Kristin has been working in the environmental field for 25 years on a variety of issues from recycling and toxics-use reduction to endangered-species recovery and wilderness restoration. She has served as the Executive Director of Kestrel since 2006 and has overseen the organization’s growth from a volunteer-led group to a professionally staffed regional land trust. During this time, Kestrel has tripled its rate of land conserved annually and led a four-year project to complete the largest Conservation Restriction on private land in Massachusetts conserving 3,486 acres on Brushy Mountain. Kristin has a BA in economics and environmental science from Bucknell University and an MS in Environmental Studies from Antioch University. She lives with her two children and husband in Pelham.

Kari Blood served as Kestrel’s Regional Conservationist through the volunteer AmeriCorps MassLIFT Program from 2010 through 2011. During this time, she coordinated the Forever Farmland Initiative, organized landowner outreach events in Belchertown and Northampton, and assisted the Pelham Conservation Commission with educational campaigns, among other projects. In the Fall of 2011, she began full-time work with Kestrel to coordinate special programs and community engagement projects.

Ben has been conserving land in Massachusetts since 2004. He has worked with a number of conservation organizations, including Harwich Conservation Trust and the Compact for Cape Cod Conservation Trusts, to enhance land and water resource management, preserve land, and build organizational and stewardship capacity. Ben holds a B.S. in Ecology from the University of Kansas and a Masters in Environmental Science and Policy from Clark University in Worcester, MA. Originally from the Midwest, Ben’s family has a 360-acre farm in Missouri.

Since moving from Washington DC to the Connecticut River Valley in 1995, Monica has raised funds for many community causes including fair housing, public schools, and local agriculture. She served as development coordinator for the Sojourner Truth Memorial Statue in Florence from 1998-2003, and was a leader in the establishment of the Northampton Education Foundation’s Endowment Fund. In addition to her work at Kestrel, Monica manages a small business with her husband and is a freelance writer and editor. She lives in Northampton with her family.

Julie Shively comes in one-day a week to do Kestrel’s finances. In addition to her bookkeeping expertise, Julie is a Selectboard member in Leverett and serves on the board of Rattlesnake Gutter Trust.