New Projects in
35 States
Acres Protected
Valued at $244M+
Acres of Naturally and Culturally Important Lands Returned to Tribal Communities
Received in 5K+ Private
Contributions from
Individuals, Foundations
& Corporations
In 2022 we completed one of our most ambitious conservation efforts ever — the permanent protection of over 44,000 acres of globally important fish and wildlife habitat in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region.
After a successful $20 million, 18-month fundraising effort, The Conservation Fund and the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust purchased three conservation easements on some of the most critical salmon spawning and rearing habitats on Iliamna Lake from the Pedro Bay Corporation. The easements safeguard pristine lands and waters in the heart of the world’s largest wild salmon fishery — places threatened by the proposed Pebble Mine. The lands remain privately owned by the Alaska Native village corporation and maintained for subsistence and traditional and cultural uses.
Thanks to our strong local relationships and diverse partnerships with foundations both large and small — including The Wyss Foundation, Patagonia’s Holdfast Collective and Alaska Venture Fund — as well as Alaska Native corporations, fishermen and women, businesses, individuals, seafood processors and other nonprofits, The Conservation Fund was uniquely equipped to take on the challenges of this successful $20 million, 18-month fundraising effort. This collaborative conservation solution embodies our mission to conserve the most important landscapes for economic and environmental vitality.
Learn MoreOur founder, Pat Noonan, had a bold and innovative vision — to create an organization that would make conservation competitive in the fast-paced, aggressive world of real estate. This vision, together with a dual mission of environmental protection and economic growth, has been The Conservation Fund’s north star for the past four decades.
Growing our Revolving Fund is a top priority so we can be ready to secure the most critical landscapes for communities, wildlife and the fight against climate change and provide time to create practical strategies with local partners. Your support helps us to achieve these and even more critical conservation outcomes.
A healthier, more resilient food system requires accessible farmland and thriving farmers. But young farmers say buying affordable farmland was a top challenge in 2022, with over 40% of farmland in the U.S. leased.
Our Farms Fund program is trying to fix that, with a creative solution to help next-generation farmers forge a path toward affordable farm ownership and scaling up their farm businesses, specifically around metro areas where demand for locally grown food is growing. The program tackles major issues like land access, sustainable production and equity concerns, while protecting at-risk agricultural land from urban sprawl and development.
The Farms Fund launched in Atlanta in 2021 and expanded into Chicago in July 2022, quickly growing from an innovative concept to a successful and scalable model.
Learn MoreAmerica’s forests generate important life-sustaining benefits for people, wildlife and communities, and they are one of the most effective carbon removal systems operating at scale today. Yet these critical landscapes are at risk of becoming fragmented and lost by increasing demand for residential development and agricultural conversion.
We specialize in preventing forest conversion in the U.S. through our Working Forest Fund. By acquiring at-risk mature forests, we ensure ongoing sustainable management for timber products and local jobs while enhancing recreational opportunities, water quality, carbon capture benefits and wildlife habitat connectivity. To date we have secured conservation opportunities for nearly 1 million acres of U.S. forests.
As America’s conservation challenges become increasingly complex and urgent, our experience delivering innovation and enduring impact will be more important than ever.
We must accelerate our efforts to address the dual problem of climate change and loss of biodiversity. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is essential to combat climate change, and transitioning to renewable energy will be important to achieving lower emissions. However, developing sustainable energy infrastructure will also have environmental impacts on millions of acres of land. We can support this transition to clean energy and balance theses impacts by working with energy partners to implement conservation solutions that protect valuable ecological and cultural resources, especially critical habitat and working lands — like farms, forests and ranchlands — that continue to disappear at alarming rates.
We are proud of all we accomplished working with our partners in 2022, but there is so much more to do. We look forward to working together to help nature and people thrive.
(Arlington, VA)
Sami Aboulhosn
Assistant Secretary and Regional Counsel
Peter Afambo
Accounting and Retirement Plan Manager
Nina Balter
Research Manager
Madison Barbee
Assistant Secretary and Business Process Manager
Christopher Bell
Assistant Secretary and Deputy General Counsel
Holly Cannon
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Jacob Cooke
Government Relations Representative
Luisa Cortes
Senior Grants Administrator
Jason Dorsey
Accounting Manager
Kai Fang
Director, Brand Strategy
Andrea Ferri
Conservation Loans Manager
Hillina Fetehawoke
Accounting Manager
Kaitlyn Fisher
Development Database Manager
Raul Garcia
Desktop Systems Administrator
Monica A. Garrison
Senior Vice President, Finance and Treasurer
John S. Gilbert
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Moira Harris
Development Assistant
Naomi Harris
Human Resources Manager
Minh Ho
Systems Administrator
Ali Humnah
Accountant
Michael Johnson
Senior Government Relations Representative
Mouna Kamoun
Senior Accountant
Valerie Keefer
Media Relations Manager
William Kelleher
Senior Government Relations Representative
Chai Young Lee
Staff Accountant
Margaret A. McCants
Board Secretary and Director, Real Estate Operations
Erik J. Meyers
Vice President, Climate and Water Sustainability
Elizabeth Palmer
Vice President, Human Resources and Administration
Ainsley Pittman
Development Director of Operations
Arielle Plavcan
Government Relations Associate
Kelly M. Reed
Senior Vice President, Government Relations
Iris Sanchez
Creative Director
Lawrence Selzer
President and CEO
Abigail A. Spring
Senior Vice President, Strategic Engagement
Stacia Stanek
Associate Director, Government Relations
Angelo Tan
Finance Manager
Yeti Taye
Senior Finance Manager
Scott M. Tison
Assistant Secretary and Regional Counsel
Jamie Tribble
Office Manager
Carla Tufano
Human Resources Generalist
Lesley White-Kayser
Director, Development Systems
David Williams
Vice President, Chief Information Officer
Mark W. Elsbree
Senior Vice President and Western Director
Blaine T. Phillips, Jr.
Senior Vice President and Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Regional Director
Matthew S. Sexton
Senior Vice President and Southeast Regional Director
Phillip Howard
Program Manager, Civil Rights People and Places
Christopher Little
Conservation Associate
Brad Meiklejohn
Senior Representative
John Wros
Project Manager
Kirste Kowalsky
Field Representative
Megan M. Mustoe
Assistant Secretary and Regional Counsel
Jonathan Brunner
Forester
Lauren Fety
Forest and Climate Project Manager
Benjamin Fryer
Project Manager
Steven Hobbs
California State Director
Samaria Jaffe
Regional Director of Fundraising
Christopher Kelly
Program Director
Lynsey Kelly
GIS Specialist
Scott Kelly
Timberlands Manager
Dan Medeiros
Conservation Project Manager
Holly Newberger
North Coast Program Coordinator
Barbara Ortega
Bookkeeper
Derek Ostensen
Project Manager
Joaquin Quintana
Forester
Evan H. Smith
Senior Vice President, Conservation Ventures
Blake Tallman
Forest Technician
Jordan Wills
GIS Analyst
JaCodie Young-Thompson
Forest Technician
Kelly Ingebritson
Project Manager
Emily Payne
Brand and Communications Director, Leading Harvest
Christine Quinlan
Colorado Associate State Director
Elizabeth Slokar
Office Manager & Conservation Associate
Justin Spring
Colorado State Director and Southwest Regional Director
Gretchen Hoffmann
Blog Manager
Lucas Bladen
Major Gifts Manager – Northeast
Josh Mottola
Data Associate
Lauren Day
Florida State Director
Erin Miller-Carter
Digital Marketing Manager
Rebecca Perry
Senior Field Representative
Matthew S. Sexton
Senior Vice President, Southeast Region
Brian J. Dangler
Senior Vice President, Director, Working Forest Fund
Kelsi Eccles
Urban Conservation Communications Manager, Parks with Purpose
Stacy Funderburke
Georgia State Director
Ralph Knoll
Tennessee State Director
Shannon Lee
Senior Major Gifts Officer
Roberta Moore
Field Representative
Elizabeth Renfroe
Office Manager
Andrew Schock
Alabama and Georgia State Director
Krisztian Varsa
Georgia Farms Fund Program Manager
Mark W. Elsbree
Senior Vice President, Western Region
Elizabeth Brawley
Great Lakes Regional Director & Illinois State Director
Aimee Collins
Program Associate
Andrew Lauver
Director, Programs and Strategic Alliances, Leading Harvest
Jennifer Blattman
GIS Analyst
Ginevera Moore
Kansas State Director
Sarah Hargrove-Howard
Conservation Associate
Ray Herndon
Vice President, Lower Mississippi and Gulf Coast Region
Thomas R. Duffus
Vice President and Northeast Representative
Brian Schneider
Forest Operations Manager
William Crouch
Maryland State Director
Catherine Eason
Operations Manager, Leading Harvest
Amelia Matthews
Paralegal
Wendy Taylor
Senior Director of Development
Theresa Zseleczky
Field Representative
Michael Kelly
Director, Great Lakes
Margaret Kohring
Senior Project Manager
Joshua Lynsen
Media Relations Manager
Kim Berns-Melhus
Minnesota State Director
Scott Hansen
Director, Standards and Education, Leading Harvest
Clinton Miller
Missouri State Director and Regional Director, Central Midwest
Emilee Nelson
Minnesota Associate State Director
Matthew VanDyke
Graphic Designer
Gary Sullivan
Montana State Director
Gates M. Watson
Vice President, Montana and Northwest Director
Mike Ford
Nevada and Southwest Director
Gavin Kakol
Field Representative
Sally Manikian
Field Representative
Justin Boner
Field Representative
Claire R. Cooney
Vice President, Development and Marketing & Communications
Erin Crouse
Field Representative
Gretchen Gaskill
Office Manager
Bill Holman
North Carolina State Director
Paul F. Hurt
Assistant Secretary and Deputy General Counsel
Michael Leonard
Senior Advisor
Carolyn McCoy
Senior Paralegal
David Proper
Urban Program Director
Tatia Ash
Capacity Builder
Salem Carriker
Healthy Communities Coordinator
Margaret Conrad
Capacity Builder
Aaron Hayworth
Faith and Food Coordinator
Alexandria Huber-Disla
Healthy Economies Coordinator
Kathleen Marks
Director of Program Strategy
Monica McCann
Resourceful Communities Program Director
Olivia Percoco
Local Food Project Manager
Donna Pratt
Operations Director
Matthew Rouse
Faith & Food Coordinator
Dave Walker
Associate Director
Caroline Durham
Land Protection Specialist
Kevin Harnish
Director, Analysis and Carbon Development
Bethany Olmstead
Director, Conservation
Catherine Rohrbaugh
Operations Assistant
Jenna Schreiber
Forest Operations Manager
Michael Scott
Forest Analyst
William Vaughan
Director, Forestry
Lindsey White
Senior Land Protection Specialist
Matt Purdy
Director, Climate Finance
Bobbi Reierson
Annual Giving Manager
Kaola Swanson
Columbia Gorge Program Manager
Laura Bower
Field Representative
Susan Elks
Program Manager, Balancing Nature & Commerce
Blaine T. Phillips, Jr.
Senior Vice President, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Regions
Kyle Shenk
Pennsylvania State Director and Northeast Regional Director
Ann Simonelli
Director, Media & Communications
Jason Johnson
South Carolina State Director
Nicholas Morgan
Director, Mitigation Solutions
Callie Easterly
Regional Director of Fundraising
Ellen Gass
Texas Field Representative
Andy Jones
Senior Project Manager
Alyssa Kirk
Conservation Acquisitions Data Specialist
Tonia Lorenz
Finance Manager
Kristin Moss
Sabine Ranch Coordinator
Julie Shackelford
Texas State Director
Hilary Toma
Director, Field Financial Services
Elizabeth G. Engle
Assistant Secretary and Deputy General Counsel
Zhivko Illeieff
Senior Digital Strategist
Rachael Joiner
Regional Director of Fundraising
Heather Richards
Virginia State Director and Mid-Atlantic Regional Director
Natasha Skelton
Field Representative
Kenneth Fahey
Principal, Working Lands
Greg Good
Program Manager, Mitigation Solutions
Rodney Bartgis
Conservation Associate
Joseph A. Hankins
Vice President, West Virginia State Director
Daniel Schlager
Wyoming State Director
Margarita Carey
Program Associate
Abhinav Choudhury
Environmental Engineer
Shanen Cogan
Facilities Manager
Curtis Crouse
Research Support Specialist
John Davidson III
Senior Research Scientist
Kayla Fairfield
Fish Culture Technician
Christopher Good
Director of Aquatic Veterinary Research
Anna Knight
Fish Culture Technician
Christine Lepine
Research Support Specialist
Travis May
Aquaculture Production Manager
Megan Murray
Environmental Laboratory Technician
Rakesh Ranjan
Research Scientist
Natalie Redman
Environmental Laboratory Manager
Michael Schwartz
Senior Environmental Associate
Kata Sharrer
Engineering Technician
James Stanley
Facility Operations Specialist
Sullivan Steele
Data Science
Technician
Scott Tsukuda
Director of Operations
Brian Vinci
Freshwater Institute Director
Wendy Wilson
Project Accountant
David Grusznski
Program Director, Greenseams Program
Meghan LaPointe
Milwaukee Project Coordinator
Allen Patterson
Program Associate
Laura Robey
Manager, Partnerships and Programs, Leading Harvest