This January, after 12 years as board president of NCLC, Hiram Williams stepped down. He will continue to serve on the board. Hiram guided the organization through two mergers with Brookfield Open Space Legacy in 2019 and Naromi Land Trust in 2020 and built a resilient organization ready to meet the challenges of regional conservation work.

Under Hiram’s extraordinary service, the land protected by NCLC grew by over 4,500 acres, making NCLC the 22nd largest land trust in the United States by the number of lands protected. Landscape-scale conservation is a process that often unfolds over many years. With dedicated leadership, it creates lasting protection that safeguards water quality, habitat for wildlife, and farmland soils for future generations.

In December, we asked Hiram to reflect on his tenure with the organization. Hiram said, “I am proud of all that we have accomplished and excited about the future for NCLC and conservation in the northwest corner.”

Among his proudest accomplishments have been building an excellent staff led by Executive Director Catherine Rawson and a dedicated board of directors. “The combination of the two will enable us to meet some pretty significant conservation challenges in the next ten years,” he said.