Forever Maryland’s distinguished Board of Directors includes many Marylanders who are widely known for their dedication to conserving Maryland’s mountain forests, farms, working landscapes, rivers, bays, and historic resources.

Kristin Kirkwood

Chair

Kristin Kirkwood is the Executive Director of Harford Land Trust. She joined Harford Land Trust in 2017 after many years with a global consulting firm managing projects ranging from timber traceability to combating wildlife trafficking. 

Kristin is also the Chair of Harford County’s Planning Advisory Board and the Economic Development Advisory Board’s Land Use Committee.

She 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 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.

David Lillard

Vice Chair

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.

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.

Phyllis Joris

Secretary

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 her garden and she looks forward to rolling up her sleeves on the NeighborSpace sites as well.

Bill Crouch

Bill sources, manages and oversees all conservation real estate activities in Maryland, working to establish positive and productive relations with partners and landowners throughout the state.

Bill, who recently added real estate responsibilities in Delaware, brings extensive transactional experience to the world of land conservation. For eight years prior to joining The Conservation Fund, Bill served as acquisitions officer for Phillips Edison & Company, one of the country’s largest shopping center owners. Bill’s ability to combine relationship skills with transactional expertise has helped position The Conservation Fund as the preferred conservation real estate partner in Maryland.

Bill has a BBA in Finance from James Madison University and a J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law. Bill is a member of the Maryland bar.

Josh Falk

Josh Falk is the Executive Director of Scenic Rivers Land Trust (SRLT), where he leads efforts to conserve and steward the forests, farms, wetlands, and natural areas that sustain Anne Arundel County. With more than 25 years of experience in conservation, environmental education, nonprofit leadership, and community engagement, Josh has worked at the local, state, and national levels to advance land conservation and connect people with the outdoors.

Prior to joining Scenic Rivers, Josh held leadership positions with the National Wildlife Federation, the National League of Cities, and his own consulting practice, where he worked with nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies on conservation, education, and community initiatives. Throughout his career, he has focused on building partnerships, advancing conservation policy, and helping organizations achieve lasting impact.

A lifelong Marylander, Josh lives in Annapolis with his wife and two sons and enjoys birding, hiking, climbing, and exploring local and nationally conserved land!

Matt Heim

Matt Heim is the Executive Director of the Lower Shore Land Trust. A native of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Matt has dedicated nearly two decades to the environmental nonprofit sector. He was the inaugural director of Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake’s One Water Partnership program and previously served as the Mid-Atlantic Campaign Coordinator for the international nonprofit Oceana, leading highly successful grass-roots ocean policy campaigns.

Matt holds a graduate degree in environmental history, with a focus on the shifting land-use patterns of Maryland’s Lower Shore region. He lives in Salisbury, Maryland with his wife and three children, and can often be found along the shores of Assateague Island when he's off.

Sarah Knebel

Sarah Knebel is a Principal Environmental Project Manager at Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., where she focuses her time coordinating BGE’s Environmental Stewardship Program and Environmental Justice Council. Prior to gaining her current position in December 2025, she worked at Scenic Rivers Land Trust for 10 years, the latter half of that time serving as the executive director. She has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Policy from University of Maryland, College Park. She is a part-time climbing instructor at Movement in Columbia, MD. In her spare time, she loves to relax and explore by cooking, climbing, gravel biking, sailing, camping, and hiking. She lives in Baltimore City.

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.

Riley Layman

Riley is the executive director of the Baltimore County Land Trust Coalition, where she advocates and provides technical support for the primarily volunteer-based local land trusts of Baltimore County. She entered this field because she cares deeply about wildlife, access to nature, and the livability of both urban and rural communities. 

Riley has a Bachelor and Master of Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia. While in Charlottesville, she worked at an apple orchard and aided communities in the development of hazard mitigation grant applications. Today, she lives in the Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore with her boyfriend and 43 houseplants. Her hobbies include traveling, hiking, kayaking, going to Orioles games, reading nonfiction books, and playing for an adult kickball team.

Kirk Mantay

Kirk Mantay serves as Executive Director of Green Trust Alliance (GTA), an accredited land trust in Baltimore County. GTA conserves, restores wildlife habitat and enhances public access in coastal communities across the Mid-Atlantic region. GTA’s three flagship conservation programs focus in Baltimore’s Lower Patapsco and Back Rivers, Southern Maryland, and New Jersey’s Hudson-Raritan Estuary.

Kirk served in habitat restoration leadership roles from 2005 to 2017 at Ducks Unlimited, the Chesapeake Bay Trust, and Arundel Rivers Federation, and worked in federal wetland consulting. Kirk negotiated DU’s first MET co-held easements, and Arundel Rivers’ first purchased easement.

A Baltimore City resident since 1999, and member of the Baltimore Master Gardener Class of 2005, Kirk is Baltimore’s longest-running, active Professional Wetland Scientist. He conducted doctoral research on plant invasion risk modeling, and completed an MA in Environmental Planning (Appalachian State), with dual degrees in Wildlife Science (BS) and Biogeography (BA) from Virginia Tech.

Anna Mudd

Anna Mudd is the Senior Director of Policy for Potomac Conservancy. In this role, she advocates for public policies that prioritize the nexus of clean water and environmental justice in Maryland and Virginia. An experienced strategist, Anna interacts with elected officials, relevant government agencies and other decision-makers, and also serves as the primary liaison with partner organizations and coalitions in the environmental policy space.

Before joining Potomac Conservancy, Anna spent several years working in local and state politics, government, and non-profit advocacy. She is a Maryland native and currently resides in Annapolis. In addition to spending quality time with her large extended family, Anna also enjoys exploring Maryland’s many trails and public parks with her husband, son, and goldendoodle.