Board
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Chuck Martin - President
Roger Garner - Vice President Robyn Galbraith - Treasurer Mary Haslam - Secretary |
Sue Erhardt
Jon DeGroot Sally Hightower Paddy Hobohm Josh Jones Stephanie Richardson Claudia Walecka-Hutchison Steve Wilkowski |
Staff
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Greg Yankee
Executive Director Greg joined The Little Forks Conservancy in October 2016 as the Executive Director. In that capacity, he is the chief administrator for the organization and is responsible for the development, oversight, and implementation of goals, policies, programs, and procedures to fulfill the mission of Little Forks. Greg grew up in Michigan and graduated from Bucknell University and the University of Michigan Law School. Before joining Little Forks, he served in multiple roles for the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts, including Executive Director. He is excited to be back in Michigan and to explore all that mid-Michigan has to offer. |
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Elan Lipschitz
Director of Land Conservation Elan Lipschitz became the Land Protection Specialist for The Little Forks Conservancy in June 2000. As Director of Land Conservation, Elan works with landowners as they make their decisions about how best to preserve their properties. He works to negotiate the terms of a conservation easement if that is the route of land protection decided upon by the landowner. In addition to conservation easements, he is involved in conservation buyer transactions, evaluation of lands to be purchased by the Conservancy, land conservation planning and various partnerships with other conservation organizations. Additional areas of responsibility include the annual monitoring of easement properties as well as for the Geographic Information System (GIS) program at the Conservancy. Although not from Michigan, Elan has developed a deep appreciation for the wonders of our local landscapes. |
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Andrea Foster
Director of Programs and Partnerships Andrea joined the Little Forks Conservancy in February of 2015. Andrea Foster is the Director of Programs and Partnerships at The Little Forks Conservancy in Midland, MI. She created Nature/Nurture, an environmental education program for under-served youth and OUTdoors Together, a hiking group for LGBTQ individuals and allies. Andrea serves on multiple local committees including the Midland Young Professionals Steering Committee, and the Midland Area Community Foundation’s Cultural Awareness Coalition. She volunteers as a mentor at the Midland County Juvenile Care Center, and has become known as a motivational speaker for teens. Andrea is a nationally known speaker on bringing inclusion and diversity to programming. Andrea enjoys spending her free time with her daughter, her loving partner, and their menagerie of pets. Preferably outdoors! |
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Sara Huetteman
Preserves & Volunteers Manager Sara became Little Forks' staff in January 2018 after serving as a Huron Pines AmeriCorps member in 2017 at The Little Forks Conservancy. As Preserve & Volunteer Manager, Sara maintains six nature preserves for habitat, recreation and community engagement through her volunteer programs. Sara started the Stewardship Series in 2017; a series of free workshop meant to educate landowners and volunteers about being good stewards. Sara has a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Central Michigan University. Prior to joining Little Forks, she spent a year in Maryland serving with the Maryland Conservation Corps where she first learn she loved land management. Sara enjoys hiking with her dog and taking nature pictures. |
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Alyssa Walters
Outreach Coordinator Alyssa joined Little Forks in January 2018. As the Outreach Coordinator, Alyssa is responsible for the communications and engagement activities within the organization. Alyssa works within multiple platforms to keep the community informed as well as content creation for Little Forks. Alyssa has a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts with a concentration in Photography from Northern Michigan University. Alyssa immensely appreciates the true healing powers of the outdoors and enjoys spending time camping, hiking, reading, and boating. |
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Shelby Cain
Huron Pines AmeriCorps Member Shelby grew up right here in Midland and recently graduated from Saginaw Valley State University with a bachelor's in biology with a minor in chemistry. While serving, she hopes to utilize the skills she gained during school and hope to learn as much as she can from the staff at Little Forks. Shelby is interested in conservation, wildlife biology, and ecology. She is also looking forward to taking part in their community outreach initiative. Getting the community involved and teaching others about the importance of conservation is very exciting to her. She wants to make a difference in the world around her and feels that her time at Little Forks Conservancy will help her achieve that goal. |