Catherine Rawson is the executive director of Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy, board member of the Connecticut Land Conservation Council, commissioner of the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, and a steering committee member for the Working Lands Alliance. A graduate of Bates College and Vermont Law School, where she studied environmental law, Catherine also has a master’s degree in environmental management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Prior to joining Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy, she served as an assistant attorney general for the State of Connecticut. She is also a former member of the Land Trust Alliance Conservation Defense Advisory Council and Housatonic Valley Association Litchfield Hills Greenprint Collaborative Steering Committee.

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, CT.  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.

Katy Kinsolving is Director of Philanthropy for Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy. Formerly, she was the Capital Campaign Manager at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York. A Vassar College graduate, Katy is a member of the Sharon Energy and Environment Commission and a Vice-Chair of the Conservation Committee of the Garden Club of America. She has served as a trustee of the Watershed Institute in central New Jersey and has worked for a variety of organizations including the Brooklyn Museum, the Big Apple Circus and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Katy is a co-founder of C-Change Conversations, a non-partisan climate change education organization with national reach.

Zach is the public lands manager for Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy. Zach graduated from Juniata College with a BS in Environmental Science and studied the relationship between birds and invasive berry-producing plants. After Juniata he went on to work for National Audubon Society in Sharon, CT where he was an environmental educator working with live birds and reptiles. Zach most recently worked for Mass Audubon as a teacher naturalist where he brought nature education to the classroom, outdoors, and to thousands of nature students of any age. He also served as president of the Lenox Land Trust, an all-volunteer land trust in Lenox, MA. Zach has spent much of his professional career within the Housatonic River watershed where he is dedicated to connecting people with the rich landscape around them.

Maribeth Chassey is the Stewardship Specialist for Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy (NCLC).  Maribeth is a graduate of the University of Connecticut with a B.S. in Natural Resource Management, where she concentrated in wildlife management and conservation.  She also holds an M.S. in Environmental Science and Management from Sacred Heart University.

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.

Carrie Davis is a stewardship coordinator at Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy. Carrie graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science. Since that time, Carrie has devoted her career to various environmental conservation efforts. Following college, she worked for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation’s Environmental Management Bureau in Albany, New York where she led a water quality monitoring program, sampling and testing lakes and ponds at over 60 state parks. Most recently, at the Watershed Agricultural Council, Carrie managed the Croton Watershed office, where she spent over 12 years working with agricultural landowners on developing and implementing pollution prevention plans for the protection of New York City’s drinking water supply.

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.

Dawn Burdick is the bookkeeper at Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy. Dawn brings a depth of bookkeeping experience for a wide spectrum of corporate, individual, small business, and non-profit entities to our financial stewardship. Dawn’s personal connection to land preservation and protection is evidenced in part by her 14 years of service as Director-Administrator at the Bridgewater Land Trust, where she assisted in fundraising and events. Dawn lives with her family in Bridgewater.