Board Of Trustees

The Maryland Environmental Trust is governed by a 15-member Board of Trustees. Twelve trustees are volunteer citizens representing diverse areas of the state; the remaining three are ex-officio members—the Governor, Speaker of the House, and President of the Senate. The Trust is assisted by Area Representatives who work directly with the Board. The Board of Trustees meets monthly, except for January, July, and August.

TRUSTEES

James R. O’Connell (CHAIR) has served as a trustee since 2006. He is President of the Sugarloaf Countryside Conservancy, a local land trust for the Montgomery County Western Agricultural Reserve and a life member of Trout Unlimited and a member of the Izaak Walton League of America. Mr. O'Connell is a senior partner in O'Donoghue & O'Donoghue LLP in Washington, D.C. He graduated from the University of Maryland and Georgetown Law School. Following service as an officer in the United States Marine Corps, he joined the firm, where has been involved in all aspects of the firm's practice for more than thirty years. Mr. O’Connell resides on his farm Montgomery County.


James W. Constable (VICE CHAIR) is a partner at Wright, Constable & Skeen, L.L.P. in Baltimore. Mr. Constable’s practice includes corporate and business Law  real estate, commercial transactions, transportation law, commercial litigation, arbitration, estate planning, non-profits, conservation easements, dispute resolution, railroad law and utility law. Mr. Constable has written numerous publications on conservation easements and estate planning. Mr. Constable is president and chairman of The Manor Conservancy and is the former chair of Baltimore County Landmarks Preservation Commission. Mr. Constable is resident of Baltimore County.


S. Jay Plager (TREASURER) is a Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Washington. Prior to his appointment, Judge Plager served in the Executive Office of the President from 1987 to 1989, as Associate Director of OMB and as Administrator, OIRA. He served as Counselor to the Under Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services, from 1986 to 1987. Judge Plager was Dean of the Indiana University School of Law from 1977 to 1984. He has served as Professor, Visiting Professor, or Fellow at the following institutions: University of Illinois College of Law, University of Florida College of Law, Stanford University Law School, University of Wisconsin School of Law, George Mason School of Law, Trinity College, and Cambridge University (England). His areas of teaching and research include land use regulation, property law, and environmental law. He resides in St. Michaels, Talbot County, and has three children, six grandchildren, and a boat.


Ann H. Jones (SECRETARY) is a private land conservation consultant with more than 20 years experience with conservation easements, comprehensive plan development, zoning regulations and other aspects of land use planning and conservation. She administers the Rural Legacy Program for the Piney Run Watershed Rural Legacy Area, the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy and the Long Green Land Trust. She is also executive director of the Baltimore County Land Trust Alliance. Ms. Jones is currently president of The Howard County Conservancy. Ms. Jones was raised on a working dairy farm that has been in the family for 10 generations. Ms. Jones resides in Howard County.


Daniel P. Beard has more than three decades of experience in natural resources and environmental policy affairs at the national level. His government service includes positions with the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate, White House, Interior Department and Library of Congress. He has also served as an executive with the National Audubon Society, and a consultant to both non-profit and for-profit organizations. A native of Bellingham, WA, he has resided in Columbia, Maryland since 1974.


Doris Blazek-White is Senior Counsel at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington, DC, whose practice focuses on trusts and estates, including estate planning, administration and tax issues, tax exempt organizations, including private foundations; probate, and wills. She served as an associate of Judge Warren H. Young, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands from 1968 to 1970. Her professional activities include serving as a member of the American College of Trusts & Estates Counsel and as a member and former president of the Washington, DC Estate Planning Council. She serves as a member of the Advisory Committee on Probate and Fiduciary Rules of the DC Superior Court. Ms. Blazek-White is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (2011-2012) for Trusts and Estates. She lives in Claiborne, Maryland with her husband Tad.


K. King Burnett is a partner at Webb, Burnett, Cornbrooks, Wilber, Vorhis, Douse & Mason, LLP in Salisbury. Mr. Burnett’s practice includes business law, litigation, corporate law and estate law. Current member and past president of the Uniform Law Commission, Mr. Burnett served on the drafting committee of the Uniform Conservation Easement Act. Mr. Burnett also chairs a committee drafting uniform state law relating to the governance of charities. Mr. Burnett is a resident of Wicomico County.


Goodloe E. (Geb) Byron, Jr. is Chairman of the Maryland Venture Capital Trust, a member of the Maryland Venture Fund Authority, and former Chairman of the Maryland Deposit Insurance Fund, which was established to oversee the liquidation of failed state-insured savings and loans. Mr. Byron is also a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Maryland Higher Education Investment Fund and the Board of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Mr. Byron's family has been involved in conservation in Maryland for many years. His parents, both members of Congress, were instrumental in protecting the C&O Canal, Monocacy Battlefield, the Appalachian Trail, and Antietam Battlefield. He lives on a historic farm that was part of the Battle of South Mountain. He is CEO and Managing Director of Potomac Asset Management.


Constance Lieder, FAICP, is a retired city planner who has been a senior government executive, consultant and university professor. She still consults, as a volunteer, for several groups. Ms. Lieder served as Maryland’s Secretary of State Planning for ten years, 1979-1989, under two governors, directing capital, physical and environmental planning, including for the Bay and smart growth. She taught graduate school and has lectured extensively. She has consulted in the Baltimore area, throughout the U.S., Caribbean and Great Britain on urban development, housing and tourism. Active in national organizations, she was the first woman president of the American Institute of Planners and on the boards of the American Planning Assoc. and National Housing Conference. A Trustee of MET since 1989, she served as Chair for eight years. She is the president of the newly formed Maryland Land Conservation Foundation. Ms. Lieder lives in Baltimore City and owns a farm in Carroll County.


Steven Quarles is a partner in, and former chair of the Environment & Natural Resources Group of, the Washington, DC law firm of Crowell & Moring LLP. His practice focuses on endangered species, other federal wildlife law, and federal land law and includes representation of a wide range of energy, forestry, agricultural, and other natural resource associations and companies, state and local governments, and land conservation trusts. He has served as Special Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and Deputy Under Secretary of the Department of the Interior. Mr. Quarles currently sits on the boards of the American Forest Foundation, Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Catoctin Land Trust, and Bat Conservation International. Mr. Quarles and his spouse, own Some Day Soon Farm, in Frederick County one of the largest Hanoverian horse breeding farms in Maryland.


Jim Morris is Principal and Senior Ecologist of Ecotone, Inc., an environmental consulting firm specializing in wetland, forest, stream and natural resource assessment, restoration and regulatory guidance. He has over 17 years of professional experience, is a recognized expert, a Certified Wetland Delineator and Certified Professional Wetland Scientist. In his work and community activities, he has advocated conservation easements and other land conservation programs. Mr. Morris resides in Harford County.


David Greene retired after a 35 year career with the University of Maryland College Park holding positions as Research Farm Manager, Extension Agent, Agriculture Science and County Extension Director. David Greene currently operates a 100 acre sheep farm in northern Baltimore County with his wife Nancy. David has served as an Ex Officio member of the Carroll County Agriculture Land Preservation Board and the Carroll County Land Trust Board. He has been a member and Chair of the Baltimore County Land Preservation Advisory Board. David has served two terms on the Met Board. David Greene is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelor of Science degree in Entomology. He has a Master of Science degree from the same institution in Education.


EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS


AREA REPRESENTATIVES

  • Adam Block (Baltimore County/Baltimore City) is an Associate at Gallagher Evelius & Jones, LLP, a Baltimore law firm. Adam’s practice primarily includes commercial real estate transactions and general corporate and business law. Prior to joining the law firm, Adam worked for the Maryland Environmental Trust from 2005-2011, first as a Governor's Policy Fellow and later serving as both the Central Region Easement Planner and Legislative Liaison. During his tenure at MET, Adam helped nearly 50 landowners permanently protect more than 3,100 acres of land and natural resources with conservation easements. Adam has a B.S. in Environmental Conservation from the University of New Hampshire, a M.S. in Natural Resource Management from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from the University of Maryland.

  • Donald N. Briggs (Frederick County) is the Mayor of Emmitsburg, Maryland. His community service includes serving as Chairman of the Frederick County, MD Sustainability Commission from its inception in 2009 through 2011; serving on the Frederick County Historic Preservation Commission; and, current service on an Appraisal Foundation select panel. Designations include MAI from the Appraisal Institute; LEED AP+ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Accredited Professional) from the US Green Building Council. Mr. Briggs is the principal of Briggs Associates, Inc. a real estate appraisal and consulting firm. Education includes an MA from Mount St Mary's University and MALA from St. John's College, Annapolis - Santa Fe. A significant part of Mr. Briggs professional and community service career has been involved with the promotion of economic environmentalism as the founder of the Catoctin Land Trust; a former MET Board member; and, as a teacher/development team member of sustainable real property courses with the Appraisal Institute and Maryland Association of Appraisers.

  • Steve Bunker (Charles County)  is the Director of Conservation Programs at The Nature Conservancy and serves on the Planning Commission of Charles County. He started working for the Conservancy in 1992 as Director of Protection and has also held the position of Director of Government Relations and Director of Government Relations and Land Conservation. Prior to working for The Nature Conservancy, Mr. Bunker worked for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as Senior Staff Scientist and Assistant Director of the Lands Program. Mr. Bunker has a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Zoology from the University of Georgia.

  • Mary Burke is the Online Learning and Curriculum Manager for the Land Trust Alliance where she serves as the managing editor for the Standards and Practices Curriculum, the most authoritative resource on private land conservation in the United States. Mary also produces webinars and other resources for land trust boards, including Field Guide, a quarterly newsletter on governance issues. Prior to joining the Alliance, Mary worked for Sun Microsystems where she developed custom training solutions for government, business and education organizations. She has taught literature and writing at the University of Maryland where she also earned her Ph.D. in English Literature. Mary also holds a master’s degree in English Literature from Georgetown University and a degree in journalism from the University of Texas.

  • Bill Crouch (Anne Arundel County)  is a resident of Anne Arundel County and the Maryland Director for The Conservation Fund (TCF), a national 501(c)(3) non profit land trust. Working in partnership with private and governmental organizations, TCF has protected over 145,000 acres in the State of Maryland and over 6,500,000 acres nationwide. Bill completed his undergraduate work at James Madison University, and studied law at the University of Baltimore where he earned a Juris Doctorate. Bill is a member of the Maryland State Bar. His appreciation of the outdoors stems from his summers working on his grandparents cattle farm in Hillsboro, Texas; hiking on the Appalachian Trail; and hunting on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

  • Charlotte D. Hawes (Kent County)  is retired from college teaching and non-profit management. Formerly she was Executive Director of Community Mediation Upper Shore Inc., Chestertown, Maryland. She has served as the Director of Global Studies and Visiting Lecturer, University of Pittsburgh Semester at Sea Program, Fall 1999 and Spring 2004. She formerly served on the Board and as Past Treasurer of the Maryland Environmental Trust. She is Vice President of the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and has put two family farms into conservation easements.

  • Nancy Isaacson lived on two historic farms while growing up in New Hampshire. She spent much of her time outdoors teaching skiing and riding. She explored rural New Hampshire with her father on horseback and horseshoes, gaining an appreciation of the state’s beautiful natural landscape. Nancy has a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College, and did graduate work at Harvard and at the University of Maryland. Nancy’s family relocated to Maryland in 1969 so that her husband a landscape architect could continue his career with the Federal Highway Administration. An unexpected twenty years in real estate provided an extensive knowledge of the landscape in Frederick County. Nancy has also been very vocal as a taxpayer on land use issues. The Frederick County Planning Department did not inform the Isaacsons of MET when they were looking for a conservation program for their farm. Wayne Six, a business friend and knowledgeable appraiser, told Nancy about MET and they placed their farm under an easement about five years ago. The Isaacson’s have a summer cottage in New Hampshire where Nancy has served as a director of the Blaisdell Lake Protective Association, monitoring water quality. She feels that MET’s program is largely unknown in her part of Maryland, so she has volunteered to be a representative in Western Frederick County.

  • Margaret Worrell currently lives just outside of Cambridge, Dorchester County, on the Little Choptank River. She and her husband Doug placed their property in an MET easement at purchase about ten years ago. This easement followed their 1979 MET easement on their farm in Butler, Baltimore County. Worrall has been active in land preservation since the early days of the Valleys Planning Council and became their executive director in 1990. Following that position, she served on the Baltimore County Board of Appeals for ten years. In Dorchester County Worrall was part of the group that founded Dorchester Citizens for Planned Growth. In addition, Worrall has written several books on local history including The History of Calvert School; St. John's Church, Western Run Parish; 100 Runnings of the Maryland Hunt Cup; The My Lady's Manor Races; and a biography of Charles S. Garland, as well as many newspaper and magazine articles.

     

TRUSTEES EMERITUS

  • Ajax Eastman
  • John C. Murphy
  • Ellen Kelly
  • Henry A. Virts

List of MET Committees and Members - 2013


Staff

MET Staff

Elizabeth Buxton, Director

E-mail: ebuxton@dnr.state.md.us

Phone: 410-514-7903

Liz joined MET as the Director in 2008. She brings to MET more than 20 years of experience working for non-profit conservation organizations and government agencies protecting and managing historic, cultural, scenic and natural resources. MET's half-century leadership in protecting Maryland's scenic landscapes will successfully continue with Mrs. Buxton at the organization's helm, said Governor Martin O'Malley upon her appointment. Liz previously worked as Development and Communications Director for Preservation Maryland and also served as Executive Director of Scenic Maryland. Liz is a graduate of the College of Charleston in South Carolina. She lives in Baltimore County with her husband and two children.

John Hutson, Southern Region Planner and Easement Program Manager

E-mail: jhutson@dnr.state.md.us

Phone: 410-514-7910

John manages the Conservation Easement Program and processes new easements in the Southern Region. Contact John for information about the program or if you are interested in donating an easement in his region. For 20 years, in all regions of the State, John has processed easements for MET. A graduate of North Carolina State University with a B.S. degree in Forestry John has worked for the MD Department of Agriculture and private forestry company. John served for the US Peace Corps in Guatemala promoting forestry and soil conservation. John lives in Arnold with his family and enjoys cycling.

Megan Benjamin, Central & Western Region Planner

E-mail: mbenjamin@dnr.state.md.us

Phone: 410-514-7912

Megan processes new conservation easements in the Central & Western Regions. Contact Megan if you are interested in learning about easements or donating an easement in her regions. Megan has a B.A. in Political Science and Environmental Studies from St. Mary's College of Maryland and an M.A in Geography and Environmental Planning from Towson University. She has worked with a number of environmental non-profits in program coordination and administration. Megan worked part time with MET in 2005-06 as the Volunteer Coordinator and helped to revive the volunteer monitoring program. In December 2007, Megan rejoined the MET staff a Conservation Easement Planner. As a native of Garrett County and current resident of Baltimore County, she couldn’t be more pleased to serve the western & central regions. Megan lives in Baltimore County with her husband and two lively dogs.

Ann Gutierrez Carlson, Eastern Region Planner

E-mail: agcarlson@dnr.state.md.us

Phone: 410-514-7909

Ann processes new conservation easements in the Eastern Region. Contact Ann if you are interested in learning about easements or donating an easement in her region. Ann holds a M.S. in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development from the University of Maryland, College Park and a B.A. in Geography from the George Washington University. Before coming to MET she worked for both pubic and private conservation organizations. Ann also has several years experience as a teacher and naturalist. Ann lives in Annapolis with her husband and enjoys being outdoors.

Jon Chapman, Monitoring and Stewardship Program Manager

E-mail: jchapman@dnr.state.md.us

Phone: 410-514-7904

Jon manages the Monitoring and Stewardship Program. Contact Jon with questions about rights and restrictions in existing conservation easements, exercising reserved rights, and potential easement violations. Jon received his BA from Cornell University in Natural Resources Policy and his MS from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Forest Ecology. He formerly worked at the Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Ecosystems Center of the Marine Biological Laboratory, and in the State Forest Conservation Program of the Maryland Department of Natural Resource. Jon is an avid kayaker and lives with his family in Annapolis.

Joan R. Lally, Stewardship Program-Quality Control

E-mail: jlally@dnr.state.md.us

Phone: 410-514-7914

Joan works in the Stewardship Program. Contact Joan with questions about existing MET Conservation Easements. Joan received her BS in Zoology from the University of Maryland-College Park and her JD from the University of Baltimore, School of Law. She worked at the Department of Environmental Health for the State of Maryland in Prince George's County prior to beginning work at Maryland Department of Natural Resources. While at DNR, Joan worked in property management, handling easements, rights-of-way and other real property issues for DNR owned properties. She also worked with the Rural Legacy Program before joining the Stewardship Program at MET. Joan resides with her family in Prince George's County.

Michelle Johnson, Land Trust Assistance Coordinator

E-mail: mjohnson@dnr.state.md.us

Phone: 410-514-7908

Michelle coordinates MET volunteers. Contact Michelle if you are interested in volunteering for MET. Michelle received her B.S. from the University of Maryland, College Park in Environmental Science and Policy and enjoys being outdoors.

Cathy Ford, Program Administrator

E-mail: cford@dnr.state.md.us

Phone: 410-514-7907

Cathy Ford joined the MET staff in July and is assisting with the Land Trust Assistance, Stewardship and Easement Programs. She is focusing her efforts on outreach and monitoring, and will help administer the Keep Maryland Beautiful grant program. Cathy formerly worked for Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and has a BS degree from Campbell University in Social Services and MSW degree from the University Of Maryland School Of Social Work. Cathy lives in Arnold, with her family and enjoys free lance photography and spending time outdoors.

Kevin Bull, Conservation Easement Steward

E-mail: kbull@dnr.state.md.us

Phone: 410-514-7900

Kevin Bull joined MET in August as a seasonal employee who will be helping with monitoring easements properties. Previously, Kevin worked as a forester for PEPCO in Prince Georges County. He received his BS in Environmental Science from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). Kevin lives in North Laurel with his wife and pets. He enjoys birds, trees, wildlife and all other things outdoors as well as aquariums and technology.

Carol Holland, Bookkeeper

Before moving to Maryland, Carol Holland was the business manager of an architecture firm in North Carolina. She was the business manager of Preservation Maryland for two years. She lives in Lutherville.

Vaughn Weitzman, Seasonal Easement Steward

Caryn Getsinger, Interim Fiscal Assistant

Board of Trustees Meetings


MET Board of Trustees meetings are held at 6:30 pm at the MET offices located at 100 Community Place, 1st Floor, Crownsville, Maryland 21032. Click here for Driving Directions. If you plan to attend a Board meeting please RSVP to Cathy Ford at cford@dnr.state.md.us.


2013 MET Event & Meeting Schedule

The minutes of the public meetings of MET's Board of Trustees are made available for those interested in the deliberations and activities of the Board. Please contact the MET office for copies of the minutes.