 Kerry Doyle
– Conservation Field Assistant, Brattleboro
Kerry Doyle graduated in 1991 from Villanova University with a BA in Political Science. After school, she moved to the San Juan Islands in Washington State where she completed a carpentry apprenticeship program with Lopez Community Land Trust. Kerry and her husband then returned to the northeast where she attended Antioch Graduate School and earned her Master’s in Environmental Studies. Today, Kerry works out of VLT’s Brattleboro office. She appreciates the working landscape of Vermont’s farms and forests, and enjoys getting to know the landowners as she visits conserved properties in the southern Vermont region. “I enjoy this work,” says Kerry, “because I like getting to know the landowners and hearing their stories and reflections on the land.”
 Donna Foster
– Conservation Field Assistant, Woodstock
Donna Foster has explored many mountains and wilderness areas of the United States. She has served as a backcountry Ranger for the U.S. Forest Service in the Pemigewasset and Sandwich Range Wilderness in NH, then as a Resource Assistant in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana. In 1995, Donna graduated from UNH with a B. S. in environmental science then hit the Appalachian Trail, hiking from Georgia to Maine. Today, she and her husband live with their three daughters in the home they built in Sharon. As she visits conserved properties around the center of Vermont, Donna is delighted when landowners join her in walking their land. “People like to show you something they’re proud of, whether it’s a vista or a nice meadow,” she says. “And they’re not always the people who conserved the land. Successor landowners are really proud too.”
 Kris Hammer – Conservation Field Assistant, Montpelier
Prior to moving back to Vermont many years ago with his wife and new-born son, Kris was a self-employed home builder in the Pacific Northwest. He holds a natural resources degree from Antioch College and has worked with farmers to conduct soil surveys, delineate wetlands, and monitor nutrient application. Today, Kris and his family value the mix of working farms, forests, and villages that defines Vermont. Each spring, Kris helps with his family’s sugaring operation, hauling sap buckets and boiling late into the night. In reflecting on his work, Kris says, “I enjoy the diverse selection of conserved properties, including small vegetable farms, large sugaring operations, small organic dairies, and forest parcels in the central part of Vermont. I like getting to know owners of conserved land who live nearby.”
 Dan
Kilborn – Stewardship Forester, St. Johnsbury
Growing up on a small dairy farm in
northeastern Vermont inspired Dan Kilborn’s appreciation for the state’s
working landscape. Dan went on to become a professional forester,
working across northern Vermont and New Hampshire. He joined VLT earlier
this year. “I am excited about the opportunity to mix land conservation
with the stewardship of our natural resources,” Dan says. “Having worked
with several owners of conserved land in the past, I have seen that
conserving properties can set the groundwork for excellent forest
management.” Dan will be working out of VLT’s St. Johnsbury office and
visiting landowners across northern Vermont.
 Tyler Miller – Conservation Field Assistant, Richmond
Tyler is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and Antioch College with a Masters in Resource Management and Administration. He grew up in Grand Isle County, where both of his grandfathers and many family friends were farmers. Working at VLT gives him the opportunity to get back to his roots and work with farmers and landowners. “The fields, forests, and shorelines of this region – and the people who tended them – were so influential in my upbringing,” reflects Tyler. “I’m delighted to be involved in helping folks maintain our rich traditions and beautiful landscapes.” Beyond land conservation, Tyler is interested in just about everything, having spent time as a park ranger, teacher, conservation easement specialist, farm consultant and carpenter.
 Adam
Piper – Conservation Field Assistant, Richmond
Adam Piper is the newest addition
to our stewardship staff. He grew up in Huntington and returned to
Vermont after finishing school at the University of Southern Maine,
saving for a year, and then completing a 5,300-mile bicycle trip. Adam
enjoys helping his parents with planting and chores on their property
and garden in Huntington. “When you help put yourself through school
using carpentry, you can’t expect to visit your parents and not have a
few chores,” Adam says. Adam has a deep-rooted attachment to Vermont and
feels a powerful draw to help make it a better place. Adam is looking
forward to meeting everyone who owns conserved land in the southern
Champlain region this summer.
 Jon Ramsay
– Stewardship Agricultural Manager, Richmond
In 1988 Jon Ramsay’s parents moved their dairy farm from southern New England to the Northeast Kingdom. “I remember we brought two tractor loads of cattle, several moving vans, trucks, and three tractor trailer flatbeds of equipment up in one big caravan. We milked the cows that morning, loaded them up, and milked them in Greensboro that night,” Jon recalls. After Jon graduated from UVM in 1999 with a B.S. in Natural Resources, he joined VLT. He currently serves as the Stewardship Agricultural Manager assisting farmers with various requests for their conserved farms. “Working with farmers is important,” Jon says, “because things change on farms over time and VLT wants to be as accommodating as possible.”
 Dennis
Shaffer – Vice President for Stewardship, Montpelier
Dennis Shaffer joined VLT in
September 2007 as our Vice President for Stewardship. Prior, Dennis
served as the Northern New England Field Office Director for the Trust
for Public Land in Montpelier. From 1998 to 2004, Dennis operated the
innovative San Juan County Land Bank in the San Juan Islands of
Washington state. Before that, he was the Executive Director of the
Green Mountain Club, where he managed the growth of GMC’s Long Trail
protection and stewardship programs. Dennis has a master’s degree in
natural resource management and administration from Antioch University
New England. Dennis is passionate about both sustainable land management
and building relationships with Vermont landowners. Dennis lives with
his wife and two children in Calais.
 Bruce Urie
– Conservation Field Assistant, St. Johnsbury
As a fifth generation farmer born and raised at in Craftsbury, Bruce Urie has deep roots in Northeast Kingdom agriculture. After graduating from Johnson State College with a degree in Biology/Environmental Science, he and his wife returned to the family farm. Until recently, they had dairy cows, a maple sugaring operating, and a retail greenhouse. Though he gave up milking cows, he continues to operate the greenhouse business. Today Bruce covers the Northeast Kingdom where he sees a span of properties – from small farms to 850-cow operations. “The part I enjoy the most,” says Bruce, “is meeting so many nice people.”
 Pieter van Loon
– Stewardship Forester, Brattleboro
Pieter earned his B.A. in Forest Management and Tree Biology from Marlboro College in 1987. Before he joined VLT as the Stewardship Forester, Pieter was a consulting forester in southern Vermont. “I thought working for VLT would allow me to expand my horizon beyond Windham County,” Pieter explained. He manages forestry issues on all VLT conserved land, from farms with just a few acres of woods to the 86,000-acre Essex Timber tract in the Northeast Kingdom. He especially enjoys walking the woods and talking about forestry and conservation easements with landowners and foresters. “I encourage landowners to use me as a resource to help them steward their land,” he says. “It is important that landowner’s goals and the well-being of the forest are taken care of in their forest management.” |
