The centerpiece of the Trustees’ mission is protecting places of ecological, scenic, and historic importance for everyone, forever. Our land conservation staff searches for land across the Commonwealth with significant cultural, agricultural, scenic, natural, and recreational ties. They develop relationships with landowners and partners within the community and embark on years-long (and occasionally generations-long) journeys to bring conservation restrictions and new reservations under Trustees ownership and management.

At The Trustees, seven of the eight staff members on our Land Conservation Team, led by Jennifer Dubois, our Vice President of land Conservation, are women. We interviewed them this Women’s History Month.

How did you get into the field of Land Conservation?

Ava: Knowing my love for nature and people would never change, I was inspired to study environmental science. I soon understood the importance of green spaces and the power of land conservation to foster a deep connection between people and nature.

Elizabeth: Thirty years ago, I was living on Martha’s Vineyard, and I was approached to serve on the board of the Vineyard Conservation Society. The VCS board is where I was first introduced to conservation restrictions.  Over the years, I have worked for land trusts in Massachusetts and California, law firms, and a state agency, but always with land conservation as my focus.

Jennifer: I first heard the term “land trust” in one of my final undergraduate classes. A few months later, I landed my first professional job at The Nature Conservancy, where I learned the tools and techniques of land conservation and started doing the work from the ground up. That was 23 years ago, and since then I have worked for or with land conservation organizations of different sizes and scopes.

Marianne: I worked in municipal planning for almost 10 years and most enjoyed working on the environmental and open space community initiatives. When my husband and I embarked on an 8-month van trip across the country, it opened my eyes to how much I needed and adored the outdoors.

Miriam: I helped out temporarily with a large conference hosted by The Trustees and was offered a permanent position after the conclusion of that work. I was always passionate about natural areas and wildlife but had never thought about Land Conservation as a career, until I learned about the work of The Trustees’ and met the incredible people at this organization.

Olivia: Growing up in Massachusetts, I was incredibly privileged to have access to conserved lands, including a piece of town land behind my childhood home. I was always drawn to these spaces. When I was working with UMass Extension, I enjoyed developing resources for people interested in conserving their land but found myself itching to do the work on the ground.

Sally: I first got into land conservation working as the Boundary Program Manager for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail where my job entailed stewarding over 1,200 miles of National Park Service corridor land boundaries that provide a permanent protective buffer for the AT footpath between Virginia and Maine.

What does your day-to-day work look like? Is there a typical day in your role that you could describe?

Ava: A typical field day monitoring a conservation restriction (CR) is always rewarding. I head out early and drive to some of the most scenic places in the state to meet with CR landowners. We walk their property together, discussing recent management activities like invasive plant control or forestry, recent wildlife sightings and potential issues regarding encroachments or natural disturbances. This information, demonstrating CR compliance, is then documented in my site visit report.

Sally: As Director of CR Stewardship, my day-to-day work is very different from many other Trustees employees. Although out of sight and out of mind, the CR Team takes incredible pride in ensuring that the conservation values of our 20K acres of statewide CR land remains protected forever from annual monitoring, to helping our landowners on approval requests and enforcing against violations.

Jennifer: As the Vice President of Land Conservation, my role is to guide The Trustees land conservations strategy and manage an incredible team of land conservation professionals who do the work on the ground. I enjoy the mix of planning and strategy development along with proactively working to increase the pace of land conservation.

How does land conservation relate to the Trustees mission?

Marianne: The Trustees’ mission has always been focused on saving special places for people. Conserving land is what this organization was born to do and continues to be really good at doing.

Miriam: Having access to nature and protecting natural resources is essential for people’s well-being. Protected land is an important asset to any community and plays a critical role in connecting people to their local surroundings and global issues like climate change.

Sally: When I think of “Protecting special places, for everyone, forever”, the “everyone” also includes everything in the natural world from trees to wildflowers and the wildlife that depends on protected land.

What does it mean to you to be a woman working in land conservation?

Jennifer: It means showing up to my job fully with my own unique perspectives and life experiences and nurturing a positive and supportive environment so others can do the same.

Miriam: I have worked in the field of Land Conservation for twenty years. Over the years, I have noticed an impressive increase in women in leadership positions in the field. It’s exciting to be part of this trend.

Olivia: I am so grateful to have amazing female colleagues to work alongside and look up to. This work is about connecting with others and connecting with the land. I appreciate being able to bring my perspectives to this work.

Sally:  Both my parents instilled in me a deep respect for the natural world from a very young age. I lost my mom almost 25 years ago, but she lives on through me every day through my work in land conservation stewardship. I also feel incredibly lucky to be part of such an amazing team of women working together to preserve and protect the Massachusetts landscape.

What does Women’s History Month mean to you?

Ava: Women’s History Month is reminder that I am part of the solution.

Miriam: It serves as a reminder of the importance to continue the fight for a more equitable world.

What is your favorite part of your job?

Ava: Being outside, of course! Discovering a porcupine snoozing high in a pine or simply seeing people enjoying the outdoors brings me great joy.

Elizabeth: Meeting and getting to know landowners who care about their land and want to see it protected.   I’ve worked with farmers and forest landowners and am always impressed by how much they know about their land.  They live with it, not on it, and usually have spent decades taking care of it.

Jennifer: While I am completely committed to The Trustees mission and ensuring the greatest impact possible, I have to say it is the people. We have such a dedicated and passionate team who show up day in and day out to do the hard work, troubleshoot the challenges, and share in the successes.

Olivia: I love getting to build relationships with folks all across the state. Whether they are stewards of family land, other conservation colleagues, or interested members of the public, there is so much passion in the work we do.