding international marketing and public relations positions with Hewlett Packard and VeriFone, she shifted her focus to the nonprofit sector and worked in leadership roles with The Nature Conservancy and Local Motion. Before joining Momentum Emily served as Commissioner of Environmental Conservation for the State of Vermont bringing her experience into the public sector. Emily was an advocate with the Sierra Club in California’s fastest growing county. Emily holds a bachelor’s in marketing and engineering from the University of Huddersfield, UK.
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Emma Ellsworth
Mount Grace Land Conservation TrustSee EventsEmma comes to Mount Grace as an avid hunter, angler, hiker, and outdoors woman. She lives at the base of Mount Tully, a Mount Grace protected property. Emma feels very passionate about protecting her “backyard” and grateful to be able to call it a job. Emma spent the last 20 years as a union organizer and negotiator, fighting for social justice, for working class people to have a voice on the job, and for a chance at a decent quality of life. She is thrilled to be applying those same collaborative skills to conservation. She believes deeply in our need to bridge differences, foster a culture of finding common goals, and stand up for what we believe in if we are to be successful. She follows in the footsteps of her father, who was a Mount Grace board member, her brother who was the key note speaker at an annual meeting, and her parent Jay Lord, who helped found Just Roots, another Mount Grace project. Love of the land is in her blood. In this age of crazy storms, unprecedented weather, and bird population decline, conservation of our “backyard” is more important than ever.
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Emy Brawley
The Conservation FundSee EventsEmy Brawley, Great Lakes regional director for The Conservation Fund, is an attorney with over 20 years experience in complex real estate and multi-partner project management. She is currently managing a FY19 USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Project that has been highly successful in recruiting and enrolling underserved farmers in Kankakee County, Illinois. Emy has successfully purchased two farms in Chicago for underserved farmers through the Working Farms Fund program.
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Eric Rubenstahl
Marin Agricultural Land TrustSee EventsEric Rubenstahl has been the Marin Agricultural Land Trust associate director of stewardship since April 2016. Prior to joining MALT, he worked in varying natural resource management positions throughout California and Colorado. He was the River Monitoring Coordinator for the South Yuba River Citizens League and served as the Land and Water Resources Technician for the City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Department. Eric earned a M.S. Conservation Leadership from Colorado State University.
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Erica Hansen
See EventsErica Hansen is the water 4 coordinator for the Intermountain West Joint Venture. Erica joined the IWJV team in May of 2022. In her role as water 4 coordinator, she supports the conservation of wetlands, working wet meadows and other water resources in ways that benefit both people and wildlife. Her career is rooted in the Intermountain West, where she has developed a deep appreciation for open spaces, clean water and the communities that steward them. Before joining the IWJV, Erica worked as the land protection specialist and staff biologist for the Jackson Hole Land Trust. Erica holds a bachelor’s in zoology with Honors from Colorado State University and a master’s in wildlife biology from Utah State University.
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Erik Glenn
Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land TrustSee EventsErik is the executive director of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT). Erik holds a bachelor’s degree in natural resources management from Colorado State University, a master’s degree in resource law studies from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and an executive MBA from the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. Erik also serves on the board of Keep it Colorado, is the president of the Partnership of Rangeland Trusts and is a trustee of the Western Stock Show Association. In his free time, Erik enjoys coaching youth soccer, reading, fishing, hunting, and exploring new places with his wife Shelby and their three childrenTheodore, Henry and Abigail.
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Erik Kingfisher
Jefferson Land TrustSee EventsErik is responsible for the leadership and direction of Jefferson Land Trust’s stewardship program. He works directly with landowners, volunteers and other partners to monitor, protect and restore conservation properties in which the Land Trust holds an interest. Erik has been working in land conservation since 1999, and has been the stewardship director with Jefferson Land Trust since 2007. He has been an active leader in the Washington Association of Land Trusts since its founding and was president 2013-2014. With a bachelor’s degree in environmental education, and a master’s degree in environmental politics, he also created and annually operates the popular Tidelands to Timberline adult natural history course and supervises other On-The-Land-Learning community engagement programs of the land trust. Erik is a really great dad, pretty good naturalist and alright musician.
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Erika Richardson
Virginia Outdoors Foundation HeadquartersSee EventsErika has been with Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) for over 16 years and currently manages Virginia’s Piedmont Region easement enforcement program which combines the easement portfolios of the Charlottesville and Warrenton offices with over 2,000 easement properties in 21 localities. She manages a staff of 9 full-time and contract employees including the VOF Americorps Stewardship Program that was developed to provide recent college graduates an introduction to land conservation. In addition, Erika and the Piedmont team work on amendments to existing easements to improve conservation protections and oversee the VOF Mitigation Bank Easement and Long-Term Steward program. Erika holds undergraduate degrees in both psychology and biology. She is a graduate of the 2020 Class of the UVA Institute for Engagement & Negotiation’s Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute.
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Ethan Inlander
The Nature Conservancy, California Field OfficeSee EventsEthan Inlander is the project director, restoration and stewardship for The Nature Conservancy California. He has led a team to implement remote monitoring for TNC-CA beginning over 10 years ago. Their team has used a combination of public and private satellite imagery and UAV (drone) imagery to monitor fee and easements. He has documented the savings in time and money and assisted the Alliance to begin the same documentation process for land trust. He holds a master’s degree in geography from University of California Barbara and a bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of California Santa Barbara.
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Faith James
Coastal Conservation LeagueSee EventsFaith grew up in the Four Mile community East of the Cooper River near Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. She graduated from Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, then launched a legal career in Washington, D.C. She later served as Executive Director of the South Carolina Bar Foundation, where she was fortunate to be able to work in partnership with the Coastal Community Foundation and the SC Coastal Conservation League to launch the Heirs’ Property Preservation Project, an issue that remains near and dear to her heart. Later, her law teaching career led her to focus on property and environmental issues at Vermont Law School and Elon University School of Law. She returned home to the South Carolina Lowcountry five years ago to serve as the Assistant Provost for Leadership and Chair of the Department of Leadership Studies at The Citadel, where she taught the next generation of our state’s leaders. She now serves as the Executive Director of a leading environmental advocacy organization based in Charleston, SC known as the SC Coastal Conservation League.
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Farley Ketchum
Ute Mountain TribeSee EventsHello, I’m Farley Ketchum Sr, from the Ute Mountain Tribe. My job title is a biologist technician with 4 years’ experience working for the environmental department. I’m passionate about my community as I’m the Bear Dance and Sundance chief, father, and husband. As the chairman of the Brunot Hunting Treaty commission, I’ve been dedicated for many years working on bettering the tribal lands and preserving areas for traditional harvesting, but this is more easily said than done and I’ve faced many battles along the way. The battles I’ve faced were seeing my land dry with little to no growth to our plant species and wildlife. I look forward to the future as I want to preserve our lands to grow more trees and store more water from runoff so that down the road children of the future can see how we tried to conserve the land that we live on. I say conserve because I grew up seeing big snows and big rains living with my grandparents where we used to live in our shade structured houses of cotton woods leaves, living simply off the land harvesting numerous plants as our ancestors did. I am very honored to have witnessed a lot in my time from a kid to now. I strive to bring back traditional roots that were implanted in me for others to learn from as I present all my knowledge through my line of work and my home life with my family. I remain fully compassionate about my Tribe’s tradition and ceremonies and the future for my community and family. In all, I hope for the betterment for the tribe, as I try my best in everything I do from my work, to home to, keeping our Ute ways alive.
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Francine Miller
Vermont Law School- Environmental Law CenterSee EventsFran Miller is a senior staff attorney and adjunct faculty member at the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS) at Vermont Law School (VLS), where she supervises students in the Food and Agriculture Clinic and leads a variety of projects, including collaborations with Agrarian Trust. Fran focuses predominantly on farmland access, overseeing the expansion of CAFS’s Farmland Access Legal Toolkit to better serve historically marginalized communities. Fran is on the board of the Vermont Agrarian Commons, and is Co-director of the White River Land Collaborative in Tunbridge, Vermont.
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Frank Deuter
Lower Shore Land TrustSee EventsFrank is the stewardship coordinator at Lower Shore Land Trust, (LSLT) helping to protect 24,000 acres of land along 135 properties on Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore per Land Trust Alliance Standards and Practices. Frank has been volunteering with LSLT since high school and participated in Chesapeake Bay Trust’s Chesapeake Conservation Corp. program with LSLT during the 2020-2021 cohort. Frank earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental science with minors in forensic chemistry and political science from Eastern University. Frank works with many programs at LSLT including GIS projects, easement monitoring, volunteer programming and invasive species removal.
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Frida Ramirez
Bold Bison Communications and ConsultingSee EventsFrida Ramirez is a first-generation Mexican American designer and communicator, passionate about connecting communities to nature. As Bold Bison’s creative specialist, Frida provides comprehensive support for the communications, marketing, and brand strategy needs of nonprofit organizations. A graduate of the University of Texas and the Honors College at Lone Star University Park, Frida joined the Bold Bison team in early 2023, having previously supported land trusts in Texas including Bayou Land Conservancy and Coastal Prairie Conservancy.
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Gabe Sheoships
Friends of Tryon CreekSee EventsGabe is an enrolled Cayuse/Walla Walla tribal citizen in the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. He is the Executive Director for the Friends of Tryon Creek and is an adjunct faculty instructor in both the Indigenous Nations Studies and University Studies departments at Portland State University. In addition, Gabe is a board member of the Center for Diversity and the Environment and the Willamette River Network, and volunteers his time towards other environmental and DEI nexus initiatives in Oregon. He resides in Portland, Oregon.
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Gareth Plank
Siskiyou Land TrustSee EventsGareth Plank owns and operates the Scott River Ranch, 4,000 acres that encompasses the watersheds of the Marble Mountains, Trinity Alps, and Scott Mountains in northern California. He serves as secretary of the Siskiyou Land Trust, which placed conservation easements in 2010 on 5,680 acres of family land including the ranch adjacent to Scott River Ranch. Gareth currently runs an organic grass-based operation on the ranch and has been heralded as one of the most ecologically balanced ranches in the country.
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Gavin Ricklefs
Bitter Root Land TrustSee EventsGavin Ricklefs has spent the last 15 years leading conservation efforts as executive director of the Bitter Root Land Trust, based in Hamilton, Montana. During his tenure, BRLT has become a national leader in Farm Bill policy and implementation and a model of community-supported private land conservation. Gavin holds a bachelor’s degree from Whitman College and a law degree from the University of Montana School of Law. He serves on several boards, including as president of the Montana Association of Land Trusts from 2015 through 2021. In 2022, he led a diverse team of stakeholders to renew a $10 million countywide Open Lands Bond Program by a 71% majority in deeply conservative Ravalli County.
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Gaylen Beatty
MetroSee EventsGaylen Beatty grew up in Los Angeles, California. Many summers included family camping trips throughout the west coast and Canada. The privilege of those opportunities guided her life. She has spent the last 25 years in the fields of conservation, outdoor education, youth corps and park operations. She also founded the Portland region’s Backyard Habitat Certification Program in 2006. Gaylen now works for Metro’s Parks and Nature. She manages a dynamic team that works on complex projects that focus on cross departmental integration and collaboration that maximize equitable impacts. She received her undergraduate degree from Humboldt State University in oceanography, master’s degree in science teaching from Portland State University and is honored to be a 2042 fellow for Center for Diversity and the Environment. In her free time, Gaylen relishes family time at home, in the garden on a beautiful spring day, or on a mountain enjoying first tracks with her Burton custom board.
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Glenn Lamb
Columbia Land TrustSee EventsGlenn Lamb was part of the all-volunteer board that founded Columbia Land Trust in 1990. He became its first executive director in 1998 and served as their director for 32 years of growth and major conservation accomplishments, before retiring in 2022. Glenn has also served on the boards of the Land Trust Alliance and other conservation and community organizations. He is a firm believer in land’s ability to uplift the human spirit.
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Gregory Snyder
Snyder Appraisal AssociatesSee EventsGregory L. Snyder, ARA has 37 years agricultural and rural real estate valuation experience. Greg is president of Snyder Appraisal Associates, LLC, a Lancaster, PA based appraisal company founded in 2000. He is certified in PA, MD and DE. Greg’s work is focused on Conservation Easement Appraisals, UASFLA (Yellowbook) appraisals, IRS compliant appraisals for real property charitable contributions, as well as specialized agricultural and rural property valuation.
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Hallie Schwab
Open Space InstituteSee EventsHallie Schwab is conservation planning manager at Open Space Institute, where she helps land trusts apply climate and watershed science to guide land protection for water quality, climate resilience and flood hazard mitigation. Hallie administers a grant program that provides support for conservation planning and works with OSI’s partners to develop guidance and tools to support land trust response to climate change. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Vermont and a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College.
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Hallison Putnam
U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceSee EventsHallison Putnam is the Deputy Chief of Realty for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and currently the Acting Chief of the Division. Hallison began her federal career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Portland, Oregon, Regional office. Hallison holds a J.D. and an LL.M. in environmental and natural resources law from Lewis & Clark Law School. She enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing, traveling, and tending to her 3’x6’ community garden plot.
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Hannah Ertl
Ute Mountain Ute TribeSee EventsHannah Ertl is a biologist with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.
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Hannah Eugster
Peninsula Open Space TrustSee EventsHannah Eugster (they/them) is a photographer and videographer with a passion for the environment. Hannah’s goal is to help craft and share beautiful stories. They want to help others understand how crucial it is for us to put sustainability at the forefront of our policies and actions. Through visual storytelling, Hannah hopes to make an impact on society while also helping other like-minded companies do the same.
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Harry Pollack
Save the Redwoods LeagueSee EventsHarry Pollack served as the general counsel at Save the Redwoods League’s staff from 2011 – 2022. Prior to that, Harry had a private practice representing land trust throughout California. He serves on the board of directors and the Policy Committee of the California Council of Land Trusts and on the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. Harry is a former member of the Terrafirma board.
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Hathaway Jones
USDA-NRCSSee EventsHathaway Jones obtained her master’s degree in geography earth science from Shippensburg University in 2001. She began working for NRCS is 2003 as a temporary employee and was hired as a Natural Resources Specialist in 2004, doing conservation planning in Pennsylvania. In 2009, she accepted a position at the Pennsylvania State Office and began a detail working on easements. She became the easement program manager for Pennsylvania NRCS in 2010 and held that position until 2022, when she was hired as a realty specialist under the Implementation and Stewardship Branch in EPD.
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Heidi Krolick
The Trust for Public Land, California State OfficeSee EventsHeidi Krolick has worked in land conservation for nearly 20 years, and is currently the conservation director for the Trust for Public Land (TPL) in northern California, focusing on the Sierra Nevada and Southern Cascade regions. At TPL she is responsible for leading program work and initiatives that advance climate resilience, biodiversity, recreation and equity. Prior to joining TPL, Heidi was executive director of the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that more than 140,000 acres of watershed lands located across California are protected and enhanced for a broad range of beneficial public values. Heidi holds a master’s degree in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management from Lincoln University in New Zealand, and bachelor’s degrees in environmental studies and geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
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Hilary Franz
Washington State Department of Natural ResourcesSee EventsCommissioner of public lands Hilary Franz manages nearly 6 million acres of public lands – from coastal waters and aquatic reserves, to working forests and farms, commercial developments and unparalleled recreation areas, and also leads Washington state’s wildfire fighting force. She has led efforts to protect our communities and environment from the impacts of a changing climate, increased development and wildfire.
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Hudson Garcia
Queer Sol CollectiveSee EventsHudson Garcia is a Queer artist, healer and spiritual guide who uses a Queercentric lens to realign pre-colonial narratives with self understanding and reindeginze present-day practices within the LGBTQ+ community. As a Detribalized Indigenous Quimbaya descendant from the upper Cauca Valley of present-day Colombia, and a Native New Yorker, Hudson addresses the complexities of intersecting identities in today’s modern world and how to weave these intersections into a holistic sense of self.
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Hugh Kenny
Piedmont Environmental CouncilSee EventsHugh Kenny works on the communications team at The Piedmont Environmental Council as a photographer and videographer. Born and raised in New York City, he moved to Virginia in 2019 after graduation from Bates College and works to create compelling imagery from the ground and up in the air to aid in PEC’s storytelling efforts.
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Jackson Moller
USDA Forest ServiceSee EventsJackson 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.
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James Patterson
NC State UniversitySee EventsJames 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.
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Jan Kurtz
The Nature Conservancy, Oregon Field OfficeSee EventsJan 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.
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Janelle St John
Growing HomeSee EventsJanelle 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.
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Jasmine Williams
Parson Williams Group LLCSee EventsJasmine 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.
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Jason Swann
The Trust for Public Land, Colorado State OfficeSee EventsJason 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.
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Jay Dean
John Muir Land TrustSee EventsJay 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.
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Jeb Musser
Lancaster Farmland TrustSee EventsJeb 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.
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Jeff Cartwright
Bureau of Land Management, Idaho State OfficeSee EventsJeff 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.
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Jeff LeJava
Open Space InstituteSee EventsJeff 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.
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Jeffrey Appel
Ray, Quinney & NebekerSee EventsJeff 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.
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Jen Clitheroe
Strength PerspectiveSee EventsJen “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.
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Jennifer Brady-Connor
Land Trust Accreditation CommissionSee EventsJennifer has worked with the Commission since March 2008 on almost every aspect of the accreditation program. As associate program director, Jennifer manages the application deadline and review schedule in addition to reviewing applications. Jennifer previously worked for the Land Trust Alliance, helping develop the 2004 revised Land Trust Standards and Practices and the land trust accreditation program in addition to providing technical assistance to land trusts. Jennifer worked many years for a local land trust and other nonprofits to address wetland and water quality issues, she has served on a number of nonprofit boards, and she has owned and operated two small businesses. In addition to earning a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University at Albany, she has a certificate in project management from Empire State College’s School of Graduate Studies.
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Jennifer Cherry
National Park ServiceSee EventsJennifer “Jen” Cherry is the Realty Officer for the National Park Service Land Acquisition Policy and Support Branch and the Acting Deputy Chief of the Land Resources Division. Jen began her federal career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Lakewood, Colorado and Anchorage, Alaska. After returning to the East coast, Jen worked in the non-profit land conservation field for several years before returning to the federal government with National Park Service. Jen holds a Juris Doctor from the University of New England School of Law, and a L.L.M. in Environmental and Natural Resource Law from the University of Denver College of Law. Jen and her husband live in Connecticut with their two dogs. They enjoy hiking, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding and spending time with the pups.
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Jennifer Clinton
The Trust for Public Land, Massachusetts State OfficeSee EventsJennifer 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.
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Jerry Cosgrove
American Farmland TrustSee EventsJerry Cosgrove is Farm Legacy Director and a Senior Advisor for American Farmland Trust and is Of Counsel at the law firm of Scolaro, Fetter, Grizanti and McGough, P.C. He combines a farming background, legal experience and a long history of nonprofit work and public service. During his career, he has worked on a range of agricultural, conservation, farm transfer, land access and rural development issues. He grew up on his family’s dairy farm in Clinton in central New York. Jerry graduated from Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences with a degree in agriculture. He also graduated from Cornell Law School and is licensed to practice law in New York. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and the American Agricultural Law Association.
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Jesica Blake
North Carolina Coastal Land TrustSee EventsJesica 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.
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Jessica Groves
USDA Natural Resource Conservation ServiceSee EventsJessica Groves is a National easement specialist for the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service and serves on the Easement Policy Branch of the Easement Program Division. She primarily works on crafting the regulations, policy and procedures used to implement NRCS easement programs and providing training on NRCS easement programs nationwide. Jessica is a wildlife biologist by background, and over the course of her 25 years with NRCS has delivered NRCS easement programs at the field, State, Regional and National levels. Jessica spends most of her time in Oregon, California, or her family’s Century Farm in southeastern Kansas.
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Jessica Jay
Conservation Law, P.C.See EventsFounder/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.
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Jessica Whittaker
Land Trust Accreditation CommissionSee EventsJessica Whittaker is a review specialist for the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. She is a licensed attorney, who practiced in primarily the areas of real estate and estate planning law. Prior to entering into private practice, she was the executive director of the Sippican Lands Trust, Inc. (SLT), where she successfully guided staff through the accreditation process during the pilot program. Jessica also worked in land protection for both SLT and the Buzzards Bay Coalition, Inc. She has served on several nonprofit boards and committees, and served as Commissioner from 2009 to 2012.
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Jessie Hancock
Bluegrass Land ConservancySee EventsJessie 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.
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Jessie McSwane
See EventsJessie McSwane serves as senior stewardship manager for Peconic Land Trust, where she has worked since 2015. Her work in the stewardship department has included easement and preserve monitoring, habitat restoration and coastal resiliency projects, land access programs, project-based grant writing and management, and support of agricultural programs. Jessie holds a master’s degree in Geography and a certificate in Geospatial Information Science from Marshall University, and a LEAD NY Fellows Program Certificate from The Empire State Food and Agriculture Leadership Institute, Cornell CALS.
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Jessie Rathburn
Loretto CommunitySee EventsJessie 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.
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Jim Coonan
C2 RanchSee EventsJim 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.
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Jim Shallow
The Nature Conservancy, Vermont Field OfficeSee EventsJim 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.
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Joe Plaugher
Sonoma Land TrustSee EventsJoe 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.
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John Barone
Tooher & Barone, LLPSee EventsJohn 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.
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John Sterling
Oregon Desert Land TrustSee EventsJohn 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.
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John Wros
The Conservation FundSee EventsJohn Wros joined The Conservation Fund in 2015 as Western Real Estate Associate. He’s worked with federal, state, and local agencies, land trusts, and tribes to protect thousands of acres of habitat and recreation lands in Alaska and Oregon. John holds a BA from Occidental College and Masters of Forest Ecology from University of Washington.
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Jonathan Wagar
Duke Farms, Doris Duke FoundationSee EventsJonathan (Jon) Wagar is deputy executive director for operations and sustainability at Duke Farms, a Center of the Doris Duke Foundation. The Doris Duke Foundation supports the well-being of people and the planet for a more creative, equitable and sustainable future. Jon is also an adjunct assistant professor at Raritan Valley Community College, where he teaches classes on environmental studies, the environment and climate change. Previously, Jon worked as Vice President for conservation programs at Conservation Resources and was director of land acquisition and stewardship at Schiff Natural Lands Trust. 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 of science degree in biology from Richard Stockton University, was a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala and earned a master of forestry degree from Yale University. He is former chairman of the Mendham Township Open Space Trust Committee, where he worked with volunteers and township officials to acquire and manage parks and open space. He was a founding member of the Mendham Township Green Team and was the founding chairman of the New Jersey Invasive Species Strike Team. Jon is a 2011 fellow of Lead New Jersey.
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Jonathon Katcher
See EventsJonathon 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.
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Jose Oliva
HEAL Food AllianceSee EventsJose 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.
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Josette Markline
Maryland Environmental TrustSee EventsJosette 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.
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Josh Rapp
Mass AudubonSee EventsJosh is senior forest ecologist for Mass Audubon.
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Joy Jackson
Institute for Conservation LeadershipSee EventsJoy Jackson serves as a senior associate with the Institute for Conservation Leadership. Joy leads led ICL’s programming in Ohio, Leading Environmental Change and has worked with leaders across the state to create new strategies, facilitating planning processes, as well as providing project-based assistance and training services. Joy is a dedicated public servant with a passion for coaching, instruction and capacity building. She has spent 15 years in administrator and instructional roles at non-profits and universities. Joy has extensive experience designing and facilitating workshops and training, including previously serving as a career development instructor with The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Programs. Her higher education career has included Director level roles a Virginia Tech and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and capacity building roles with non-profits such as Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). A native of Silver Spring, MD, Joy earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Syracuse University and a master of public administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Joy Lujan
Connected Realities LLCSee EventsBefore 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.
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Juan Angel Reynoso
Queer Sol CollectiveSee EventsJuan Angel Reynoso; “nemuuly” (Grizzly Bear) is Ipai Kumeyaay from the San Pasqual Band of Kumeyaay Indians, one of the 13 tribal bands of the Kumeyaay Nation. An Indigenous-Queer storyteller, teacher and healer, his work centers the experiences of Indigenous/Queer Kin and their perspectives within Native country; past, present and future. Juan holds a master’s. degree in teaching and learning: bilingual education (ASL-English) from The University of California San Diego, a bachelor’s degree in American Sign Language and English interpretation from William Woods University and is a California credentialed education specialist and multiple-subjects educator.
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Kaola Swanson
The Conservation FundSee EventsKaola Swanson is the Columbia Gorge Program Manager for The Conservation Fund. Kaola holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from University of Oregon and a master’s degree in Environmental Management from Duke University. Her love of western forests is rooted in her experience as a wilderness educator at Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center. She has worked for conservation of rivers and forests in the Pacific Northwest for more than a decade.
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Kara Maplethorpe
Heart of the Rockies InitiativeSee EventsKara Maplethorpe is the rural development manager for the Heart of the Rockies Initiative. Kara has worked for over eight years in rural southwest Montana, collaborating with communities on locally-driven projects. She enjoys listening, learning and collaborating with people of various perspectives, as well as finding opportunities to amplify community voices while setting the stage for future generations. When she isn’t working, Kara loves adventuring in the outdoors with her dogs, or curling up with a good book.
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Karen Buck
Conservation ImpactSee EventsKaren Buck is vice president of Nonprofit Impact which radically impacts how organizations fulfill their missions and achieve results. Karen works with land trusts to create business, fundraising, and marketing plans. She has spent much of the past year helping organizations clarify strategy, recalibrate plans and build skills and practices needed to survive rapid and unprecedented change.
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Karen Sughrue
US Environmental Protection AgencySee EventsKaren Sughrue is a biologist in the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Branch at Environmental Protection Agency headquarters. In this role, she will be working to further expand the use of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to address nonpoint source pollution issues and bolster climate resiliency. She has a bachelor’s degree in biology from East Tennessee State University, and graduate degrees in life sciences and ecology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Pennsylvania State University, respectively.
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Karin Marchetti
Maine Coast Heritage TrustSee EventsKarin Marchetti, juris doctorate, has been general counsel to Maine Coast Heritage Trust for 38 years and a practicing lawyer for 44 years, focusing on conservation easements and municipal and land trust matters. She is the founder of Land Conservation Legal Services, begun in 1991, providing counsel to land trusts and government agencies on the creation, acquisition and management of conservation easements and preserves. She is a frequent presenter at Land Trust Alliance’s National Rally. She is a co-author of The Conservation Easement Handbook, Second Edition, published by Land Trust Alliance in 2005, and is on the Claims Committee of Terrafirma Risk Retention Group, the land trust defense insurance company.
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Karin Wandtke
McDonald JacobsSee EventsKarin Wandtke, a shareholder at McDonald Jacobs is a CPA with over 25 years of experience specializing in nonprofit organizations. She received an MBA from Portland State University and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from University of Oregon. Karin is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Oregon Society of CPAs. She has served on various boards and committees including Accounting Advisory Boards of the University of Oregon and Portland State University.
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Kate Fitzpatrick
Deschutes River ConservancySee EventsKate Fitzpatrick assumed the executive director position at Deschutes River Conservancy in 2021 after 16 years of experience at the organization managing and directing programs to collaboratively restore streamflow in the basin. She has a bachelor’s degree in geology from Colgate University, experience in wilderness education, and a master’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Oregon.
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Kate Losey
Land Trust AllianceSee EventsKate Losey is the remote monitoring project manager for the Land Trust Alliance. She has experience with the stewardship and monitoring needs of small and regional land trusts before coming to the Alliance. Her experience with implementing remote monitoring and saving time on the reporting process using technology is critical to assisting land trusts understand the strengths and challenges of remote monitoring. She holds a master’s degree in human dimensions from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a bachelor’s degree in wildlife ecology and French from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
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Katherine McWilliams
The Nature Conservancy, South Carolina Field OfficeSee EventsKatherine McWilliams, director of land protection for the Nature Conservancy in South Carolina. Katy works from the Charleston, SC area and has been in land conservation since 2003. Katy attended University of South Carolina Law School for her law degree and Vermont Law School for a master’s degree in environmental law and policy. She has also served as the past board chair for the South Carolina Land Trust Network.
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Katherine Noble
Portland AudubonSee EventsBorn and raised in Oregon, Katherine Noble has had a lifelong passion for the native flora, fauna, and natural spaces of the Pacific Northwest. She has spent her career working with nonprofits in the Portland area with a focus on advocacy and community engagement. In February 2023, she was thrilled to join Portland Audubon as the Backyard Habitat Program co-manager. She looks forward to continuing and expanding BHCP’s community-based, urban restoration work through a climate justice and equity lens.
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Katie Fields
Washington Conservation ActionSee EventsAs Washington Conservation Action’s forests and communities program manager, Katie manages a portfolio covering a broad range of community-centric forest policy topics including community forest advocacy, wildfire resilience and rulemaking processes for Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. Her background includes work with forest collaboratives in Oregon and she holds master’s degrees in public administration and conflict and dispute resolution from the University of Oregon with a focus on environmental policy.
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Katie Michels
Yale UniversitySee EventsKatie Michels is a graduate student at Yale University, studying land conservation and rural community development. She has worked at the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board and a Vermont-based foundation, in roles providing funding and technical assistance to farms and nonprofits. She has worked for land trusts in Vermont, Maine, and Montana. She hopes her work supports ecologically resilient and just communities where both people and nature have the resources they need to thrive.
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Katie Ryan
The Wetlands ConservancySee EventsKatie Ryan has spent her entire career working with environmentally focused nonprofits throughout the Pacific Northwest. Preserving and stewarding our wild places is a key value for her, and she builds programs that work to engage people with our natural landscapes and support resilient communities. Katie holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and completed a master’s degree of business administration at Oregon State University in June of 2020. Prior to joining The Wetlands Conservancy, Katie served as executive director of Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center for 10 years, and as program director, overseeing coordination and instruction of all natural science programs for Opal Creek and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
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Kay Sohl
Kay Sohl ConsultingSee EventsKay Sohl has provided training and consultation for executive directors, CFOs and boards of directors of over 9,500 nonprofit organizations throughout the United States. Kay focuses her work on rethinking nonprofit strategies for financial sustainability, board financial oversight, compliance with federal funds management requirements, and the challenges of nonprofit accounting and financial reporting. Kay has worked extensively with environmental engagement organizations and land trusts throughout the United States and has written financial management guidance supporting Land Trust Standards and Practices. She serves as lead finance trainer/consultant for the Alliance Executive Director Leadership program and is a frequent Alliance webinar presenter. Kay is the co-author of the Oregon Nonprofit Corporation Handbook, an 800-page guide to creating, managing, and transforming nonprofit organizations in Oregon. With over 12,000 copies sold over 5 editions, Kay is currently working on the 6th edition of the Handbook. Kay founded and led TACS (Technical Assistance for Community Services) now known as the Nonprofit Association of Oregon, the Northwest’s largest and most comprehensive capacity building resource for community based nonprofit organizations. She is an Oregon Licensed Public Accountant, active in the Oregon Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs.
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Kayla Mosher
Kaniksu Land TrustSee EventsKayla Mosher is the recreation and outreach coordinator for Kaniksu Land Trust. The daughter of a Special Olympics coach, Kayla saw how her dad showed people how to have fun outdoors, despite physical challenges. She saw the powerful effect that the outdoors has on people’s physical, mental and emotional wellness. She knew from a young age that she wanted to help people to discover the benefits of spending time outdoors, not only in sports, but in all areas. At the University of Montana, she augmented her double-major in parks tourism and recreation management and resource conservation with a minor in wilderness studies. When Kayla isn’t helping people to experience the outdoor recreation opportunities in Thompson Falls, she is spending time with her husband, two small children and three dogs in the wilds and the waters of Sanders County, Montana.
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Kayla Stokes
See EventsKayla Stukes is a recent graduate from North Carolina State University, graduating with her masters degree in Forestry. Kayla most recently defended her thesis, titled “Minority Landowners’ Participation in Conservation Programs: Understanding Barriers And Opportunities”. Her research primarily focused on the gap in racial diversity that is observed in conservation programs and the barriers minority landowners often face that may contribute to this gap. Kayla is an esteemed environmentalist, with a passion for environmental education, human dimensions, conservation, wildlife and forestry.
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Kelley Beamer
Coalition of Oregon Land TrustsSee EventsKelley Beamer serves as the executive director at the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts, and has more than 15 years experience developing strategic advocacy campaigns to advance land conservation. Prior to joining the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts, Kelley served as the advocacy and outreach manager for the Cascadia Green Building Council, where she implemented stated wide public awareness and advocacy campaigns, and managed a branch network in Portland, Bend, Klamath Falls, and Eugene. Kelley began her conservation work in Oregon in 2006 as the conservation organizer for Friends of Columbia Gorge, where she organized public support for protecting the unique values of the Gorge and advocated for Land and Water Conservation funds to support the US Forest Service land acquisition program in the Gorge.
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Kelly Trumbull
The Nature ConservancySee EventsKelly Trumbull is the Global Renewable Energy Program Manager at The Nature Conservancy. She manages program strategies and activities, working in close collaboration with global, regional, and country programs to facilitate coordination and knowledge sharing to accelerate the transition to a clean, green, and equitable energy future. She previously worked on environmental and energy policy research. She holds a bachelor’s in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Master of Public Policy from the University of California, Los Angeles.
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Kelly Watkinson
Land Trust AllianceSee EventsKelly Watkinson is the land and climate program manager with the Land Trust Alliance. Kelly coordinates the efforts of the Alliance to help land trusts protect resilient lands, mitigate climate change and pursue renewable energy solutions. Her previous experience includes 11 years as a resource and land conservation professional working to protect and restore lands of Chesapeake Bay watershed.
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Keymah Durden
Rid All Green PartnersSee EventsKeymah Durden is co-founder and CEO of Rid-All Green Partnership. Keymah was born and raised in the predominantly black neighborhoods on the east side of Cleveland, which is where Rid-All operates. Rid-All is one of the most successful urban farms in America, and is a strategic partner with Western Reserve Land Conservancy, on whose board he also serves. Keymah has worked to create better communities through clean water, food production and environmental conservation
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Khalid Ali
Western Reserve Land ConservancySee EventsKhalid Ali serves as urban greenspace coordinator for Western Reserve Land Conservancy. He is recognized regionally as an environmental leader who bridges historic racial and cultural gaps. His daily work is focused on improving and preserving environmental conditions in the most distressed neighborhoods in America.
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Kia’i Collier
Hawai'i Land TrustSee EventsTrevor Kiaʻiokaʻuhane Collier, a proud native born son of Maui, first born to a Native Hawaiian mother and Island boy father. At the age of three, he was enrolled in the Hawaiian Language Immersion preschool, Pūnana Leo, first on Oʻahu, then on to Maui where he completed his entire Hawaiian Language Immersion education at Kula Kaiapuni o Kekaulike. Kiaʻi then obtained a bachelor’s of science in business management from Menlo College in Atherton, California. Upon returning to his home he worked as a heavy equipment Sales Representative for Sunbelt Rentals learning account management, safety certification, and the networking of national to local business affiliations. At home, the pull of his cultural heritage and education, to be in service to his lāhui, people and nation, led him to pursue Lomi Lomi, the Hawaiian healing art of massage. He earned his license in Massage Therapy in 2020. In 2019 Kiaʻi received the opportunity through CARES Act funding to work for Hawai’i Land Trust as a field supervisor for waterway rejuvenation project at Kapoho, Waiheʻe. During his temporary employment he managed, guided, and advised a crew of nine other land stewards. While working on this project, Kiaʻi discovered a pathway in which to dedicate his service and duty to aloha Akua, aloha kānaka & aloha ʻāina, to care and protect ancestral divinity, people & land, as kanaka maoli, a true loyal Hawaiian subject. Kiaʻi was hired as a permanent, full-time employee with HILT in January 2020.
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Kimberley Elsenbroek
The Land Conservancy of McHenry CountySee EventsKim Elsenbroek graduated with a master’s from Indiana University Bloomington in 2015 and has worked with organizations such as: the Illinois Department of Natural Resources; The National Park Service and The Chicago Botanic Garden. Currently, Kim works at a small land trust in northern Illinois just outside of Chicago. Her passions include preserving and restoring land while incorporating non-traditional education techniques into her teachings.
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Knowledge Murphy
American Farmland TrustSee EventsKnowledge comes to American Farmland Trust with over a decade of experience working in the fields of renewable energy, energy efficiency, as well as a content creator, entrepreneur, and an environmental justice advocate. He is also an advocate for Black people having peace. He is the owner and CEO of Black Man, Green Plan LLC, a consulting company & multimedia brand which focuses on spreading info about renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainability and most importantly, environmental/climate justice to Black, and Brown people, or Original people, in a culturally relevant manner. Recently, Knowledge worked on a variety of projects around environmental justice, climate justice, resilience and more as a sustainability specialist with Multnomah County’s Office of Sustainability in Portland, OR.
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Kris Krouse
Shirley Heinze Land Trust, Inc.See EventsKris Krouse has served as executive director for Shirley Heinze Land Trust for 18 years and has extensive experience building partnerships and networks to address barriers and develop innovative prograHe has led the organization in developing diversity, equity and inclusion strategies and has successfully recruited and engaged Board and Advisory Council members to strengthen the organization’s capacity and expertise in urban and rural communities.
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Kris Larson
Minnesota Land TrustSee EventsKris Larson serves as executive director for the Minnesota Land Trust, where he has worked in various capacities since 1998. The Minnesota Land Trust is a state-wide nonprofit organization with a mission to protect and restore Minnesota’s most vital natural assets. From 2003 to 2006, Larson served as the executive director of the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts based in Denver, where he oversaw program delivery to more than 60 land trusts and local government conservation prograPrior to 1998, he worked at the Brandywine Conservancy in Pennsylvania. Larson has an undergraduate degree from Carleton College and a master’s in environmental design from the University of Georgia.
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Kris Wall
National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationSee EventsKris Wall is a coastal management specialist in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office for Coastal Management, responsible for regional coordination and engagement for the West Coast, serving as a liaison to Pacific Northwest state coastal management programs and supporting national Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments for habitat conservation and restoration, regional ocean partnerships and tribal engagement. She has previously managed land conservation projects through NOAA’s Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program. In her personal time, Kris has been serving on the board of directors for the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy since 2020.
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Kristen Weil
The Trust for Public Land, New Mexico State OfficeSee EventsKristen Weil is senior program manager for geospatial analysis at the Trust for Public Land, where her spatial assessments identify where parks can deliver multiple benefits including community health, equity, and climate mitigation and adaptation. Kristen manages the ParkServe mapping platform, which provides planning capabilities to all urban areas across the country to guide cities toward strategically filling gaps in their park systeKristen received her bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of New Mexico, and her master’s degree in ecology and environmental science from the University of Maine.
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Kristen Wyman
Nipmuc tribeSee EventsKristen Wyman is a member of the Nipmuc tribe in Massachusetts and a longtime advocate for the self-determination of BIPOC communities. For over 15 years, Kristen has worked as a consultant with nonprofit organizations, tribal governments, and state and federal agencies (including Native Land Conservancy, Nipmuc Indian Development Corporation, Mashpee Wampanoag Natural Resources Dept. and Education Department, MA Department of Public Health, National Park Service, and the University of Massachusetts at Boston). She has initiated several womxn and youth-led programs in issue areas of gender-based violence and substance abuse prevention, youth development, food sovereignty, and transformative leadership and nonprofit development. Kristen’s fight for the right to land, food, medicine and human dignity is completely tied to her identity and responsibility as a Nipmuc woman, mother, and daughter. She is co-Founder of Eastern Woodlands Rematriation (EWR), a network of Indigenous womxn and two-spirits restoring the foundation of sustainable food systems. Her work is deeply personal and motivated by the important roles of womxn as landholders, farmers, culture bearers, artisans and diplomats. As the Global Movements Program Manager with WhyHunger Kristen supports social movement processes at the global level, in their path towards food sovereignty and liberation. She focuses mostly on strategic plans, communication strategies, and grassroots methodologies for building mass power. Kristen currently resides in Massachusetts.
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Kristin King-Reis
See EventsKristin King-Ries is an attorney whose practice centers on community land trusts and other shared equity housing and farm models. Kristin represents CLTs on legal matters ranging from ground lease review, negotiating and drafting real estate agreements, advising on choice of entity and entity formation, planning and development of home ownership projects, HOA declarations, permanent affordability stewardship issues and nonprofit governance. She reviews purchases and sales of community land trust homes, and helps CLTs navigate homeowner bankruptcy and foreclosure. In states where she is not licensed, Kristin associates with local counsel to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. She serves as a consultant on agrarian commons legal models to Agrarian Trust and the Vermont Law School’s Center for Agriculture and Food SysteShe is a founding member of the Montana Agrarian Commons, and has served on several nonprofit boards of directors.
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Kristin Schultheis
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage DistrictSee EventsKristin Schultheis manages Milwaukee Metroplitan Sewerage Ditrict’s Working Soils and Greenseams floodwater management programs and serves as lead partner to the Milwaukee River Watershed Conservation Partnership (MRWCP) in implementing a USDA-NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program. Kristin is a life-long paddler of Wisconsin’s waters, has 20 years of professional experience as a soil scientist in restoration ecology, serves on the board of the River Alliance of Wisconsin, and says yes, the RCPP is preparing Southeastern Wisconsin for climate change.
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Krisztian Varsa
The Conservation FundSee EventsKrisztian Varsa, the Georgia Farms fund manager at The Conservation Fund, supports the transition of critically threatened farmland to next-generation farmers in Georgia. Krisztian has successfully secured seven farms for next generation farm businesses in the Atlanta metro area, totaling 675 acres and impacting 28 farmers. Additionally, Krisztian ensures farms are implementing conservation practices and partners can leverage state and federal resources to protect farmland with agricultural conservation easements
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Kurt Smith
NC State UniversitySee EventsKurt Smith holds degrees from both Oregon State University and North Carolina State University. He has extensive work experience in land acquisition, conservation easements, open space and environmental planning. He is currently an assistant professor of forestry at North Carolina State University, working in the subject area of land retention.
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Kyler Sherry
The Climate TrustSee EventsKyler oversees The Climate Trust’s offset acquisition, sales, and portfolio. Driven to find ways to support grassland conservation, Kyler became involved in carbon markets eight years ago. Kyler manages The Climate Trust’s grassland carbon offset project development and maintains a network of offset buyers that supports conservation and our partners. Kyler has extensive experience in greenhouse gas modeling in the grassland, agriculture, and wetland sectors. Prior to The Climate Trust, Kyler worked at the Rangeland Resources Research Unit. She holds a master’s degree in greenhouse gas management and accounting and a bachelor’s degree in natural resource management from Colorado State University.
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Laura Ziemer
Culp & Kelly, LLPSee EventsLaura is a nationally-recognized expert in Western water law and policy, with experience as an environmental lawyer spanning more than three decades. Her areas of expertise beyond water law include administrative law and permitting, NEPA compliance and review, non-governmental organization program development, tribal reserved water rights, and a broad range of public and private land management and restoration experience. Prior to joining Culp & Kelly, LLP, Laura established Trout Unlimited’s (TU’s) Montana Water Project in 1998, beginning TU’s flow restoration efforts, and subsequently helping to grow TU’s water work to nine states (MT, CO, WY, ID, UT, NM, OR, WA, and CA), and growing its water staff from two to 122. TU’s Western Water and Habitat Program became TU’s largest conservation initiative during her tenure, which works to restore and maintain streamflows and watersheds for healthy coldwater fisheries.
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Le`alani Boykin
Connected Realities LLCSee EventsLe`alani is a Native Hawaiian community planner and engagement specialist fascinated with people processes and human potential. She empowers stakeholders and promotes useful input for community planning & design projects and community resource programs through careful process design and facilitation. Since 2008, she has provided meeting facilitation, participatory planning, capacity building, strategic planning, and training services to local, regional, and federal governments, nonprofits, and community-based organizations. She uses empathy, mindfulness, visualizations to help groups with diverse learning styles to work together toward a common goal. Le`alani is a certified planner of the American Institute of Certified Planners and a Senior Fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program.
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Lee Bundrick
Kiawah Island Natural Habitat ConservancySee EventsLee Bundrick has been with the Kiawah Conservancy for four years as their senior ecological health and conservation coordinator. He works primarily in the areas of land protection, land stewardship, environmental research and coastal resilience. He is also an adjunct professor at the College of Charleston teaching environmental and sustainability studies.
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Lee Lynn Michel
PNW EcoservicesSee EventsLee Lynn Michel is the Principal Owner for PNW Ecoservices.
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Leia Lowery
The Climate InitiativeSee EventsLeia Lowery is the co-founder of The Climate Initiative, a national nonprofit empowering youth voices for climate action, where she serves as the Deputy Executive Director and Head of Programs and Partnerships. Leia has over 25 years of experience in education, curriculum development, and community engagement. She has been a speaker and trainer at many national and state conferences. While at the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, her insight led to innovative programming, winning the Gulf of Maine Council Visionary Award in 2019 and the National Land Trust Alliance featuring some KCT programs in their magazine. With a master’s degree from Virginia Tech and a background in agriculture, Leia advocates building stronger communities by connecting people through their local landscape and shared history.
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Lena Pollastro
Land Trust of Napa CountySee EventsLena Pollastro serves as the Land Trust of Napa County’s Land Programs Manager since 2007. She supervises the monitoring and stewardship program for all completed conservation projects, covering 63,000 acres in Napa County. She also manages the land acquisition program for the organization, including all aspects of drafting, due diligence and landowner contact. Outside of work, she spends a lot of hours on soccer fields.
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Lenore Beyer
Kinship FoundationSee EventsLenore Beyer is the director of conservation initiatives at Kinship Foundation where she manages Food:Land:Opportunity, an initiative to create a resilient local food economy in the Chicago region. Lenore manages a grant portfolio of $3M annually and spearheads projects in collaborative funding and innovative financing. Prior to joining Kinship, Lenore was the vice president of policy and planning at Openlands, a regional conservation land trust where she led projects to create the Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge and integrated farmland protection with local food initiatives.
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Lesley Kane-Szynal
Outdoors AmericaSee EventsLesley serves as executive director of Outdoors America and as Chair of the LWCF Coalition. Prior joining OAC in 2008, Lesley served as vice president, Federal Policy & Programs at the Trust for Public Land (TPL) where she was responsible for managing its Federal Affairs office in Washington, D.C. Previously, Lesley served as legislative assistant for Senator Warren B. Rudman, handling environmental, conservation and energy issues.
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Leslie Patron
Peninsula Open Space TrustSee EventsLeslie Patron (she/they) – is a creative writer and content marketing manager. They co-organized several place-based projects tied to their hometown of San Jose, CA, including a community archive and three local zine fests. At Peninsula Open Space Land Trust, they manage a host of long-form writing projects, including the organization’s blog and newsletter. Leslie’s love for history and writing fuels their hope for the future.
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Lily Verdone
Marin Agricultural Land TrustSee EventsLily has been the Marin Agricultural Land Trust executive director since August of 2022, the first woman to officially lead the organization since its founding. Prior to joining MALT, Lily was senior director of Coastal Quest, an Oakland-based nonprofit building climate resilience for vulnerable coastal communities. In her more than 20-year career, she has led many initiatives to protect agricultural land, open space and fresh water — working within global organizations such as The Nature Conservancy as well as small, community-based land trusts. She holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and a masters of science in biology from Sonoma State University.
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Lindsay Dillon
Peninsula Open Space TrustSee EventsLindsay Dillon is the senior conservation GIS manager at Peninsula Open Space Trust, a regional land trust based in Palo Alto, CA. In her position, she manages all mapping and GIS for land transactions, land stewardship, marketing, and fundraising throughout the organization. She studied biophysical geography and GIS at Sonoma State and San Francisco State and has been with POST for 11 years. She is an active member of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the Women in GIS.
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Lisa Cook
Columbia River Gorge CommissionSee EventsLisa Naas Cook joined the Gorge Commission as the Vital Sign Indicators Planner in January 2020. Lisa’s past work experience includes education, ecological restoration, public lands policy, and facilitation with a variety of agencies and organizations including the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy, Oregon Humanities, and Columbia Gorge Community College. Most recently, she served as the coordinator for the South Gifford Pinchot Collaborative, a community-based partnership in southwest Washington focused on advancing projects at the intersection of forest health, economic vitality, and sustainable recreation.
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Lisa McCarthy
Land Trust Accreditation CommissionSee EventsLisa McCarthy joined the Commission in January 2020. As communications liaison she is responsible for communicating messaging about the commission across a variety of platforms. Prior to joining the Commission, she has worked for the Peconic Land Trust, a historic museum farm and a NY state-based parks and trails advocacy organization. Lisa holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Art History from Stony Brook University and is certified in graphic design and digital arts from the New School.
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Lisa McCauley
USDA - Natural Resources Conservation ServiceSee EventsLisa McCauley is a National Program Manager with the Easement Programs Division (EPD) at NRCS, her main responsibilities include managing Agricultural Land Easement partnership activities, Healthy Forest Reserve Program, Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership and representing NRCS on the Sentinel Landscapes Federal Coordinating Committee. She has been with NRCS for 21 years and previously worked in ID, AK, and MT before coming to the EPD team at NHQ in 2017. Lisa has a master’s degree in agriculture from Washington State University.
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Lisa Micheli
Pepperwood FoundationSee EventsLisa Micheli is the president and CEO of the Pepperwood Foundation and Preserve in Sonoma County, California. She has more than 30 years of experience applying her technical, policy and fundraising experience to the design and implementation of ecological restoration, research and education prograShe now focuses her work and leadership of Pepperwood on the relationships between climate, watershed health, wildfire, and biodiversity. She was recently awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study conservation and restoration practices in Mediterranean habitats around the world.
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Liz Johnston
City Forest CreditsSee EventsAs director at City Forest Credits, Liz works with stakeholders across the country who are leading the development of urban forest carbon projects. Liz has over a decade of experience leading complex social impact and environmental projects with nonprofits, governments, and Global Fortune 500 companies. From forests of Canada to cities across the U.S., she is committed to driving change that benefits people and planet. Liz holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Western Washington University.
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Liz McLaurin
The Land Trust for TennesseeSee EventsLiz McLaurin believes that land connects us to one another and reminds us that we are a part of the natural world. During her fourteen years of service to The Land Trust for Tennessee, Liz has been devoted to ensuring that the organization grows in its strength as one most effective, strategic, and respected land trusts in our nation. Liz was drawn to Tennessee as a student by the sense of place offered by the Domain of Sewanee: The University of the South. She started her career in theatre, acting in both New York City and in regional theatre. Before joining The Land Trust for Tennessee, Liz held positions at universities, public television, and public radio stations, and worked on political campaigns. She is currently in Class IX of Leadership Tennessee, serves on the Land Trust Alliance National Leadership Council, the Williamson County Stormwater Appeals Board, and the Board of Franklin’s Charge. Liz received the EQB Award from the Associated Alumni of The University of the South, is a graduate of Leadership Franklin, was a winner of Nashville Business Journal’s 2014 Women of Influence Awards and has been named to Nashville Post’s “In Charge” List for the last seven years. She has served on many nonprofit boards and advisory committees in communities she’s called home. Liz lives with her husband, three sons, horses and dogs on a farm in the Leiper’s Fork community of Williamson County.
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Lokotah Sanborn
See EventsLokotah Sanborn is a Penobscot artist and community organizer for racial and environmental justice and Indigenous sovereignty.
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Lori Weigel
New Bridge StrategySee EventsLori Weigel is the founder and principal of New Bridge Strategy, an opinion research firm that focuses on public policy issues. With roots in Republican politics and having conducted research on behalf of numerous political campaigns from President to City Council, she focuses on helping her clients bridge partisan divides and create winning majorities. Weigel was a partner for over 20 years with Public Opinion Strategies, the largest Republican polling firm in the country.
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Lucas Hernandez
Weston + Sampson EngineersSee EventsLucas Hernandez is the Climate Adaptation and Resilience Specialist at the Charleston Office of Weston + Sampson Engineers. His role focuses on supporting communities in their resiliency efforts and enhances the firm’s ability to incorporate climate projections, climate adaptation strategies, and stakeholder engagement into their designs. He previously worked at the Kiawah Island Community Association as their Resilience Specialist working on stormwater modelling, infrastructure projects, and resilience planning.
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Lyles Cooper
Pee Dee Land TrustSee EventsGrowing up and having spent much of her childhood enjoying all the Pee Dee Watershed has to offer, Lyles is passionate about helping preserve our resources for future generations in order to sustain a balance for economic growth in our state. Lyles joined Pee Dee Land Trust in April 2015 and became Executive Director in October 2017. Her professional experience spans multiple organizations in both the corporate and non-profit worlds. A graduate of College of Charleston with a degree in Corporate Communications and Marketing, Lyles brings a unique mix of skills and experience to PDLT. Lyles is actively involved in many community organizations and currently serves on the board of the SC Land Trust Network, City of Florence Resiliency Advisory Committee, Florence County SC250 Commission, along with dozens of land protection partnerships .
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Lynette St. Clair
Fremont County School District #21See EventsLynette St. Clair, Eastern Shoshone, is a linguist, cultural preservationist, educator and consultant. Lynette is dedicated to bringing awareness to Wyoming spaces and about the original people of the land by presenting narratives through indigenous paradigm. Her work includes assisting with statewide standards initiatives that address how the contributions of American Indians are taught the Wyoming classrooms, St. Clair received the 2019 Wyoming Woman of Influence in Education award for her efforts in the preservation of the traditional values, history, and language of the Eastern Shoshone people.
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Marc Hudson
Oregon Agricultural TrustSee EventsMarc Hudson is a third-generation conservationist, second-generation land truster, and grew up in the rural corn belt of Ohio. He has worked for land trusts for 14 years, doing farm and natural resource preservation in New York, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida on more than 160 properties. His work at Oregon Agricultural Trust focuses on rangeland and Southeast Oregon in particular. In his spare time, Marc likes to hike, paddle, hunt, fish and has a passion for history and cooking.
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Marc Smiley
Solid Ground ConsultingSee EventsMarc Smiley has worked with land trust for more than 40 years, starting as the third employee of LTA, and serving as a board and staff leaders for several conservation groups. Marc has been a trainer and consultant for more than 30 years, presenting at all but five Land Trust Alliance Rallies and working directly with several hundred land trusts. Marc was on the task force and first Accreditation Commission. He has written extensively for the Land Trust Alliance, including two books published on governance and fundraising.
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Marco Sanchez
Piedmont Environmental CouncilSee EventsMarco Sanchez is the deputy director of outreach and communications at The Piedmont Environmental Council. After receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Fisheries and Wildlife from Michigan State University, he moved to Virginia in 2012 and has worked on PEC’s outreach team for the last ten years with a focus on digital communications.
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Margaret Treadwell
McKenzie River TrustSee EventsMargaret Treadwell is the Central Coast Conservation program manager at McKenzie River Trust, based in the Trust’s Coast Office in Newport, Oregon. She connects with community members, landowners, and organizations to cultivate land and water conservation opportunities and steer these projects to completion. She holds a Master of Natural Resources degree from Oregon State University, where her research focused on coastal wetland restoration and carbon offset projects, and has a professional background in government, international relations, and consulting.
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Mari Patis
Shirley Heinze Land Trust, Inc.See EventsMari Patis is programs coordinator for Shirley Heinze Land Trust and has several years of experience in developing interpretive and volunteer prograHer current projects include environmental education in urban schools, health and wellness in the outdoors, and arts-based events in nature preserves. She understands the value in strong partnerships and strategic marketing to make an event successful. She is passionate about empowering others and finding what sparks their interest, and ultimately stewardship, of nature.
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Maria Whitehead
Open Space InstituteSee EventsDuring her professional career, Dr. Maria Whitehead has held positions as an ornithologist, professor, and conservation professional. She was worked for 15 years in the direct conservation of land and water in the Southeast and the interdisciplinary realm of climate adaptation and community resilience. Today, as vice president and director of land for the Southeast at Open Space Institute (OSI), she guides the strategic direction of land conservation in the Southeast to realize OSI’s mission of protecting scenic, natural and historic landscapes. She serves as the lead on varied conservation projects and initiatives including landscape-scale conservation projects, comprehensive community engagement strategies, and conservation finance tactics.
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Mark Greenfield
The Nature ConservancySee EventsMark is a TNC board trustee as well as a director and former president of Portland Audubon. Mark brings immense skills as a retired land use lawyer. He also provides board leadership for fundraising as both Chair of TNC’s Philanthropy and Outreach Committee and Chair of Portland Audubon’s Development Committee. Mark serves on TNC’s Executive Committee and has a 40 year history of volunteering for conservation organizations.
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Mark McPherson
City Forest CreditsSee EventsMark McPherson is a lawyer and businessperson and has been active in urban forestry for many years. Prior to founding City Forest Credits in 2015, Mark practiced land use and property law and managed a business. He served on a work group in 2013 developing an urban forest carbon protocol at the Climate Action Reserve. Mark has a Ph.D. and law degree from Harvard.
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Mary Burke
Land Trust AllianceSee EventsMary Burke is the director of Educational Services at the Land Trust Alliance, the national leader in policy, standards, education and training for the land trust community. Mary leads the Alliance’s work on Land Trust Standards and Practices, serves as the executive editor of digital and print publications, and supervises its online training program and online learning management system. Mary holds a doctorate and master’s degree in English literature as well as a degree in journalism.
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MaryKay O’Donnell
Land Trust AllianceSee EventsMaryKay O’Donnell is the senior Midwest program manager for the Land Trust Alliance. She grew up camping all over the U.S. in a pop-up trailer with her parents and six siblings which instilled in her a love of nature and a passion for the outdoors. Today MaryKay helps land trusts grow stronger through organizational development, training, mentoring, peer learning and professional development for leaders at all levels. She joined the Alliance in 2007 and recently co-authored Open to All: A Disability Inclusion Guide for Land Trusts. Her other passions include baking, reading happy books, bike riding, visiting baseball parks and enjoying all northern Michigan has to offer with my family.
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Mathias Brummer
Xarxa per a la Conservació de la NaturaSee EventsMathias is a biologist by training and has specialized in socio-ecological systems. Mathias is project technician in the areas of conservation and international relations of the Xarxa per a la Conservació de la Natura (XCN). The XCN is a second level NGO in Catalonia (Spain) with over 190 member organization and the aim to promote nature conservation through social engagement strategies, such as land stewardship and volunteering. Mathias is passionate about the Mediterranean landscape and discovering when ever possible new spots and enjoys collaborating with citizen science projects.
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Matt Lessnau
City of IlwacoSee EventsMatt Lessnau is a City Council member and Mayor Pro tem for the City of Ilwaco. Matt was appointed in 2017, and elected to his first term in 2019. Matt grew up on the SW coast of Washington before moving to Seattle and earning his bachelor’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Washington. He returned home in 2015 to help start Adrift Distillers, the first craft distillery in Pacific County, where he currently serves as partner and head distiller.
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Matt Stevenson
CORE GIS LLCSee EventsMatt specializes in cartography, spatial analysis, web mapping, conservation planning and GIS project management. He has worked with land trusts and other conservation-focused organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest, including the Columbia Land Trust, San Juan Preservation Trust, North Olympic Land Trust, Jefferson Land Trust, Great Peninsula Land Trust, Forterra, The Wilderness Society and The Nature Conservancy..
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Matthew Delude
Bernstein ShurSee EventsAttorney Matthew Delude, based in Manchester, NH, is an experienced commercial and appellate litigator.
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Megan Garvey
The Wetlands ConservancySee EventsMegan Garvey joined The Wetlands Conservancy in 2013 as the stewardship director for properties in the Portland metro area as well as on the north coast. In addition to wetland management, Megan manages our community science and education programs and loves to help build stronger connections between people and nature. Outside of work, she still seeks out cold and wet climates for hiking, cross country skiing, eating seafood, and kayaking.
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Megan Knott
Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land TrustSee EventsMegan Knott is the director of stewardship for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land trust where she manages CCALT’s conservation easement portfolio encompassing 728,000 acres. In her spare time, she and her husband manage their generational working ranch.
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Megan Nguyen
Peninsula Open Space TrustSee EventsMegan Nguyen (she/they), community events manager, Peninsula Open Space Trust – Megan is a community builder, educator, communicator, and organizer using storytelling to reach the hearts and minds of people to build a just and livable future. In their current role as Community Events Manager at the Peninsula Open Space Trust, they organize events that bring people to nature and nature to people. Megan envisions creating inclusive spaces that bring together diverse groups and allow people of all backgrounds to engage with nature. They use their voice, creativity, and passion to fight for social, racial, and climate justice while building people and community power.
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Megan Oropeza
The Land Conservancy of McHenry CountySee EventsI am a restoration ecologist at The Land Conservancy of McHenry County (TLC). Since moving to Woodstock in 2020, I have been responsible for supervising and facilitating stewardship operations, managing restoration projects, and assisting landowners in achieving their restoration goals. Together with my colleague, Kim Elsenbrook, I organize the Conservation Leader Internship Program (CLIP) to provide ecological opportunities for young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds. Community engagement is a vital part of my role, and I collaborate with organizations and municipalities to inspire restoration efforts. Hosting restoration workdays allows volunteers to come together and create a welcoming environment for newcomers. Before my current role, I graduated from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies, and I gained hands-on experience in restoration through my work at the Richardson Wildlife Foundation (RWF) and as a Crew Leader for Pizzo & Associates. Working in restoration has taught me patience, endurance, and the importance of healing both the environment and the soul.
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Melinda Ching
The Nature Conservancy, Western/Canada Legal TeamSee EventsMelinda Ching is a senior attorney for The Nature Conservancy where she has provided legal counsel to a range of programs within The Nature Conservancy, including establishing offices in Australia and Mongolia and managing complex legal transactions such as debt for nature swaps in Indonesia. Her current practice includes providing all legal support for conservation programs in Hawaii, Palmyra Atoll, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado and Idaho. Her current areas of focus are conservation easements and other conservation real estate transactions, lobbying and electioneering counsel and carbon projects. She has been with The Nature Conservancy since 2001. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and The King Hall School of Law, University of California, Davis. She is active in supporting diversity, equity and inclusion at the Conservancy and provides assistance to the Conservancy’s Employee Resource Groups as well as serves as a mentor for various internal mentoring cohorts and young legal professionals.
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Melissa Diemand
Potomac ConservancySee EventsMelissa Diemand oversees digital and brand development strategies as VP of Communications with Potomac Conservancy. She co-chairs the Choose Clean Water Coalition communications workgroup and has a background in strategic political marketing and institutional funding.
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Melissa Kalvestrand
Land Trust Accreditation CommissionSee EventsMelissa Kalvestrand served many roles at the Commission since joining in November 2009. After 10 years of consistently taking on more responsibilities, she was named executive director in January 2020. During her tenure at the Commission, she has overseen the accreditation review process and facilitated the accreditation decisions for over 100 applicants each year. She partnered in developing, interpreting, reviewing, and revising the accreditation requirements and maintaining the Requirements Manual. She also co-facilitated the public participation process resulting in the 2017 revisions to Land Trust Standards and Practices.As executive director, she has been leveraging the successes of the accreditation program and of accredited land trusts to advance the Commission’s next phase of work. That work includes maintaining the strengthen of land trusts, maintaining public trust, and engaging with land trusts in new ways to improve their return on investment in the program. Melissa has a master’s degree in biodiversity, conservation, and policy from the University at Albany and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Cornell University.
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Michael Ports
Eastern Shore Land ConservancySee EventsMichael is the stewardship specialist at Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, overseeing staff and volunteer monitoring of over 55,000 acres of land across over 300 properties annually per Land Trust Standards and Practices. Conducting around two thirds of these visits personally, he has found ESLC’s integration of drone technology indispensable for his work. Michael earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and political science from University of Lynchburg, and has a master’s degree in public policy from University of Maryland with focuses on sustainable development and climate change.
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Michelle Smith
Coalition of Oregon Land TrustsSee EventsMichelle Smith serves as the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts’ water project manager where she supports land trusts by building capacity to protect Oregon’s water resources with a goal of advancing conservation outcomes at the intersection of land, water, and communities. She also works at the University of Oregon’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center where she focuses on legal and policy research around water.
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Michelle Steen-Adams
Forest History SocietySee EventsMichelle Steen-Adams is an affiliate social scientist at the Pacific Northwest Research Station of the USDA Forest Service, where she conducts applied research on fire-prone forests to inform wildland fire policy and management. Her research spans the fields of forest social sciences, environmental history, tribal forestry, and forest landscape ecology.
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Misti Schmidt
Conservation Partners LLPSee EventsMisti focuses her practice on conservation transactions and regularly provides guidance to property owners and land trusts regarding the structuring, negotiating, and closing of conservation easements, purchase agreements and options, and carbon projects. She has particular experience representing landowners with respect to the myriad legal issues arising for rural land holdings and representing land trusts with respect to nonprofit governance and tax-exempt gifts.
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Molly Fales
Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land TrustSee EventsHaving previously served as the director of transactions at the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT), Molly is now the staff attorney at CCALT. She provides guidance on all new transactions and the resolution of stewardship issues in addition to managing a portfolio of new conservation easement transactions. Molly grew up on a cattle ranch in Carbondale, Colorado where she and her husband are now raising their daughter alongside their puppy.
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Monica Delmartini
Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation & Open Space DistrictSee EventsMonica Delmartini is stewardship specialist for Sonoma County Ag and Open Space. She is a vegetation and fire ecologist with a background in botany, wildland and prescribed fire and habitat restoration. She is a qualified wildland firefighter, Fire Effects Monitor and Resource Advisor, with over 20 years of land conservation experience, including six years with the NPS. She is passionate about prescribed fire and the restoration of ecological processes that underpin the health and resilience of natural lands.
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Naftali Moed
California State ParksSee EventsNaftali Moed — California State Parks Environmental Scientist, Bay Area District. Naftali works in the Natural Resource Management Program and participates in the Sonoma Valley Wildlands Collaborative on behalf of State Parks’ Bay Area District. Naftali grew up in Pacifica hiking, biking and volunteering in many of the Bay Area’s protected lands and open spaces. He worked in land stewardship for a variety of government agencies and nonprofits around the Bay Area for over a decade prior to joining the State Parks in 2019. In his role, Naftali works collaboratively with State Park staff and partners to develop and coordinate implementation of a wide array of stewardship and natural resource projects including invasive species management and ecologically focused fuel reduction efforts.
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Nancy Duhnkrack
Coalition of Oregon Land TrustsSee EventsNancy is a 1985 graduate of Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College. She retired in 2014 as staff attorney/law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit after 20 years at the Court. She was an adjunct professor at the law school from 1990-2010 and is a frequent speaker on conservation easement design and enforcement. Nancy coordinates the Pro Bono program for the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts (COLT) and provides pro bono legal advice to COLT for its members.
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Natalia Ospina
Brushwood Center At Ryerson WoodsSee EventsNatalia Ospina leads Brushwood Center’s Health, Equity,and Nature Accelerator. Natalia is originally from Colombia and grew up in North Carolina. She has an extensive background in public health, including community health, data evaluation, and health education. She is passionate about the intersection of public health and outdoor access. She enjoys trail running, herbalism and bringing people together.
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Natasha Bellis
Deschutes Land TrustSee EventsNatasha Bellis serves as the conservation director for the Deschutes Land Trust. In that role, she is responsible for prioritizing and carrying out the Land Trust’s conservation projects. Natasha holds a master’s degree in environmental studies and a law degree. Previously, she restored streamflow to Oregon’s rivers and Creeks with Deschutes River Conservancy and The Freshwater Trust.
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Nathan Henry
US Nature4ClimateSee EventsNathan Henry, Program Director, US Nature4Climate: U.S. Nature4Climate (USN4C) is a coalition of 26 organizations dedicated to ensuring our natural and working lands are an integral part of the overall strategy to combat climate change. As USN4C’s Program Director, Nathan manages the coalition, develops and executes the coalition’s strategic communication plan, and oversees message development and content creation for the program. Before joining U.S. Nature4Climate, Nathan served as Vice President of the Mellman Group, a strategic research firm based in Washington, DC. In this role, Nathan offered strategic communications advice to dozens of political candidates, non-profit organizations and independent expenditure committee, both in the U.S. and abroad.
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Nav Dayanand
The Nature ConservancySee EventsNav is the Associate Director of Legislative Affairs with the North America Policy and Government Relations team at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) where he serves as the organization’s lobbyist and legislative strategist to advance the organization’s biodiversity and climate change goals before the U.S. Congress and the Executive Branch.
Since starting at TNC in 2014, Nav has held several positions including Director of Federal Government Relations and Senior Policy Advisor for the Oregon Chapter; and Senior Policy Advisor for Forests and Lands on his current team. He also serves as TNC’s co-chair of the North America Policy Committee on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) dedicated to helping the organization examine its policy and legislative opportunities through the lens of just and equitable outcomes for people and nature.
Nav is based in Washington, DC and has more than 15 years of experience in a wide range of natural resources policy, legislative and public funding matters at the U.S. federal and global levels. Prior to joining TNC, Nav held several public policy, advocacy, strategic communications and leadership roles with other international conservation organizations such as the Wildlife Conservation Society and Fauna & Flora International in Washington, DC.
Nav received a BA and Bachelor of Laws degrees from Bangalore University, India and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Human Rights from the National Law School of India University. He received a graduate law degree (LLM) from Cornell University and is currently enrolled in a graduate certificate program on social justice at Harvard University. In 2015, Nav received Cornell Law School’s Alumni Exemplary Public Service Award. In 2019, Nav was recognized by the Portland Business Journal as a 40 under 40 honoree. Nav remains a strong advocate for minorities in environmental conservation.
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Nick George
US Fish & Wildlife ServiceSee EventsNick George is the Washington State Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife program.
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Nickie McCann
See EventsNickie is program analyst in the Water Resource and Planning Office at the Bureau of Reclamation coordinating WaterSMART programs. Through WaterSMART, Reclamation continues to work cooperatively with states, tribes, and local entities to plan for and implement actions to increase water supply through investments to modernize existing infrastructure and attention to local water conflicts. She has worked at Reclamation for 5 years as a program coordinator and engineer.
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Nicole Armstrong
Bluegrass Land ConservancySee EventsNicole Armstrong is the conservation manager for Bluegrass Land Conservancy, where she began her career in land conservation in 2016. Nicole is primarily responsible for preparing baseline documentation reports, GIS mapping and database management, easement drafting, and recordkeeping. Nicole has a bachelor’s in environmental science from Northeastern University and a juris doctorate from the University of Kentucky College of Law.
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Ole Amundsen III
LegacyWorks GroupSee EventsOle Amundsen III is the program manager for LegacyWorks Group. Ole uses his skills in fundraising, finance and conservation planning to help organizations and communities use their natural assets as part of their economic sustainability. Ole is a frequent speaker at Rally and has taught at Cornell University and Colby College. He is the author of Strategic Conservation Planning, published by LTA. He holds a bachelor’s from Colby College and a MS degree from MIT.
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Olivia White Lopez
Peninsula Open Space TrustSee EventsOlivia White Lopez (she/they/ella) is Peninsula Open Space Trust’s first director of diversity, equity and inclusion. She has 16 years of experience in nonprofit leadership and has previously led inclusion and belonging efforts with Kiva, Hack the Hood and 826 Valencia. Olivia holds a master’s degree in organization development from the University of San Francisco and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and studio art from Agnes Scott College.
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Pamela McLay
National Park Service, Northeast RegionSee EventsPam McLay, a 30-year federal government employee, the Chief of the NPS Land Resources Division (LRD) for the National Park Service (NPS). Prior to joining the LRD, Pam served as the Chief of Business Management Services and Partnerships at Gateway National Recreation Area. Pam is a graduate of Boston University and currently holds a State of New Jersey General Appraiser License and was a licensed Real Estate Broker in the State of Massachusetts.
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Patrick Byorth
See EventsPatrick Byorth joined the Montana Water Program at Trout Unlimited as a staff attorney in August of 2009 and became Montana Water Director in 2013. His work at Trout Unlimited focuses on restoration of instream flows and habitats to benefit native and wild fishes through community-based efforts, water transactions and water policy reform. Hailing from Billings, his natural resource work began in 1986, after earning a B.A. in biology and chemistry from Carroll College and in 1990 an M.S. in fish and wildlife management from Montana State University. He spent nearly 17 years as a fisheries biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks working to restore Arctic Grayling, Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout and Westslope Cutthroat Trout in their native waters.
Pat shifted gears in 2006, entering the legal profession to focus on water law, instream flow restoration, and water policy reform, earning a J.D. at the University of Montana School of Law in 2009 and was admitted to the Montana Bar, Montana Federal District Court, and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Patrick served as President of the Montana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and was recognized as the Chapter’s Fisheries Professional of the Year in 2006. He is the founding Chairman of Montana Aquatic Resources Services, Inc. (now Montana Freshwater Partners), an aquatic mitigation company innovating new strategies for restoring Montana’s streams, lakes and wetlands. Patrick served as Vice Chair of the Greater Gallatin Water Council. He joined the board of the Four Corners Foundation in 2017. In 2019, Montana Governor Steve Bullock appointed him to the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission to represent Southwest Montana, on which he served through 2022.
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Patrick Williams
Bold Bison Communications and ConsultingSee EventsPatrick Williams develops creative, innovative, and practical solutions for nonprofits to activate and engage with audiences. In his role as Director of Creative Services, Patrick oversees Bold Bison’s communications strategy, brand development, and content production services, and helps organizations develop a robust suite of tools to elevate their storytelling. Prior to Bold Bison, Patrick spent his career serving in nonprofit conservation organizations including Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Openlands, the Sierra Club and Chicago Wilderness.
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Pete Nichols
Midcoast ConservancySee EventsAs executive director, Pete leads Midcoast Conservancy’s efforts to protect and restore vital lands and waters on a scale that matters. Originally inspired by the lakes, rivers, and coastal waters of Maine, Pete has always been a committed advocate for the environment. For nearly 30 years, he has worked to protect the world’s waters and wildlands from the redwood forests of northern California, to the majestic Tigris River in Iraq, and the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya. Pete worked as the organizing director for Waterkeeper Alliance, an international network of 350 clean water advocates in 46 countries around the globe. Prior to that, Pete co-founded his own Waterkeeper program in northern California, Humboldt Baykeeper, where he served as baykeeper and executive director.
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Peter Doehring
Kennett OutdoorsSee EventsAfter a career leading school-, hospital-, and university-based programs in Autism, Peter Doehring now focuses on building work and recreation opportunities for adults with disabilities (like his daughter Margot) through independent research and advocacy. As board chair for a local conservancy, he helped to protect hundreds of acres and identify trail connections. Peter also serves on the Council on Disabilities for the Land Trust Alliance, helping to disseminate inclusion guidelines for land conservancies nationwide.
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Peter Dykstra
Plauche and Carr LLPSee EventsPeter Dykstra practices water and conservation law in the Pacific Northwest; he previously practiced in California and served as in-house counsel for two national conservation organizations.
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Peter Forbes
First Light and New Learning JourneySee EventsPeter’s focus is helping divided communities to heal, and helping organizations committed to nature and place to open their work to all people. He works directly with communities across the country to have dialogue on matters of consequence to their future, most often about working across differences in culture, power and ideology. Peter also works directly with dozens of organizations in the environmental sector to become more inclusive, diverse, willing and capable of changing themselves. He resides in Fayston, Vermont.
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Peter Krebs
Piedmont Environmental CouncilSee EventsPeter Krebs is an urban and environmental planner and serves as community outreach coordinator for the Piedmont Environmental Council. He leads a coalition of 40 organizations, businesses and agencies that share a vision of a better connected community with everyday access to nature. Peter received his master’s degree from the University of Virginia School of Architecture in May, 2017. He is interested in the intersection between health, wellness, active lifestyles and community action.
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Peter Nichols
Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti LLPSee EventsPeter Nichols specializes in water, conservation and environmental law in the Rocky Mountains, and serves as special counsel to various conservation and water organizations. He was the lead attorney in the landmark case that upheld the encumbrance of water rights in conservation easements and he principal co-author of Water Rights Handbook for Colorado Conservation Professionals
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Peter Stein
Lyme Timber CompanySee EventsPeter Stein joined Lyme Timber in 1990 and has significant experience in conservation-oriented forestland and rural land purchases and dispositions. Peter develops conservation sale strategies on properties being evaluated or managed by Lyme and also leads Lyme’s conservation advisory business. Peter is a former Board Chair of the Land Trust Alliance and served as a founding Commissioner of the Land Trust Accreditation Commission.
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Philip Swartz
Appraisal Review Specialists, LLCSee EventsPhilip Swartz, AI-GRS, AI-RRS, has been employed in the appraisal industry since 1992. Phil is the owner of Appraisal Review Specialists, LLC, a Hiawassee, GA based appraisal review company founded in 1997. Phil holds General Certifications in nine states and is engaged in eminent domain appraisal review assignments throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast United States. Phil is one of several review appraisers throughout the United State pre-approved for review of appraisal reports for the USDA/NRCS Easement Program.
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Phillip Oswald
Rupp Pfalzgraf LLCSee EventsPhillip Oswald is a partner with Rupp Pfalzgraf LLC. Phillip has represented land trusts and other clients in title disputes, easement enforcement, insurance disputes, clean-water disputes, and other matters before federal and state courts across New York State. Phillip also serves on the board of directors for Saratoga PLAN and is a veteran of the US Marine Corps.
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Polly Williams
Strength PerspectiveSee EventsPolly Williams has been involved with Farm and Wilderness Summer Camps in Plymouth, VT, for 30 years and is the former director of the Farm and Wilderness Day Camp in Plymouth, VT. This fall, she assumed a new position as their director of alumni relations. She holds a bachelor’sdegree in health and physical education, as well as a master’s degree in social work. Polly has worked with nonprofit boards, K-12 schools (independent and public), universities, religious institutions and community groups regarding DEIB, specific to race, gender and LGBTQ inclusion.
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Pri Ekanayake
Institute for Conservation LeadershipSee EventsPri Ekanayake is senior associate at the Institute for Conservation Leadership (ICL). She brings her experience as an environmental educator and teacher to her role as a facilitator and trainer for the organization. Pri works supports the Delaware River Watershed Initiative through strengthening collaborations and capacity building within the project. Before joining ICL, Pri worked at the DC Department of Energy and Environment where she managed a portfolio of environmental education grants. She has over 10 years of experience as an educator and trainer in academia and nonprofits, where she honed her talent for learner-centered design that emphasizes adult learning principles. Pri has worked as a facilitator, trainer, and coach in a variety of institutions ranging from The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, Florida Gulf Coast University, Heifer International, Population Education, and various public schools. She holds a master’s degree in natural resources with a focus in education from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in biology and anthropology from Rollins College.
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Rachael Moore
The Nature ConservancySee EventsRachael Moore has more than two decades of experience and expertise directing strategic communications and stakeholder engagement initiatives. As Senior Federal Campaigns Manager for Climate at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Rachael designs and directs legislative and issue influence campaigns to further TNC’s climate policy goals. Rachael has lead public affairs and advocacy programs in the U.S. government and the private sector, and served as an on-the-record spokesperson for nonprofit organizations and Fortune 500 companies.
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Rahul Anand
Snapfinger FarmSee EventsRahul Anand started Snapfinger Farm in 2016 on 2.5 acres just outside of Atlanta. Rahul converted horse pastures to vegetable fields, built a walk-in cooler, wash station, hoop houses and more. Rahul farms using sustainable methods with no herbicides and minimal organic pesticides (and are Certified Naturally Grown). Snapfinger Farms expanded from 2.5 acres to 20 acres of production in 2023 with Georgia Farms Fund program support.
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Rand Wentworth
Harvard UniversitySee EventsRand Wentworth is a member of the board of directors of the Fundación Tierra Austral, and is the Louis and Gabrielle Bacon Senior Fellow in Environmental Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. He formerly served as the president and CEO of the Land Trust Alliance for 16 years. Rand also served as the vice president and founding director of the Atlanta Office of the Trust for Public Land.
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Ray Lyons
Ray Lyons, Conservation AttorneySee EventsRay Lyons, a conservation attorney based in Harvard, MA, represents the New England Forestry Foundation, the Northeast Wilderness Trust, and other conservation organizations to protect forests and other important open spaces throughout New England. He is a member of the Land Trust Alliance’s Conservation Defense Advisory Council (emeritus).
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Rebecca Girndt
Lowcountry Land TrustSee EventsWith over 10 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Bea Girndt has developed a deep understanding of the strategies and techniques essential for building strong relationships with donors and raising funds for important causes. She has worked with various conservation-minded organizations, helping them develop effective outreach and fundraising strategies that build support and drive impact.
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Reggie Hall
LegacyWorks GroupSee EventsReggie Hall is the director of conservation finance for LegacyWorks where he works with land trusts, nonprofits, community partners and government leaders nationwide to save special places. He started his conservation career at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida before moving on to Conserving Carolina in NC. Most recently, he served as the Director of the Conservation Loan Program for the Conservation Fund. He has a juris doctorate and master’s degree in environmental law from Vermont Law School and a bachelor’s degree from Williams College.
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Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk
Montezuma Land ConservancySee EventsRegina Lopez-Whiteskunk, was born and raised in southwestern Colorado, resides on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation. She is a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of Towaoc. She attended school and graduated from Montezuma Cortez High School. She has spent 10 years in the information technology field, working for Chief Dull Knife College, the Southern Ute Indian and Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribes. In October of 2013, she was elected to serve as a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal council. At an early age, Lopez-Whiteskunk began to advocate for land, air, water and animals, and strongly believes that the inner core of healing comes from the knowledge of our land and elders. She is a former co-chair for the Bears Ears Intertribal Coalition Co-Chair and education director for the Ute Indian Museum in Montrose. Currently she is seeking a Master’s of Environmental Management with Western Colorado University. She serves on the Telluride Institute Board, Advisory board for Great Old Broads for Wilderness, Torrey House Press Board, and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. Lopez-Whiteskunk has traveled extensively throughout the country sharing the Ute culture through song, dance, presentations, and is honored to continue to protect, preserve and serve through education, creating a better understanding of our resources, culture and beliefs- a great foundation for a better tomorrow.
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Regina Wandler
Skagit Land TrustSee EventsAs Skagit Land Trust’s stewardship director, Regina oversees the department that monitors and cares for Skagit Land Trust’s protected areas throughout Skagit County, including both fee properties and conservation easements on private lands, comprising almost 8,000 acres. She started working with Skagit Land Trust in 2010, when she served as the Trust’s Americorps Volunteer Coordinator. Regina holds a masters’s degree in environmental horticulture from the University of Washington and is a CERP-IT (Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner In Training). She currently serves as the board president of the NW Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration, which she joined the board of in 2015.
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Renee Bouplon
Agricultural Stewardship AssociationSee EventsRenee J. Bouplon is the Executive Director of the Agricultural Stewardship Association (NY), a land trust that conserves working agricultural and forest lands. Prior to becoming Executive Director, Renee served as the organization’s Associate Director overseeing the land conservation and stewardship programs. She formerly served as Director of Conservation Easement Programs for the Columbia Land Conservancy and was a state board director for the New York Forest Owners Association. She is involved in economic revitalization efforts in her hometown including a community forest project. She has a Master’s degree in environmental law from Vermont Law School and a BA in geology from Hamilton College.
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Rich Cochran
Western Reserve Land ConservancySee EventsRich Cochran is president and CEO of Western Reserve Land Conservancy. He has served in this role for more than 25 years and is nationally recognized as a conservation leader and an expert in urban conservation and restoration and DEIJ in the context of conservation. Rich was the first employee of the Land Conservancy, which now employs 50 people, has completed more than 800 conservation transactions, and created 180 public parks and preserves
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Richard Corff
The Trust for Public Land, Washington State OfficeSee EventsRichard Corff is the Washington director of land conservation and senior advisor to The Trust for Public Land’s National Lands Initiative. He has worked as a real estate broker as well as a land manager, acquisition specialist, and environmental planner for Washington State and King County. Richard holds a business degree in management and a master’s degree in environmental studies with a focus on environmental economics.
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Rika Ayotte
Deschutes Land TrustSee EventsRika Ayotte is the executive director for Deschutes Land Trust. She holds an MBA in nonprofit management and has over 15 years of working in non-profit organizations. As a consultant and founder of Forest Path Consulting, she has led multiple strategic planning processes and organizational development efforts for non-profit organizations across the United States.
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Rob Hutsel
San Diego River Park FoundationSee EventsIn 2001, Rob Hutsel helped establish The San Diego River Park Foundation, an organization dedicated to re-imagining the 52 mile-long San Diego River. The organization has grown from a few volunteers to more than 50,000 supporters. In 2008, Rob was named a National River Hero by the River Network, and has received national recognition at the White House. He continues to lead the organization as the president and CEO.
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Rob Wade
Feather River Land TrustSee EventsRob Wade is a place-based educator in the Upper Feather River region of California’s northern Sierra Nevada. He is the creator / coordinator of Learning Landscapes, a K-12 partnership between the Feather River Land Trust and regional schools that supports all teachers and some 2000 students annually. Rob is the 2017 recipient of the Excellence in Environmental Education Award, presented by the California Environmental Education Foundation.
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Robin Cline
NeighborSpaceSee EventsRobin serves as assistant director of NeighborSpace, an urban open space land trust in Chicago. She supports over 500 community leaders throughout Chicago in developing, managing, and sustaining community land sites, with a special focus on creative stewardship, neighborhood cohesion, community nature play, and public program design interventions. In her prior work at the Garfield Park Conservatory, she developed both programs and places that increase urban resident’s engagement and community connection in and to the outdoor world. Robin holds a bachelor’s in media studies and political economy from the Evergreen State College, a master’s from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she focused on experimental community performance and is a 2018 cohort graduate of the University of Chicago’s Civic Leadership Academy. She has been trained in mediation and participatory group facilitation, by the Center for Conflict Resolution and Community at Work, respectively.
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Rocci Aguirre
Adirondack CouncilSee EventsRocci Aguirre serves as the executive director of the Adirondack Council. He brings over 27 years of conservation experience to his current position, including working as a National Park Service ranger, field staff for Trout Unlimited, and as the former Land Protection Director at the Finger Lakes Land Trust. Rocci is on the board of the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development where he serves as chair of CCCD’s Land Trust and Stewardship committee and is a board member for the NY Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.
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Ryan Burnett
Point Blue Conservation ScienceSee EventsRyan Burnett is the Sierra Nevada Director for Point Blue Conservation Science, a Petaluma, CA based NGO. His work focuses on understanding the ecology of and improving conservation outcomes for the Sierra Nevada ecosystem. Ryan is particularly interested in habitat restoration and using birds as indicators to guide and evaluate land management and conservation decisions, working closely with a diverse suite of partners. Ryan and his team work to develop effective strategies for bridging the gap between science and managers to ensure effective resource management and improved conservation outcomes of this iconic ecosystem. In recent years, his team has focused on developing climate smart approaches to restoration and land conservation. He currently leads the Sierra Meadows Partnership, a large collaborative working to restore and protect 30,000 acres of Sierra Nevada meadows by 2030. After graduating from UC Davis with a degree in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, Ryan accepted an internship with Point Blue in the fledgling tidal marsh project in 1997 and found his way to the Sierra Nevada in 2000 where he has been ever since.
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Sabrina Cummings
Conservation Foundation of the Gulf CoastSee EventsSabrina is an environmental educator from South Florida. She has been the youth educator for Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast since 2018. A Florida native, her programs focus on building resilience and confidence in communities historically lacking equitable access to the natural Florida landscape. Working alongside youth-serving community partners and local schools, Sabrina’s programs connect people to the land, empowering them to explore, respect, and advocate for natural areas.
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Sam Cook, Jr.
North Carolina State Univ./Conservationists of Color Co-FounderSee EventsSam is currently the executive director of Forest Assets and vice president of the Natural Resources Foundation for the College of Natural Resources at NC State University, where he coordinates the management of the forest assets owned or managed by the NC State Natural Resources Foundation, Inc. He also serves as a board member for the Triangle Land Conservancy in Durham, NC (VP for the board of directors), Land Trust Alliance, NC Coastal Land Trust (Wilmington, NC) and a Resource Committee Advisor for the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)-Washington, DC, representing the Black Family Land Trust (VA).
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Sara Brooks
Virginia Outdoors FoundationSee EventsSara has been with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation since 2005 serving as their human resources manager. Throughout Sara’s 18 years with VOF, she has overseen significant growth within the organization and managed multiple human resource changes to accommodate VOF’s increasing demands. She is a graduate of the University of Lynchburg and holds a masters of public administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. In her free time you can find Sara cheering her kids on from the sidelines, tending to her garden, or going on hikes with her husband and dog.
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Sara Clark
Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLPSee EventsSara A. Clark is a partner at Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP, a public interest law firm in San Francisco, CA. She regularly represents land trusts, Tribes and tribal organizations, and other non-profits on issues related to land conservation, tribal sovereignty and natural resource protection. She was the lead facilitator for California’s Strategic Plan to Expand the Use of Beneficial Fire. Clark won the 2020 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year Award for her work on behalf of the Peninsula Open Space Trust to protect the Coyote Valley. She serves as chair of the board for Save the Redwoods League.
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Sara Schwartz
US EPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans & WatershedsSee EventsSara Schwartz is a biologist in the Impaired Waters and Total Maximum Daily Load Program at EPA headquarters which supports states, territories, and authorized tribes in the restoration and protection of waterbodies. In this role she has been working to help expand the prevention of impairments in healthy waters and the protection of high quality waters. Sara also leads hazard mitigation, environmental justice, and outreach and communications work for the program. She has a master’s degree in water resource science and management from the Yale School of Forestry and a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from American University.
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Sara Williams
Downeast Salmon FederationSee EventsSara Williams is the land trust coordinator for the Downeast Salmon Federation, a nonprofit actively engaged in Atlantic salmon recovery and anadromous fish conservation in Downeast Maine. Sara earned a bachelor’s degree in wildlife science from Virginia Tech and worked as wildlife biologist for 25 years on coastal USFWS National Wildlife Refuges in Virginia, Connecticut and Maine.
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Sara Woods
Friends of the Columbia GorgeSee EventsSara Woods is the stewardship manager for Friends of the Columbia Gorge Land Trust.
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Sarah Bucci
Water Hub At Climate NexusSee EventsSarah Bucci is a strategic communications specialist with the Water Hub at Climate Nexus, a pro-bono communications group. She has more than a decade of experience as a campaigner, advocate, and communications director with national environmental organizations.
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Sarah Hall
American Forest FoundationSee EventsSarah Hall resides in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania and earned a bachelor’s in biology with minors in chemistry and environmental science at Millersville University. She is the director of forestry for the Family Forest Carbon Program at the American Forest Foundation and manages a team of staff foresters, consulting foresters and all things forestry-related throughout the United States. Sarah is a legislatively appointed member of the Pennsylvania Conservation and Natural Resources Advisory Council, board member of Forests for Monarchs and a former member of the Hardwoods Development Council and the Pennsylvania Sustainable Forestry Initiative Implementation Committee. In her spare time she enjoys fly fishing, doing river clean-ups, gardening and spending time outdoors with family and friends.
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Sarah Holdeman
Agrarian TrustSee EventsSarah is a farmer, forager, bibliophile, and lover of land and sea. She brings a background in history and sustainability and is grounded by the Agrarian Trust’s work to imagine, activate, and make accessible legal frameworks for just land tenure in the context of great inequity in land access and control.
Sarah has farmed with community behind her Texas college’s tennis courts, in the Green Mountains of Vermont, South Carolinian Sea Islands, coastal redwoods and oak woodlands of California, and most recently in Portland, Oregon. She also brings experience as a farmer’s market coordinator. -
Sarah Mayhew
Little Traverse ConservancySee EventsSarah Mayhew is the director of education for the Little Traverse Conservancy in northern Michigan. She has worked in the field of environmental and adventure education for 15 years.Her professional experiences include: interpretation for the Michigan State Parks, adventure education through Bellingham Parks & Rec. in Washington State, and snowboard instruction.Sarah has been with the Little Traverse Conservancy since 2011. The Conservancy has an established direct-service K-12 education program that reaches 4,000 students per school year from 40 different schools.throughout their five county service area. Program topics range from insects and plants to snowshoeing and nature photography. All programs are conducted on Little Traverse Conservancy properties, and meet the current curriculum standards for the State of Michigan, through their goal of promoting appreciation and awareness of the natural world.
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Scott Dunbar
Marin Agricultural Land TrustSee EventsScott Dunbar has been the stewardship program manager for Marin Agricultural Trust since July 2021. Previously, Scott worked on and around working lands for many years. Scott holds a master’s degree in rangeland ecology from Colorado State University.
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Scott Fisher
Hawai’i Land TrustSee EventsScott grew up in Kula, and at age 17 enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. After his discharge, he studied at Colorado State University. Scott’s graduate work includes an M.A. in Peace Studies with a concentration in Native Hawaiian Strategies of Peacemaking and Reconciliation. His PhD. explored the dynamics of post-conflict recovery in a civil war on the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, with a particular emphasis on how communities make wise decisions about conflicts over natural resources. Scott also has a graduate degree in ecological restoration, and is currently working on a graduate certificate in sustainable agriculture. Between 2017 and 2019 Scott worked for three summers at the University of Leicester, UK in a research fellowship in Paleoecology. Since 2003 Scott has worked for the Maui Coastal Land Trust, first as a project manager at the land trust’s 277-acre Waihe‘e Coastal Dunes and Wetlands Refuge and is now the Director of ʻĀina Stewardship for Hawai’i Land Trust. In this capacity he has led all aspects of the ecological restoration work conducted by the Land Trust. Scott serves on the Maui/Lana‘i Island Burial Council and works at his 4-acre ‘ulu farm in Waikapū on the weekends.
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Scott Stewart
USDA Forest ServiceSee EventsScott Stewart is the Forest Legacy Program Specialist for the US Forest Service in the Washington Office. In this role he works with the Forest Legacy Program and the Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program. Before moving to the Washington Office in 2011 Scott worked as a forest legacy program specialist in the Northeastern Area. He has worked with the Forest Legacy Program since 2002.
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Seth Fielder
Natural Resources Conservation ServicesSee EventsSeth Fiedler works with the Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) where his primary responsibilities involve the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). He is a member of the national team charged with guiding RCPP policy development and program management. He spends most of his waking hours assisting RCPP state coordinators, who in turn support the RCPP program from each NRCS state office.
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Shelby Semmes
The Trust for Public LandSee EventsShelby Semmes is the vice president, New England and state director for Vermont and New Hampshire. Shelby holds a bachelor’s degree from Barnard College and a master of forestry degree from the Yale School of Environment where she was a Doris Duke Conservation Fellow.
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Shelton Douthit
Feather River Land TrustSee EventsShelton Douthit has worked in the land conservation field for the past 31 years, and has been the executive director of Feather River Land Trust since 2016. Over his career, his specialty has been land acquisition and due diligence and has assisted nonprofit land trusts and public agencies nationwide to complete a wide variety of transactions. From ¼ acre lots within the Carrizo Plan National Monument to the 430,000 acre Catellus acquisition (former railroad land grant lands) in California’s Mojave Desert, Shelton and his staff have assisted with the protection of over 800,000 acres of land and performed thousands of Environmental Site Inspections, Baseline Reports and restoration actions with a diverse array of public and private clients including a 15 year partnership with the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management, working on behalf of the The Wildlands Conservancy, the Transition Habitat Conservancy, The Conservation Fund, The Nature Conservancy, Mojave Desert Land Trust and 24 other non?profit conservation organizations.
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Siobhan Smith
Land Trust Accreditation CommissionSee EventsSiobhan Smith joined the Commission in 2021 as a review specialist. She previously served as the Executive Vice President for the Vermont Land Trust where she worked for over 23 years. Prior to her land trust career, Siobhan worked as an environmental and outdoor educator. She has a bachelor’s degree in American Studies and Women’s Studies from Douglass College at Rutgers University.
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Stefanie Bergh
Washington Department of Fish and WildlifeSee EventsStefanie Bergh is the district biologist for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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Stephanie Bertaina
US Environmental Protection AgencySee EventsStephanie Bertaina works at the EPA Office of Community Revitalization where she has lead programs focusing on community development through local agriculture, recreation economy, and community planning.
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Stephanie Flynn
The Trust for Public Land, DC / Chesapeake Field OfficeSee EventsStephanie Flynn is the federal grants manager for Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national nonprofit that works with communities to create parks and protect land for people. In her role she helps communities advance their park and open-space goals by identifying and securing grant funding needed to create equitable parks, schoolyards, and trails. Stephanie played a key role in the creation and implementation of TPL’s Equitable Communities Fund, and has been with TPL since 2017.
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Stephanie Tavares
Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation & Open Space DistrictSee EventsSteph Tavares is a licensed California attorney who has been privileged to spend the past 10+ years mostly avoiding the practice of law by traipsing over fields and mountains, primarily in northern California. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Global Studies and History from UC Santa Barbara, and a master’s degree in environmental law and policy (magna cum laude) and a juris doctor (cum laude) from Vermont Law and Graduate School. Before working in land conservation, Steph was an energy and environment journalist in Las Vegas.
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Steve Dilk
See EventsSteve Dilk is COLT’s summer legal extern who will be assisting in crafting a Land Back legal toolkit for use by land trusts. He is currently a student at Lewis & Clark Law School. Steve is originally from upstate NY, but has spent time living throughout the country. Prior to moving to Portland for law school, Steve lived in Colorado’s beautiful western slope where he spent his time climbing, skiing, biking and baking bread.
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Steve Epting
US Environmental Protection AgencySee EventsSteve Epting is a biologist in the National Nonpoint Source Program at EPA headquarters, where he works to advance healthy watersheds protection by supporting state efforts to protect unimpaired/high quality waters. Additionally, Steve leads work to integrate watershed protection with other EPA programs and external partners, like the land conservation community. Steve has a master’s degree in environmental science from the University of Maryland, where he studied wetland-stream connectivity on the landscape.
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Steve Rondeau
The Klamath TribesSee EventsSteve Rondeau is the natural resources director for the Klamath Tribes. He is responsible to direct forest and resources management to protect and preserve tribal Reserved Rights. He is the director of multiple programs including fire, forestry, enforcement, GIS and wildlife. He is responsible for coordinating land management activities with the US Forest Service through a Master Stewardship Agreement. Within the over 2 million acres he has implemented climate adapted forest treatments to increase forest resiliency.
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Steve Small
Law Office of Stephen J. Small, Esq., P.C.See EventsStephen J. Small is recognized as the nation’s leading authority on private land protection options and strategies. Before authoring the Federal Tax Law of Conservation Easements and Preserving Family Lands: Book I, Book II, and Book III and his latest book, The Business of Open Space: What’s Next??, Steve wrote the federal Income Tax Regulations on Conservation Easements as attorney-advisor in the Office of Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service.
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Steve Swartz
Charles Koiner Conservancy for Urban FarmingSee EventsSteve Swartz spent 18+ years as general counsel of the Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust in Washington, D.C., before stepping down in 2018. He was also a senior attorney for the Trust’s parent organization, concentrating on broader risk management and litigation issues before retiring in 2020. Prior to joining the land trust in 1999, he was in private practice for nearly 20 years concentrating in the areas of real estate law and governmental regulation with particular emphasis on litigation, arbitration, dispute resolution and loss prevention. He now serves as president and board chair of the Charles Koiner Conservancy for Urban Farming in suburban Washington, as an adviser to the Land Trust of the Eastern Panhandle and Catoctin Land Trust, and as a volunteer in a variety of roles for other nonprofits with a variety of missions. He is an alumnus of both the Land Trust Accreditation Commission and the Alliance’s Conservation Defense Advisory Council.
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Steve Wise
Southern Oregon Land ConservancySee EventsSteve Wise is executive director at Southern Oregon Land Conservancy (SOLC), Oregon’s oldest regional land trust (founded 1978) that currently stewards 77 conservation areas, 72 of which are conservation easements, about a third of which include working lands. He led the Sandy River Watershed Council for a decade, restoring habitat in a wild salmon stronghold east of Portland, was natural resources director at Chicago’s award-winning Center for Neighborhood Technology, and has led large scale community-based conservation, restoration, education and research in the Pacific Northwest and beyond for almost 30 years.
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Story Clark
TravelStorysGPSSee EventsStory Clark grew up in New York City, where she discovered her passion for natural spaces while exploring Central Park. She went on to found and lead local, national, and international conservation organizations, and to share her wealth of knowledge and experience about land conservation transactions as a keynote speaker, presenter, and instructor in countless courses and conferences across the country, as well as in her book, A Field Guide to Conservation Finance (Island Press, 2007). In 2012, in an effort to connect people to places in an even more meaningful way, Story became a leading innovator in mobile technology, establishing her mission-driven company, TravelStorysGPS, which developed and patented the cutting-edge, hands-free mobile platform TravelStorys™. After testing the app with nonprofit organizations in Jackson Hole, the company’s home base, TravelStorysGPS launched the technology nationwide. The platform now hosts more than 220 tours in 45 states and has been downloaded in over 174 countries.
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Sungha Jang
San Francisco State UniversitySee EventsSungha is associate professor of marketing at San Francisco State University. His main research interest is to develop quantitative models applicable to general marketing situations. He teaches marketing analytics courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In addition, he has supervised capstone course projects for MBA students and students in the Master of Science in Business Analytics program.
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Susie Peterson
Columbia Land TrustSee EventsSusie Peterson started her career in the environmental sector at Friends of Trees, where she spent six years organizing community tree planting events, leading volunteer training, managing their contract with the City of Portland, and leading the expansion of their Neighborhood Trees program into the City of Salem. In 2016 she joined Columbia Land Trust as the Backyard Habitat co-manager. She has worked with her teammates to grow the BHCP team, grow the program into new cities and counties, foster relationships with culturally specific community organizations, and implement diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. She’s a certified arborist and enthusiastic program participant since 2010.
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Suzanne Greenlaw
Maliseet Indian NationSee EventsSuzanne Greenlaw (Orono, ME) is Maliseet and a citizen of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians. A PhD candidate in the School of Forest Resources at the University of Maine, she works to restore Wabanaki stewardship practices across various land tenure systems throughout Maine.
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Suzanne Stephens
Aspen Valley Land TrustSee EventsSuzanne Stephens is executive director for Aspen Valley Land Trust. Suzanne is a Roaring Fork Valley, Colorado native who has been working in the field of land conservation since the spring of 2001. Previously, she spent two years as the director of land conservation at the Roaring Fork Conservancy, and then became interim director for the Western Colorado Agricultural Heritage Fund. She was an environmental educator for the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies after graduating from Reed College in Portland, Oregon with a bachelor’s degree in biology. Suzanne lives in Carbondale with her husband and daughter.
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Taj Schottland
The Trust for Public Land, Vermont State OfficeSee EventsTaj Schottland (he/his) is the associate director of the Trust for Public Land’s national climate program. He has over a 12 years of professional experience in climate adaptation and mitigation, natural resource management, and water resilience. Currently he works with Trust for Public Land field staff and diverse cross-sector partnerships across the country to plan and implement natural climate solutions across both urban and rural settings.
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Tara Laidlaw
Southern Oregon Land ConservancySee EventsTara has been presenting at regional and national conferences for over 10 years. Most recently, she led two sessions at the 2022 North American Association for Environmental Education national conference: “Diversifying Land Conservation through Education Programs” and “Supporting Educators in Providing Trauma-Informed Care”. She also regularly develops and delivers day-long professional development workshops for educators in partnership with the Oregon Natural Resources Education Program.
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Tatia Bauer
Maine Coast Heritage TrustSee EventsTatia is a regional stewardship manager with Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT), a state-wide land trust preserving the coastal habitats of Maine. She earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in biology and has been managing or researching natural systems ever since. She is leading a marsh restoration project on an MCHT preserve and has been collaborating with regional partners to facilitate training and projects in the area.
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Tee Thomas
Quantified VenturesSee EventsTee brings 15+ years of water financing and environmental equity experience to Quantified Ventures. Most recently, she served as the water finance director for the state of Vermont. In this role, she managed more than $500M worth of loans, grants and contracts related to water financing. She wrote and helped pass Act 185 which overhauled the state’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund to expand the program to fund natural infrastructure through new mechanisms, including a sponsorship program. She created the Natural Infrastructure Interim Financing Program, which deployed $15M in its first two years of operations, protecting and restoring more than 11,000 acres of land including wetlands, streams, drinking source water protection areas and river corridor easements. Tee has also been active with the Vermont Legislature, working on water quality policy and legislation related to environmental equity. Prior to her tenure in Vermont, Tee worked with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Drinking Water Program and later with the Iowa Department of Transportation as the National Environmental Policy Act manager. Tee combines her expertise in the mechanics of the EPA’s Clean Water Act Funding Programs (Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds) with her passion for natural infrastructure. She’s a strong believer in the potential power of public financing to be the catalytic super investor in this fast emerging field of nature-based solutions, while simultaneously and aggressively advancing equity and resilience agendas across the country. Tee loves surfing, reading obscure non-fiction and volunteering as an English teacher.
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Teresa Horton
Northwestern UniversitySee EventsTeresa H. Horton, Ph.D. is a research associate professor with the Laboratory for Human Biology Research at Northwestern University. Dr. Horton is an environmental physiologist specializing in research on how exposure to natural landscapes has restorative effects on human health and well-being. She also coordinates the Nature, Culture and Human Health (NCH2) collaborative, a coalition of organizations and individuals across the Chicago region working to improve quality of life through the outdoors.
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Thomas Bourguignon
Maclay Law FirmSee EventsTom Bourguignon is an attorney at Maclay Law Firm, a boutique firm that handles real estate transactions, conservation easements, and estate planning and probate. For the past 15 years, Tom has done title review and related investigations for his clients. Many of his clients are land trusts or other nonprofit conservation entities. He also represents landowners in placing conservation easements, and buyers considering purchasing property subject to conservation easements. He is licensed to practice law in the State of Montana. Tom earned his law degree from the University of Montana School of Law where he served as Co-Editor-in-Chief for the Montana Law Review. Tom’s hobbies include blacksmithing, genealogy, hiking and kayaking.
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Tom Hicks
Hicks LawSee EventsTom Hicks is a California water law, real property, and conservation attorney who represents a variety of public interest organizations, landowners, and others on select public policy, transactional, private and public grant fundraising, administrative, regulatory, and litigation matters. He is a recognized California and western regional expert in the water law sub-niche of voluntary water right transactions and instream transfers. He has over a decade of real property and water rights experience on conservation easement transactions and stream flow enhancement projects worth tens of millions of dollars representing clients in California and across the west.
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Tom Kester
Land Trust AllianceSee EventsTom Kester is an experienced insurance and regulatory attorney. He worked as assistant general counsel for an affiliate of a large U.S. health care insurer, staff attorney for Vermont’s Medicaid and Affordable Care Act programs, and as an associate in a private practice firm where he focused on real property matters and general civil litigation. He earned his law degree from Vermont Law School and his bachelor’s degree in government from Franklin & Marshall College. He is an actively licensed Vermont attorney. He is the operations manager and secretary for Alliance Risk Management Services and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Terrafirma.
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Tom Sanford
North Olympic Land TrustSee EventsTom leads the work of North Olympic Land Trust as the executive director, since 2012. He has a long history of community involvement throughout the Port Angeles area, supporting local nonprofits and efforts that are designed to build a vibrant and sustainable community.
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Tom Stolp
Ozaukee Washington Land Trust, Inc.See EventsTom Stolp joined Ozaukee Washington Land Trust (OWLT) as executive director in 2016. Tom provides vision and leadership to our Ozaukee Washington Land Trust team as we work to protect and steward land and water for the benefit of all. Prior to joining OWLT, Tom worked in Wisconsin’s conservation community, advancing legislation and policies to protect natural resources at Wisconsin Conservation Voters.
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Travis Croft
Oregon Climate TrustSee EventsTravis assists with The Climate Trust’s grassland project development and active portfolio management through geospatial analysis and regular communication with project partners. Before working with The Climate Trust, Travis led a post-wildfire forest regeneration project in Northern Colorado using pine tree seedlings and native grass seeding to test the effectiveness of low-cost assisted regeneration. Travis holds two bachelor’s degrees in natural resources management and ecosystem science and sustainability from Colorado State University.
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Travis Custer
Montezuma Land ConservancySee EventsTravis Custer has a deep passion for the power of connecting people to land and exploring the diverse stories of how land weaves itself through the human experience. He has been involved with nonprofit and community-based work for nearly 20 years with a diverse background in nonprofit management, leadership, agriculture, ecology, education and social and environmental justice. He is the current executive director of the Montezuma Land Conservancy in Southwest Colorado alongside his amazing staff. Over the past five years, Travis has advanced MLC’s community conservation initiatives through its education center Fozzie’s Farm and led MLC to develop innovative programming that have gained statewide and national attention. MLC is one of Colorado’s only land trusts with a dedicated Indigenous program and staff position where they work closely with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Before the land trust, Travis worked for the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service and the High Desert Conservation District and served on the board of the Mancos Conservation District. He was the recipient of the John Stencel Leadership Award from Rocky Mountain Farmer’s Union for his determination and community leadership in the agricultural field. Above all else, Travis is the father of an amazing son, Eddy, and takes pride in learning and teaching alongside his son where they work together to co-create better versions of themselves.
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Valerie Roof
Land Trust Accreditation CommissionSee EventsValerie joined the Commission in 2012. She previously served as executive director of the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy in Michigan where she managed $4 million dollars in grant funding to purchase conservation easements. Prior to that she served in various roles with the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, Alliance for Bay County Schools, United Way, and VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America). Valerie also served as a consultant and facilitator with Crystal Planning Solutions, and was on the boards of several nonprofits and a private foundation. Her educational background includes a master’s degree in quality management.
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Victoria Alonso
Fundacion De Conservacion Tierra Austral Land TrustSee EventsVictoria Alonso is the executive director of the Fundación Tierra Austral. She was formerly the CEO of an independent environmental consulting firm in Chile, Templado, and has worked for both The Nature Conservancy and in positions in the Chilean Government. Victoria is trained as an agricultural engineer, with degrees from the Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile and the University of Edinburgh.
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Victoria Marles
See EventsVictoria Marles served as the CEO of the Trust for Nature in Victoria, Australia for 23 years, until she retired from the position at the end of 2022. As the leader of the Trust for Nature, Victoria helped oversee the protection of tens of thousands of acres of land using conservation covenants, which are Australia’s version of the conservation easement. Victoria’s work focuses strongly on the conservation of biodiversity and on landscape restoration to address and reverse widespread loss of native habitat.
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Walter Moore
Peninsula Open Space TrustSee EventsWalter Moore has worked for the Peninsula Open Space Trust (“POST”) for 28 years, the last 12 as its president. POST has protected over 80,000 acres on the San Francisco Peninsula and the South Bay over its 46-year history. He is a board member and past board chair of the California Council of Lands Trusts and past board chair of the Bay Area Open Space Council (now known as Together Bay Area).
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Wenix Red Elk
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian ReservationSee EventsWenix is the public outreach and education specialist for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Wenix coordinates and implements First Food related educational presentations, activities and events for DNR’s Water Resources, Fisheries, Wildlife, Ag, Range and Forestry, First Foods Policy and the Cultural Resources Protection Programs. Wenix has over 16 years’ experience in Natural Resources. As a young adult, Wenix worked for the Earth Conservation Corps, Salmon Corps branch restoring and revitalizing plant and salmon habitats, watersheds and native vegetation to its natural habitat to stabilize fish populations and reintroduction of wild salmon stock back into watershed areas. Wenix has learned about her culture and tribal traditions from the time of birth. She has successfully taught over 225 cultural classes consisting of beading, tule mat making, traditional food gathering and preparation, quill working, sewing and other forms of traditional arts. In the last six years, Wenix has provided over 500 First Foods related presentations on behalf of the Umatilla Confederated Tribes DNR First Foods Management practices education over 40,000 people on her Tribes Restoration effort throughout their Ceded territories and beyond.
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Winter King
Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLPSee EventsWinter King is a partner at Shute, Mihaly, & Weinberger, a law firm that has been dedicated to public interest environmental issues for over forty years. Since 2004, when Winter joined the firm, she has represented Indian tribes, community groups and public agencies on a wide range of environmental and land use issues. Her work with Indian tribes has focused on issues of tribal sovereignty and preservation of cultural resources
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Xochilt Hoover
See EventsXochilt has been sharing her passion for yoga since 2015. With a personal yoga journey that began in 2009, Xochilt’s path towards teaching was ignited by her therapist’s encouragement, leading her to embark on her first teacher training. This decision proved to be life-changing, as it opened a world of possibilities and personal growth.
In 2019, Xochilt completed her 300-hour teacher training, a transformative experience that equipped her with invaluable tools and knowledge. Little did she know that shortly after, the world would face its greatest challenge—the global pandemic. Grateful for the training she received, Xochilt navigated these trying times with resilience, drawing strength from the teachings she acquired.
Xochilt’s teaching approach is heart-centered, as she strives to connect with her students on a deep level. Inspired by nature, astrology, and real-life experiences, she weaves these influences into her class themes, creating a unique and meaningful yoga practice. Holding space for others is a driving force in Xochilt’s teaching philosophy, recognizing the power and healing that arises when individuals gather to move their bodies, breathe, and simply be. She believes that yoga extends beyond the physical practice, encouraging students to connect with themselves on a deeper level. Xochilt prioritizes accessibility, simplicity, and mindfulness in every style of class offered, ensuring a welcoming and inclusive experience for all.
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Zoraida Lopez-Diago
Glynwood CenterSee EventsZoraida Lopez-Diago joined Glynwood as vice president of development, communication and strategic partnerships in November 2022. In this role, she is a part of the organization’s core leadership and is responsible for development, communications and strategic functions at Glynwood to support its mission and programs.
Zoraida is deeply committed to environmental justice and working at the intersection of land, food and equity. She holds nearly two decades of experience collaborating with community members, municipalities, philanthropic leaders and regional nonprofits to deepen relationships between people, agriculture and nature. Most recently, Zoraida served as director of the River Cities Program at Scenic Hudson Inc., where she provided strategic management and directed projects and programs in the Hudson River Valley cities of Kingston, Newburgh and Poughkeepsie. Prior to this position, Zoraida managed communications and grants initiatives at Westchester Land Trust; during this time, she also co-founded Conservationists of Color, a national platform and affinity group for people of color working in the land conservation movement. Zoraida has additional professional experience from Columbia University and the Service Employees International Union.
In her free time, Zoraida is a photographer and curator. In 2022, she co-curated the exhibition, “Picturing Black Girlhood: Moments of Possibility,” an exhibition on Black girls and genderqueer individuals, and is co-editor of Black Matrilineage, Photography, and Representation: Another Way of Knowing (Leuven University Press (EU) / Cornell University Press (USA), 2022), a collection of academic essays and curated images that reclaim the brilliance of Black women through personal stories, connections to land, history, political acts, and communal celebration.