Staff
Catherine Rawson
Executive Director
Catherine Rawson is the executive director of Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy, board member of the Land Trust Alliance and Connecticut Land Conservation Council, member of the Land Trust Alliance Leadership Council, and a steering committee member for the Working Lands Alliance. She previously served for ten years on the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, including four years as chair, and on the Land Trust Alliance Conservation Defense Advisory Council and the Housatonic Valley Association’s Litchfield Hills Greenprint Collaborative Steering Committee. Catherine is a graduate of Bates College and Vermont Law School, where she studied environmental law. She holds a master’s degree in environmental management from the Yale School of the Environment. Prior to joining NCLC, she served as an assistant attorney general for the State of Connecticut.
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Amanda Branson
Director of Operations and Finance Amanda Branson is the director of operations and finance at Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy where she oversees business operations and planning, as well as the partnership program of NCLC. Amanda was formerly the executive director of Naromi Land Trust in Sherman, Connecticut. As Naromi’s first executive director, Amanda led the organization through accreditation in 2018 and 2020 merger with Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust. Amanda also led all of Naromi’s numerous stewardship initiatives and all acquisition projects completed between 2016 and 2019. Amanda is co-chair of Connecticut Land Conservation Council’s Accredited Land Trusts working group and chair of the governance sub-committee; co-chair of SALT (Small Area Land Trusts); and a member of the CLCC Conference planning committee. Read More
Maria Grace
Director of Stewardship
Maria Grace is the director of stewardship. Maria is the former executive director of Sharon Land Trust, a local land trust partner. Maria has also worked for NCLC partner, Housatonic Valley Association as the New York Watershed Program Manager, building partnerships and running conservation programs within the Ten Mile River watershed.
Maria is a member of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourse Commission in the Town of Salisbury and is the chair of the Town of Salisbury Conservation Commission.
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Monica Roberto
Director of Philanthropy
Monica Roberto joined Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy in 2026 as director of philanthropy. She connects people who care about the land to meaningful opportunities to protect it—bringing neighbors and partners together to ensure wildlife thrives, forests and waters are protected, farms flourish, and people benefit from clean air, resilient landscapes, and meaningful access to nature. Monica brings more than 15 years of nonprofit leadership experience, including five years in land conservation.
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Jennifer Benner
Communications Manager Jennifer Benner is the communications manager for Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy. Jennifer has a BS in agriculture with an emphasis in horticulture from The Ohio State University. She has extensive communications experience as an editor for Fine Gardening magazine. Jennifer’s passion for conservation also led her to work for the Connecticut Forest & Park Association on trails promotion and engagement, and then as a communications contractor for the state offices of Audubon Connecticut and New York. Read More
Lisa Palladino
Finance Manager
Lisa Palladino is the finance manager at Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy. She is a graduate of Pace University in NYC, where she earned a BBA/MBA in accounting, and has over 15 years of experience in nonprofit finance and operations. Lisa has worked in a variety of finance and accounting positions at nonprofit organizations, including National Audubon Society, New York University, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. She also owns a consulting company that provides financial and operational support to nonprofits and art organizations. She is passionate about utilizing her accounting background to help people do good things in the world, particularly in the areas of nature and art.
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Heather Perrault
Program Administrator Heather Perrault is the program administrator at Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy. Heather has a BS in business and finance from Charter Oak State College and is a CT DEEP certified master wildlife conservationist. She has a passion for nature and has volunteer at White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield for over a decade, including serving on their Education and Activity Committee. Over the years, Heather has also served as a board member and program chairperson with Litchfield Hills Audubon Society and Secretary of the Friends of Sessions Woods Board in Burlington. She is committed to connecting people with nature and protecting our natural environment. Read More
Elizabeth Schrang
Membership Engagement Manager Elizabeth Schrang is the membership engagement manager at Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy. Elizabeth has a BS in environmental science from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Studying environmental science sparked an interest in the connection between water quality and land use, as well as science writing. After graduating, Elizabeth interned at America Farmland Trust’s Farmland Information Center and then worked as a production editor for Wolters Kluwer Heath, Inc., a publisher of medical journals, in Baltimore, Maryland. Elizabeth has also worked on stream geomorphic surveys in Vermont. Elizabeth returned to school to study the connection between surface water and groundwater and has an MS in hydrogeology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Read More
Lauryn Sherman
Land Protection Manager Lauryn Sherman is the land protection manager for Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy. Lauryn is as a graduate of Vermont Law School and Yale Forest School, where she studied environmental law, forestry, and remote sensing. During her studies, she edited for the Vermont Law Review and wrote for the Yale Environment Review. She has applied her legal skills to projects such as writing groundwater contracts in the Colorado River Basin, contributing to regional climate action plans, and advising clients in a law clinic. Read More
Tara Spears
Public Lands Manager
Tara Spears is the public lands manager at Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy, where she oversees the organization’s fee-owned lands. She holds a BS in horticulture and has worked in a variety of conservation and curation roles in public gardens throughout the Philadelphia region. Tara received the Dorrance H. Hamilton Educational Fellowship and was selected as a Chanticleer Scholar, both of which supported her graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2024, she earned her Master of Environmental Studies with a concentration in environmental biology, serving as the primary investigator on research focused on an endemic species of Rhododendron in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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Mary Walsh
Stewardship Specialist
Mary Walsh is the stewardship specialist for Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy. Mary is a graduate of the State University of New York at New Paltz, where she received a BS in geology with a concentration in environmental geoscience. After graduating, Mary worked in science education and enrichment, teaching students throughout Fairfield and New Haven Counties. She then worked as the land steward for Westchester Land Trust. There, she managed a portfolio of over 200 conservation easements and assisted in stewardship efforts on the land trust’s preserves. Mary recently relocated to Connecticut from California, where she spent her time raising her two young children while exploring the natural splendors of the West Coast. She is excited to be back in the northeast, protecting the land she holds dear.
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