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03/11/2009 • News Stories

Staffing Changes Highlight Continuity at Jefferson Land Trust

« Click image for popup view » Outgoing Jefferson Land Trust Executive Director Heidi Eisenhour, left, and new Executive Director Sarah Spaeth Port Townsend, WA. March 10, 2009—The board of directors of Jefferson Land Trust, Jefferson County’s private, nonprofit conservation organization, announced today that JLT Conservation Director Sarah Spaeth will become the Land Trust’s new executive director effective April 15, 2009. Spaeth, who has worked at Jefferson Land Trust since 1996, will combine her current role as conservation director with that of executive director. Jefferson Land Trust’s current executive director, Heidi Eisenhour, will be transitioning to a half-time position as development director for JLT. The transition is due to the demands of her husband’s sculpture business, which has expanded significantly in the last year. “Directing Jefferson Land Trust was my dream job, and the past two years I lived that dream. Now the needs of my family have come into focus,” Eisenhour said. During Eisenhour’s two-year tenure as executive director, JLT has worked with conservation partners to develop innovative models such as Jefferson LandWorks Collaborative; engaged the community in a long-range conservation planning process; and become one of the first land trusts in the nation to apply for professional accreditation. “We are fortunate that Heidi is willing to continue sharing her skills and knowledge of the community as our development director,” said Owen Fairbank, president of JLT’s board of directors. “And it seems particularly fitting that Sarah Spaeth has agreed to take over as executive director. Sarah is well known and respected for her creative, wide-ranging, and collaborative work with landowners, agency professionals, governments, and many others,” Fairbank said. Long history with Jefferson Land Trust Sarah Spaeth was hired as a half-time project coordinator in 1996 for what was then called the North Quimper Peninsula Wildlife Corridor. Spaeth, the staff member with the most history at the Land Trust, grew up in the Northwest, in Seattle and the San Juan Islands. Powerful childhood memories of digging clams on the beach and getting lost in the forests shaped her. She received her undergraduate degree in Marine Biology from Western Washington University and a graduate degree in Coastal Zone Management from the School of Marine Affairs at the University of Washington. Prior to working at Jefferson Land Trust she worked as a marine consultant and with the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, and she also had a long career in baking and cooking on natural history charter boats in southeast Alaska. “My passion for the Northwest led to a great desire to provide my children with some of the same special memory places that I carry with me. The Land Trust has been a good fit, since we are in the business of protecting memory places for people and wildlife alike, “ said Spaeth. “ I have watched Jefferson Land Trust evolve into an effective, successful community organization, and I am honored to step into the role of executive director.” As of January 1, 2009, Jefferson Land Trust has conserved or actively stewards 7,865 acres of open space, working lands and habitat in Jefferson County. This includes 36 conservation easements with private landowners totaling nearly 1,400 acres. In addition, JLT stewards 5,200 acres for partnering landowners and agencies and has also protected and transferred over 1,100 acres to partnering landowners and agencies for conservation. Website   More Info   Document    Contact Heidi Eisenhour, Executive Director (360) 375-9501