About

Ernest worked for the Trust for Public Land from 1980-2018. He served in positions as varied as top budget manager, head of institutional philanthropy, senior real estate negotiator, and director of government relations and public finance. He is particularly recognized for founding a “conservation finance” program that has played a leading role in generating over $90 billion in new state and local government funds for parks and land conservation through legislative advocacy and ballot measures. Ernest is known for innovation, confident leadership and team building, with strengths in marketing, research and program development. As a grant maker, grant seeker and donor advisor, he has a keen understanding of the transformational potential of philanthropy.

Ernest can be reached at [email protected] 

Jon has been with the Network since 2016, and has filled a variety of roles, including managing the Catalyst Fund through its five (and counting) years of grantmaking and peer learning. He brings nearly 20 years’ experience in working to advance collaborative landscape conservation and stewardship. Prior to joining the Network he coordinated the South Mountain Partnership, a regional landscape conservation initiative in south-central Pennsylvania, and spent three years on the staff of the Boston-based Kendall Foundation. He is also a senior fellow of the Environmental Leadership Program. A graduate of Middlebury College and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Jon lives in western Massachusetts with his wife and their two little ones. Too much of his work is done in front of a computer, and he embraces any opportunity to  get away from a screen—especially if the escape is on two wheels or–when the snow is good–skis.

Jon can be reached at [email protected]

Sara grew up in San Diego, but knew she belonged among jade rivers and evergreen trees when she first visited Humboldt County, CA. After earning a B.S. in Biology from Humboldt State University, she continued north into the lush Pacific Northwest. In Bellingham, Sara worked for the Washington Conservation Corps restoring riparian zones for salmon habitat enhancement, collected spawner survey data, and assisted in water quality sampling and analysis on many of Whatcom County’s waterways. Seeing how a well-planned built environment could support and preserve the natural environment, she then journeyed to Madison, Wisconsin for a M.S. degree in Urban and Regional Planning. Sara and her family relocated to southern Oregon in 2016 to work in regional agriculture, but soon found herself back in watershed management as the Outreach and Communications coordinator for Rogue Riverkeeper. Most recently acting as Executive Director with Rogue Basin Partnership, her focus is now on landscape-scale conservation, regional planning, and creating effective partnerships.