Board of Directors will meet the second Tuesday of the quarter from 3pm to 5pm:
September 12, 2023
December 12, 2023
Forever Maryland’s distinguished Board of Directors includes many Marylanders who are widely known for their dedication to conserving Maryland’s mountain forests, working farms, rivers, tidal bays, and historic resources.
Sarah Knebel
Chair
Sarah Knebel was promoted to Executive Director of Scenic Rivers Land Trust in September 2019, after joining in 2015. Previously, she worked in sustainable agriculture, habitat restoration, nature education, and water quality monitoring. Sarah has a BS in Environmental Science and Policy from the University of Maryland, College Park. She lives in Baltimore, and in her spare time she explores nearby forests, rivers, and mountains by hiking, cycling, sailing, and climbing.
Kristin Kirkwood
Vice Chair
Kristin Kirkwood is the eighth generation to operate her family farm, Newark Farms, in White Hall where she lives with her husband, Chet, and two children, Forest and Sage. Kristin joined Harford Land Trust in 2017 after many years with a global consulting firm managing projects ranging from timber traceability to combating wildlife trafficking. She is the Chair of Harford County’s Planning Advisory Board and the Economic Development Advisory Board’s Land Use Committee. She holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Maryland, College Park and a M.A. in Sustainability and Natural Resource Management from Harvard University.
Steve Kline
Treasurer
Steve is the President of the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) and joined the organization after spending two decades as a lobbyist in Washington. For the last ten years of Steve’s time on Capitol Hill, he led the government relations work of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), a national hunting and fishing conservation organization. During his tenure in the nation’s capital, Steve was the principal architect of a variety of successful legislative campaigns, and worked extensively on public policy issues related to public lands conservation, recreational fishing, wetlands protection, wildlife health, access, infrastructure, forest management, and private lands conservation.
Steve is also a former elected official and President of the Centreville Town Council, as well as the council liaison to the Centreville Planning Commission, in Queen Anne’s County. He was a delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention and has advised national, state, and local political candidates on issues related to natural resources. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and a master’s degree in government from Johns Hopkins University.
Steve is an Eagle Scout, a seventh generation Marylander, and is proudest of all to be a husband and dad. He is an avid bird hunter, angler, little league coach, and an obsessive reader of non-fiction.
David Lillard
Secretary
David Lillard is executive director of Catoctin Land Trust and convener of the Heart of Maryland Conservation Alliance, a regional conservation partnership. He serves on the steering committee of the RCP Network and the Safe Water Conservation Alliance, and the Chesapeake Bay Citizens Advisory Committee. Previously for West Virginia Rivers Coalition, he was Chesapeake Bay region staff lead on the Bay Program and source water protection programs and state-lead staff for the Choose Clean Water Coalition. He is also on staff of The Downstream Project, a nonprofit protecting watersheds by promoting awareness, alliance, and action through creative technology and communication. He is a founder of the Land Trust of the Eastern Panhandle and the American Conservation Film Festival.
Nick Dilks
Nick co-founded Ecosystem Investment Partners (EIP) in 2006 and has extensive experience in land conservation, finance, private equity fund management and real estate. Prior to EIP, he spent 10 years with The Conservation Fund, most recently as its Vice President for Real Estate. He has a BA in Environmental Science & Policy from Duke University and an MBA from the University of Maryland.
John Griffin
John works to advance large landscape conservation initiatives as the program manager for the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership. The Partnership is a landscape collaborative with over 50 partners from government agencies, land trusts, and other nonprofits around the Chesapeake Bay watershed. John is the former Secretary of Maryland Department of Natural Resources under two Governors, the Deputy Secretary of the Department, the General Manager of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, and served as Chief of Staff for Governor Martin O’Malley. he brings decades of experience with resource conservation and environmental protection. John has BA and MA degrees and lives in Annapolis, MD.
Francis (Joe) Hickman
Joe is a nationally recognized farm management consultant and also a partner at Cross Street Realtors. Joe manages over 50 farms on the Delmarva Peninsula for domestic and international clients. Joe is particularly proud that over 40% or 7,500 acres of the farms under his management are permanently protected with conservation easements with holders such as MET, ESLC, MALPF, DALPF ,Ducks Unlimited, or National Historic Trust. He is the former Board Chair of the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and continues to serve on its Board of Directors. Joe also serves as Chairman of the Kent County Planning Commission.
Joe was born and raised just outside of Chestertown on his family’s farm "Black Horse Flag Farm.” He graduated from Hamilton College with a B.S. in Biology. Joe and his wife Marianne live on and manage the farm he grew up on and raised their four children. Their three young grandchildren enjoy visiting the farm with their parents!
Katie Lautar
Born and raised in Baltimore, Katie came to this work through her love of Baltimore, nature, and communities. She is currently the Executive Director of Baltimore Greenspace where she has worked for 11 years. Katie has more than 17 years experience in community organizing, designing non-profit programs, and creating education programs. She earned a Master’s Degree in Environmental Education from Lesley University, while living outdoors in different bio-regions. Most of her early work was spent learning with and teaching the resilient inspiring brave youth of Baltimore.
Kate Patton
Kate Patton has served as the Executive Director of the Lower Shore Land Trust since 2006. Under Kate’s tenure, the organization has added more than 9,500 acres and 62 conservation easements and one preserve to its portfolio, totaling over 24,000 acres.
Kate serves as co-chair of the Delmarva Restoration and Conservation Network, and was appointed by Governor Hogan in 2021 to the Chesapeake Bay Program Citizen Advisory Council. Kate is passionate about increasing pollinator habitats across the Delmarva.
Barry Salisbury
Barry Salisbury, a retired attorney, spent her summers as a youth on the Eastern Shore of Maryland with her grandparents. It was there that she fell in love the outdoors. She studied to be an environmental lawyer (UVA environmental science major; University of Maryland law school) and, as fate would have it, ended up in Frederick County.
There she practiced law with her husband for years, until she decided to work full time raising their five children on their farm in the beautiful Middletown Valley — where the have preserved more than 700 acres and are working to preserve more of the valley.
From coaching lacrosse to working at her church and the Frederick Rescue Mission, Barry has been involved in numerous activities. Her passion is to build collaborative approaches to making the world a better place now and forever.
Adair Stifel
Adair Stifel lives northwest of Baltimore on a farm with her husband, Arne, and daughter, Este. Adair worked for the Jackson Hole Land Trust, the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Snake River Ranch, and Utah Open Lands before moving back east in 2002 when she worked for the Land Preservation Trust and the Maryland Environmental Trust, doing conservation easement outreach and landowner relations.
Adair enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, climbing, fox hunting, and steeplechase racing. She is a graduate of Pomfret School in Connecticut, Hobart William Smith Colleges in New York and holds a MA in Community & Regional Land Use Planning from the University of Oregon. She previously served on the boards of the MD/DC Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, the National Steeplechase Foundation, and the Irvine Nature Center. Currently, she serves on the board of the Wyoming Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, and capital campaign committee of the MD/DC Chapter of the Nature Conservancy.
Alisa Webb
Alisa L. Webb has been the Executive Director for Cecil Land Trust (CLT) for six years. She consults with landowners to create customized conservation easements on their properties by analyzing the soil, streams, vegetation, and topography to formulate plans that best suit each situation, while minimizing environmental impact. Alisa also coordinates with landowners, corporate partners, and government agencies to secure funding for viable projects and then works with those partners to see the projects through to completion. She also sets up and executes events and fundraisers to encourage community involvement in conservation education and sustainable agriculture.
Alisa was a teacher for twenty-eight years and served many years as a mentor for new teachers.
Alisa was born and raised in Cecil County, married her high school sweetheart, and raised a family while staying involved with her community through church, youth sports, and mentoring. Since she was a child, Alisa has embraced the outdoors and agriculture, spending many hours on her family’s farm milking and helping keep up with daily chores.
Major Gary S. Burnett
Maryland Environmental Trust (MET) Board of trustees Liaison
Major Gary S. Burnett has 29 years of experience with the Maryland State Park Service holding positions at various operational levels ranging from park ranger major to ranger trustee. Previously, Major Burnett held positions as chief of mission support and sustainability as well as director of support services for the Maryland State Park Service.
Major Burnett began his career as a park ranger at Gunpowder Falls State Park in Harford County. He serves on the boards of the Snow Hill Chamber of Commerce, DNR Black Officers Association, Northeast Chamber of Commerce, Cecil County Tourism Board, Howard County Environmental Alliance, and is the founder and president of the Friends of Carrie Murray Nature Center.
Major Burnett holds a B.S. in Conservation and Resource Development from the University of Maryland. He joined the MET board in the 2016 and is the past Board Chairman.
Advisory Council
Phyllis Joris
Phyllis, originally from Belgium, was excited to join the NeighborSpace team as the Program Manager. Now, she serves as its Executive Director. The NeighborSpace mission speaks to several of her passions – community, the outdoors, equity – and she is excited to dedicate her time and energy to making it a reality. Phyllis graduated from college with a master’s degree in mathematics.
She and her husband now live in Cockeysville with their five children: four boys and a girl between the ages of 6 and 12. Over these child-rearing years, she has volunteered with a few different local non-profits, and is currently the PTA President at her children’s elementary school. Her favorite place to unwind is my garden and she looks forward to rolling up her sleeves on the NeighborSpace sites as well.
Ann H. Jones
Ann is the director of the Baltimore County Land Trust Alliance. She administers the Rural Legacy Program for Piney Run and is the Conservation Director for the Land Preservation Trust. A resident of Howard County, her preserved farm that has been in the family for 276 years. Ann has served on the boards of the Howard County Conservancy, MET and the Howard County Agricultural Preservation Board.