Community-Focused Conservation Expert Specializes in Building Coalitions
Press Release – WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 27, 2016) – The Land Trust Alliance, a national land conservation organization working to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America, today announced that Wendy Jackson will assume the role of executive vice president starting Sept. 19.
“The Land Trust Alliance – and land trusts across the nation – will greatly benefit from the extensive experience and strategic thinking Ms. Jackson has consistently demonstrated throughout her career,” said Andrew Bowman, Alliance president. “She is a committed conservationist and a true champion of community-focused work who is ready to succeed at the national level. We’re lucky to have her.”
Jackson currently serves as executive director at Freshwater Land Trust in Birmingham, Alabama, a conservation organization. Since joining the land trust in 2001, she grew it from an unknown entity with zero assets to an award-winning nonprofit holding cash and land assets totaling more than $40 million. She oversees a $1.1 million operations and program budget with 10 staff, 18-member governing board, 16-member President’s Advisory Board and 20-member Junior Board.
As executive vice president, Jackson will manage teams that deliver essential services to land trusts. She will create strategies to best deploy the Alliance’s policy, advocacy, community conservation and regional programs to serve the needs of land trusts and increase their effectiveness, all while helping the organization cultivate new donors and partnerships.
“This is a win for the Alliance and land trusts of all sizes across the country,” said Laura Johnson, Alliance board chair. “We all will benefit from Ms. Jackson’s perspective and experience with innovative projects and programs, and we look forward to welcoming her to the Alliance team.”
Jackson, who worked for The Nature Conservancy from 1993 to 2001 as director of land protection and government relations for Alabama, said she’s eager to join the Alliance and assist all land trusts, especially smaller organizations.
“I’ve been in the shoes of the small, local land trust and I know the challenges they face,” she said. “I also know how valuable it is to be backed by the Alliance. That’s why I see this as my opportunity to give back to a community that gave so much to me.”
One of Jackson’s most notable accomplishments has been to engage new audiences in Birmingham in conservation. She said that her land trust’s work has been strengthened and expanded by listening to the needs of the community. In fact, Jackson believes that “community conservation is immensely important” and that such work is “crucial for the future of land conservation.”
Jackson said because it inspired her early in her career, she’s looking forward to speaking at Rally: The National Land Conservation Conference this October in Minneapolis. The annual event is the nation’s largest gathering of land conservation leaders. For more information about Rally, visit alliancerally.org.
“Everything I’ve done for the community can be traced back to my first Rally,” she said. “It helped me to know what I had to do and why. That I’ll now have a hand in empowering others is as exciting as it is humbling.”
About the Land Trust Alliance
Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization that works to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America. The Alliance represents more than 1,100 member land trusts supported by more than 100,000 volunteers and 5 million members nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington, D.C. and operates several regional offices. More information about the Alliance is available at www.landtrustalliance.org.
