Teresa Corwin - Executive Director, Land Trust of Santa Cruz County
As a child, Terry enjoyed family camping trips to Big Basin and Henry Cowell’s State Parks.  These experiences developed in her a deep love of the natural lands of Santa Cruz County.  After becoming a CPA, Terry spent most of her business career in corporate finance.  Prior to her executive finance roles in technology start-ups, Terry was in charge of taxation, treasury and SEC reporting for Plantronics.  She became Executive Director of the Land Trust in 2005.  Since that time, once current projects are complete, the Land Trust will have protected an additional 1700 acres of high conservation value land in Santa Cruz County, raised $20M in public funds, almost $5M in foundation funds and doubled membership.

Terry brings strong business credentials, a passion for land conservation and a “can-do” attitude to her work at the Land Trust.

Stephen Slade – Deputy Director
Stephen grew up in Virginia and on a dairy in the Central Valley and moved to Santa Cruz in 1980. He has two daughters who have grown up in Santa Cruz and he tells them no matter where they go as adults, it won't be as good as where they grew up. He's been a walker and hiker since he was a child and these days takes frequent walks on Moore Creek Preserve which is near his house. He saw his first Mountain Lion there just before joining the Land Trust in August 2006. He brings over twenty years of development and communications experience to the Land Trust, including recent work for public radio station KUSP in Santa Cruz and the Elkhorn Slough Foundation in Moss Landing.

Matt Freeman – Director of Conservation
Matt works with the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County as the Director of Conservation. In this position, Matt oversees a variety of land acquisition, regional conservation planning, and stewardship projects. Matt’s prior professional experience included twelve years with the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, where he was responsible for planning, design, and construction of park facilities and restoration projects for the District’s 57,000 acres. Matt’s areas of specialization include watershed restoration, landscape-scale conservation planning, GIS applications in natural resources planning, and CEQA documentation. Matt serves as the Vice President of the Santa Cruz Mountains Bioregional Council and as an Advisory Board member of NextSpace. Matt is also active with the Society for Conservation GIS and the Association of Environmental Professionals. He has a BA in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Masters in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon. Matt lives in Ben Lomond with his family and can often be found on nearby trails or in his kayak on Monterey Bay.

Lisa Larson — Finance & Administrative Director
Lisa brings over 30 years financial experience to the Land Trust, including over 17 years as Office Manager/Accountant for Chappellet Winery in the Napa Valley.  Upon moving to Aptos in 1996 she was the controller for a rose nursery and for the past 5 years she served as the Fiscal Officer for the Seniors Council, a local non-profit, and consulted financially for other non-profits. Her passion for the land is rooted in her childhood when she spent summers and weekends hiking, camping and fishing with her family.

Andre Lafleur - Major Gifts Officer
Prior to joining the Land Trust in June 2004, Andre had 13 years of nonprofit development experience with Peninsula Open Space Trust, San Francisco Opera, and the California League of Conservation Voters. His love of the land and interest in conservation are rooted in the writing of Wallace Stegner and a childhood spent in the rugged American west. He lives in Bonny Doon, where he designed and built a solar-powered house built from recycled materials and wood milled on the site.

 

Lynn Overtree – Stewardship Manager
Lynn has had a life-long love of nature. Her first conservation work was with wolves during high school. She received her bachelor’s degree in zoology from Humboldt State University in 1987 and initially worked on wildlife research projects, including elk, endangered birds, western pond turtles and desert tortoises.

In 1990, she began working in wildland management as a riparian restoration intern on The Nature Conservancy’s Kern River Preserve. When the preserve transferred ownership in late 1997, she came to Monterey Bay to manage the 5,000-acre Palo Corona Ranch for a private individual. She spent 11 years managing this and additional lands for The Big Sur Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy and the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District.

For the past twenty years Lynn has focused on wildland management. She enjoys bringing together the various elements that create a healthy landscape - research, surveys, grazing, invasive species control, repair and maintenance, neighbor relations and visitation. The Land Trust offers wonderful opportunities to continue this work.

 

Dan Medeiros – Acquisition Manager
In his previous career as a Merchant Marine Officer, Dan had the option of living anywhere in the world and chose Santa Cruz County for its perfect combination of rugged coastline and picturesque mountains. Dan’s connection to the outdoors comes from a childhood spent sailing and climbing in Coastal New England. Prior to joining the Land Trust in 2008, Dan was the Due Diligence Manager of a real estate investment firm.

Jeff Helmer - Land Steward
Jeff is a native Santa Cruzan, and has been a member of the Land Trust staff almost 20 years. His dedication and hard work keep the trails at the Byrne Forest and Antonelli Pond accessible and beautiful. Those who have explored the Forest with Jeff as their guide invariably remark on his devotion to the land.

 

Calah Pasley – Senior Administrative Assistant
Calah grew up amongst the orchards of apricots and walnuts in Turlock, CA, and spent her summers in the Sierras. With high school came the serious outdoors, the simultaneous joy and torment of backpacking-- a pastime still. In 2004 she enrolled at UCSC, where she irrevocably fell for the redwoods and coastline. Upon graduating in March of 2009, Calah began work at the Land Trust.

Email this page to a friend