Executive Director
Lynn Werner
Executive Director
Lynn joined HVA in 1983, helping citizens respond effectively to local environmental problems. She assumed the Executive Directorship in 1995. HVA has since quadrupled in size and capacity, with staff working at all levels of public and private environmental decision-making in the region. Early on, Lynn helped form and then co-chaired the Clean Water Coalition, and served on the legislative Aquifer Protection Task Force. She now serves as co-chair of the Connecticut Highlands Coalition Committee, part of a four-state effort to preserve the last remaining large tracts of land throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and western Connecticut.
Lynn is a founding member and former president of the Rivers Alliance of Connecticut, a member and former chair of the Rivers Advisory Committee for the Department of Environmental Protection; and on the boards of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition, Earthshare New England and Earthshare National. In her hometown, Lynn serves as chair of the Kent Inland Wetland Commission, and is an appointed member of the Kent Land Acquisition Advisory Committee.
(860) 672-6678 ext.102
Water Protection
Michael Jastremski
Watershed Conservation Director
Michael joined HVA in March 2013. He coordinates the Stream Team program, organizes cleanups and educates the community on river issues. Mike comes to us from New York's Delaware County Planning Department where he has served as the Environmental Planner since 2010 (before that serving as their Stream Management Planner). Mike's on-the-ground experience includes extensive work with communities on such things as stream corridor management, water quality protection and planning, environmental regulation, natural hazard mitigation, habitat restoration, storm water management and site plan review.
(860) 672-6678 ext.109
Lindsay Larson (Keener-Eck)
Conservation Projects Manager
Lindsay joined HVA in January 2018. She received her B.S. (Wildlife Ecology) from the University of Maine in 2009 and her M.S. (Natural Resources & the Environment, with a focus on Human Dimensions) from the University of Connecticut in 2017. Prior to this position, she worked in a variety of seasonal wildlife jobs (i.e., fish, bats, desert tortoises, timber rattlesnakes), and spent several years on an organic vegetable farm in the Housatonic Valley. Lindsay is part of the Watershed Conservation Team, with a focus on projects related to road-stream crossings.
(860) 672-6678 ext.112
Courteny Morehouse
Conservation Projects Manager
Courteny joined HVA in September 2017. Previously she worked as a Field Technician at the Hamilton Wetlands Restoration Project in Novato, CA and an Operations Manager for a number of years at nonprofits focused on food, farming, and sustainable design throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Courteny has an undergraduate in Biology and a MBA in Sustainable Business from Pinchot University. Having grown up in Maryland, she is returning to the East Coast after twelve years on the west coast. She works on HVA’s Watershed Conservation team mainly focused on the Still River Watershed and manages the Still River Watershed Connections Program.
(860) 672-6678 ext.108
Amanda Cabanillas
New York Watershed Manager
Amanda joined HVA in December 2019. She comes to us from the Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program (AWSMP) in the Catskills where she worked as both a Geomorphic Assessment Technician and Watershed Educator through Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County and Ulster County Soil and Water Conservation District. Prior to her time with the AWSMP she was a seasonal intern with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection's Stream Management Program while working on completing her Bachelor of Science in Geology at SUNY New Paltz. As part of the Watershed Conservation Team, Amanda will be working on projects focused in the Ten Mile River Watershed. In her free time you can catch her exploring streams or volunteering with some of her favorite grassroots organizations.
(845) 442-1039
Land Protection
Tim Abbott
Regional Conservation and Greenprint Director
Tim Abbott has been a conservation leader in our region for over twenty years, working with The Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land before joining the Housatonic Valley Association in 2008. As HVA's Regional Land Conservation & Greenprint Director, he has helped nearly three dozen conservation organizations and agencies secure more than $16,000,000 in public and private funding and protect more than 10,000 acres of family farmland, woodlands and other special places in Western New England and Eastern New York. He is a strong advocate for regional conservation partnerships, effective conservation policies at the local, state and national levels, and the many benefits that land protection provides to our communities. He is currently spearheading a new multi-partner initiative - Follow the Forest - which seeks to protect a North/South climate corridor of connected and protected habitat between the lower Hudson Valley and Canada. Tim serves on Connecticut’s Natural Heritage, Open Space & Watershed Land Acquisition Review Board, is a member of the RCP Network Steering Committee and of Senator Chris Murphy’s Conservation Advisory Council. He administers the Connecticut State Committee of the Highlands Coalition and is a past chair of the Connecticut Land Conservation Council. He received a B.A. in English from Haverford College in 1990, holds an M.A. in International Development from Clark University (1996), and was the recipient in 1996 of a J. William Fulbright Fellowship in Namibia, southern Africa. When not saving land, he is actively involved in researching and interpreting America's Revolutionary period and is president of a Revolutionary War reenacting nonprofit.
(860) 672-6678 ext.113
Connie Manes
Greenprint Director
Connie joined HVA in January 2016. She works with Greenprint Director Tim Abbott to expand the reach and impact of the land trust conservation partnership. She remains the Principal of Manes Consulting,LLC and part-time Executive Director of Kent Land Trust. In 2012 she pioneered the growing national Land Trust Alliance Circuit Rider program working with nonprofits throughout Connecticut to prepare for national accreditation. Through her work, Connie has directly represented nearly half of the Greenprint member organizations and has strong connections to them all. A graduate of Williams College, she earned her Juris Doctorate from New York University School of Law and her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Pace University.She is a member of the Steering Committee of the statewide Connecticut Land Conservation Council and chairs its Training and Education Committee.
Stacy Deming
GIS Manager
Stacy joined HVA in 2017 and brings extensive GIS and GPS skills and knowledge gained during 18 years of GIS work in both the public and private sectors. From 2002-2009 she was a Survey Technician and GIS Specialist with the National Park Service Alaska Region. She then worked for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection as a GIS Technician on its Protected Open Space Mapping or POSM project, and as a Naturalist/Interpreter in Connecticut State Parks. More recently, she was a GIS Specialist/Manager with the engineering firm of Martinez Couch and Associates, LLC, working with clients ranging from the Department of Defense to the Metropolitan Water District Commission. Stacy has close family connections to southeastern Litchfield County and lives in Bristol.
(860) 672-6678 ext.111
Brendan Boepple
Land Protection Manager
Brendan joined HVA in February 2019. He received his Master of Environmental Management at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in May 2019. He's passionate about conservation finance, landscape-scale conservation, and strategies to increase the scale and pace of land protection. Prior to grad school, Brendan was the Associate Director of Colorado College’s State of the Rockies project where he supervised natural resource research and the annual Conservation in the West poll. Having spent the last decade in Colorado, he's excited to return to his home-state of Connecticut to work with the Litchfield Hills Greenprint Collaborative and the Follow the Forest initiative.
(860) 672-6678 ext.118
Advancement
Kelly Parker
Assistant Director of Advancement
Kelly joined the HVA team in June 2018. She brings more than 10 years of experience in the non-profit sector, working specifically in philanthropy and special event management. Prior to joining HVA, Kelly worked with local nonprofits to help build their capacity through new donor acquisitions, grants, and donor engagement opportunities. From 2008-2014 she worked as a Resource Educator for Cornell University Cooperative Extension, focusing her efforts on the 4-H Youth Development Program, which is designed for youth in agriculture.
Kelly holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Marist College, as well as two Bachelor’s Degrees from the University of Rhode Island. In her free time, she enjoys spending time in her garden, and being outdoors with her husband and two children on their family farm.
(860) 672-6678 ext.106
Jamie Wilcox
Advancement Data Coordinator
Jamie joined HVA in the summer of 2019. After nearly 20 years working outdoors, she wanted a change of pace and jumped at the opportunity to team up with HVA. Jamie has a Bachelor's degree from Manhattanville College, and spent time working at Boston University before deciding to make the move back to her home town in rural Connecticut to be closer to family and friends. Jamie loves being outside, hiking, bicycling, and walking scenic roads; while on her explorations, she enjoys taking photographs.
At HVA, you will find Jamie managing our donor database and coordinating our large mailings. Look for her at our fundraising events and get in touch if you would like to volunteer at the office!
(860) 672-6678 ext.115
Communications, Education & Outreach
Jane Bakker
Communications Manager
Jane joined HVA in 1991 as Communications Director publishing its newsletter the Housatonic Current and developing public relations. She now works parttime for HVA and freelances as a graphic design consultant. In the 1970s, Jane was City Editor of the Winsted Evening Citizen. She launched The Northwest Hills magazine as publisher and editor in the 1980s and later was publisher of ConnStruction Magazine for the Connecticut Construction Industry Association. She is a commissioner and secretary of the Torrington Inland Wetlands Commission and secretary of the Artwell Gallery board of directors in Torrington, Conn.
(860) 672-6678 ext.105
Alison Dixon
Berkshire Outreach Program Manager
Alison joined HVA in March 2010. She manages HVA’s Berkshire river monitoring and education projects, and reviews river-corridor development proposals, and plays a major role in our river education and paddling trips. Alison worked for New Hampshire Audubon as a naturalist and facility and volunteer manager. She has also worked for the Center for Ecological Technology and the Appalachian Mountain Club in the Berkshires. She has an undergraduate degree in Ecological Economics from UMass and a masters in Elementary Education from Lesley University.
(413) 298-7024
Financial
Susan Strano
Director of Finance & Administration
Susan earned her BS in Accounting from St. Michael’s College and her Master of Science in Accounting from Post University. She ran her own accounting, taxes and compliance practice in Torrington for more than 20 years, and during a recent stint living on the Cape, she worked at Bridgewater State University as the Assistant Comptroller. When Susan and her husband decided to move back to Connecticut last year, they settled in Goshen with their chocolate lab Katie to be “close to all the areas we love to explore.”
(860) 672-6678 ext.103
Patience Lindholm
Financial Director/Office Manager
Patience joined HVA in 1985. She prepares financial reports, government filings, and all treasury functions. Her background includes working at GD Searle and Touche Ross & Co. in Boston after receiving her MBA.
(860) 672-6678 ext.103
Office of Stress Relief & Moral Support
Vesta
Moral Support
Possessing a wisdom far beyond most other office mammals, Vesta is the spiritual leader and zen master of our Cornwall Bridge office.
Tsuga
Moral Support
Tsuga is a good boy. Good boy, Tsuga! He specializes in romping, stream jumping, kid chasing and trash can inspections.
Benny
Moral Support
Benny is a good boy! Good boy, Benny! He's an expert at napping, mooching food and fending off Tsuga's roughhousing.
Enzo
Moral Support
Enzo is an energetic puppy who loves anything wet and muddy. Enzo is learning how to be a good boy and is adept at hole digging, tomato stealing and frisbee fetching.
