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. Tara co-chaired the Rhododendron Research Network Conference in 2024 and the Azalea Society of America National Convention in 2025. After completing her degree, she thru-hiked the entire Appalachian Trail.

Tara is excited to join NCLC to protect and manage the land and community she loves. In her free time, Tara enjoys long runs in the mountains with family and friends, as well as spending time with her dog.

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