Rosalind Page
Executive Director
Rosalind works part-time both remotely and in the office. You can reach her at: [email protected]
Rosalind is a 9-year veteran of the ACT board and served as the Board Chair for 6 of those years before her term ended in 2018. Beginning in 2020 she served as the Interim Executive director for two years, followed by two years as a Conservation Projects Manager. Rosalind and her husband Tom also have special ties to ACT as conservation landowners since 2005, finishing a project started by the previous owner.
Rosalind brings a deep understanding of both the conservation work as well as the needs of our communities. She has 40 years of surveying experience and ran her surveying company for 25 of those years. Rosalind's connection to our region is deep and based in her ability to listen so that even the smallest of voices are heard. Beyond her time spent with ACT she is also a volunteer Lisbon Conservation Commission member, chairs the Lisbon Planning Board, and is the Lisbon representative on the North Country Transportation Council. Her work to advocate for the good of the whole in these roles ties back wonderfully to the conservation and community vitality work that are the cornerstone of ACT’s mission.
Sheelagh Higginson
operations & compliance manager
Sheelagh is in the office full-time, and you can reach her at: [email protected]
Sheelagh came to the US from her native England in the early 1990’s to work at a summer camp based in Connecticut. It was while working there that she met her husband, Paul. After 12-years of coordinating the camp’s Wilderness Challenge program and managing the office, Sheelagh & Paul moved to Bethlehem, NH where they built their house and immersed themselves in the local community. Sheelagh is happiest when on an outdoor adventure be it paddleboarding, open water swimming, canoeing, hiking, snowshoeing or skiing.
Sheelagh has worked in both the non-profit and private sectors in a variety of administrative roles.
RICK WALLING
Conservation Projects Manager
Rick works remotely part-time, and you can reach him at: [email protected]
A former ACT trustee, Rick and his wife Camille own historic farmland along the Connecticut River in Bath. Since moving to the area in 1998, Rick has served on a number of committees and boards for the Town of Bath and the surrounding area. Rick is active with the Ammonoosuc River Local River Advisory Committee and the Connecticut River Joint Commissions.
Rick holds bachelors and masters degrees in anthropology from Memphis State University. While he now operates a cabinetry shop and carpentry business based in one of his farm buildings, most of his professional life was spent in the field of cultural resources management (primarily review and compliance archeology) within university, state, and private sectors. Rick is now working with ACT on land protection projects.
Jesse Mohr
Conservation Ecologist & Land Manager
Jesse works remotely part-time, and you can reach him at: [email protected]
As an ecologist, biologist, forester, conservation planner, and educator at the collegiate and high school levels, Jesse has worked and studied at the nexus of humans, nature, and conservation for over 15 years. As a practitioner and academic, Jesse has sought approaches and solutions that balance the needs of wildlife and ecosystems with healthy human communities. Jesse holds an M.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont and a B.S. in Forest Ecology from the Evergreen State College.
Jesse grew up on a farm in upstate New York. After managing the farm for a few years, Jesse moved to Washington State and pursued a Bachelor’s of Science in Forest Ecology from the Evergreen State College. After graduating from Evergreen, he served as the college’s first forest manager and restoration coordinator, helping to balance and restore the diverse academic, recreational, and educational values of the schools’ 1800-acre forest and preserve. During his time in Washington, Jesse also supervised a Washington Conservation Corps Crew that worked on trail projects deep in the backcountry of Rainer and Olympic National Parks and the region’s many National Forests.
Jesse returned to New England for graduate school. He received his Master of Science in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont in 2006. While in graduate school, he founded Native Geographic, LLC. After graduate school, Jesse balanced his time between Native Geographic, LLC and teaching undergraduate and graduate classes in natural resource inventory and analysis at the University of Vermont. From 2010-2015, Jesse served as the part-time Executive Director of the Upper Valley Stewardship Center, a non-profit landowner collaborative dedicated to sustainable land management and advancing stewardship and outdoor education in the upper valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire.
Jesse is a Certified Wildlife Biologist with the Wildlife Society, a Certified Forester with the Society for American Foresters, a licensed New Hampshire Forester, and a Technical Service Provider with the Natural Resource Conservation Services.
Conor McCourt
Trails Manager & Conservation Projects Assistant
Conor works full-time both remotely and in the office and you can reach him at: [email protected]
Conor McCourt is a Trails Manager and Conservation Projects Assistant with ACT who is passionate about access to outdoor recreation for everybody. Conor grew up in Colchester, Connecticut and recently moved to Whitefield, New Hampshire from Burlington, Vermont. He is a recent graduate of the University of Vermont with a degree in Forestry and a minor in Parks, Recreation and Tourism. During his free time, Conor enjoys fishing, hiking, camping, traveling and riding his motorcycle all around New England as well as spending time with friends and family.
Katrina Meserve
Outreach Manager
Katrina works full-time both remotely and in the office and you can reach her at: [email protected]
Katrina grew up on the coast of Maine and in the woods of the Northeast Kingdom, Vermont. This is where her passion for natural spaces developed. From paddling and beach days on Maine’s coast and hiking the striking Mount Katahdin, to roaming the Vermont fields and forests with her siblings. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College where she used her love for the outdoors to obtain a degree in Environmental Science with a concentration in conservation. She has previous experience on multiple organic farms, but most recently worked as a program coordinator for a Youth Development AmeriCorps program where she connected members to youth-based nonprofits around New England.
Katrina loves spending time in her garden, exploring the White Mountains, and rock climbing with her partner, Calvin.
Sharon Penney
Coös Conservation Project Manager
Sharon works quarter-time both remotely and in the office. You can reach her at: [email protected]
Sharon Penney is a seventh-generation North Country native, having been born and raised in Coös County. She has been a resident of Franconia where she raised her sons for over 30 years. A graduate of the University of New Hampshire and former land use and transportation planner, Sharon recently retired from full-time municipal and regional government service in the northernmost counties of New Hampshire.
Now that her days aren’t filled with commuting from one North Country town to another, she is back in the workforce as the part-time Coös Conservation Project Manager (CCPM) for ACT’s brand-new Coös land conservation initiative.
As an avid hiker and woods-wanderer since childhood, the CCPM position is a labor of love for Sharon, allowing her to help conserve the fields and woodlands that provide solace and sustenance for so many landowners, residents and visitors in our region. Her family’s 170-year-old ancestral farm in Randolph, NH has participated in a conservation easement overlay for over 20 years. She has participated in both the landowner and the conservation entity perspectives of the process and hopes to bring that experience as an enhanced resource to the new CCPM endeavor.
Heidi Evans
Development Manager
Heidi works part-time both remotely and in the office and you can reach her at: [email protected]
Heidi grew up on the seacoast and spent summers in Lyman tromping through the woods with her family and swimming in every body of water she could find. Upon graduating with a Classics degree from UNH she moved to DC to work on the hill. After tiring of the city life, she bounced up to Lyman for a bit of a break and never left. She worked in the creative department at Garnet Hill for 12 years and then struck out on her own to produce commercial photoshoots. She is currently the Deputy Town Clerk in Lyman. Heidi enjoys spending time with family, reading, traveling, paddleboarding and watching movies.
ACT ADVISORS
Rebecca Brown
As ACT’s founding Executive Director, Rebecca helped build a legacy of land protection, stewardship, and community connection in the region over 20 years of service to the organization. She lives in Sugar Hill, working as the director of New Hampshire Alliance for End of Life Options.
Julie Renaud Evans
Julie lives in Milan, NH and is a forester. She is on the staff of the Northern Forest Center and is focused on community forests and other working landscapes.
Doug Evelyn
Doug is a former ACT trustee and represented ACT in its intervenor role in opposition to Northern Pass. Doug lives in Sugar Hill, where he and his wife, Martha, donated forest land to ACT for permanent conservation and public enjoyment.
Dave Govatski
A former ACT trustee, Dave is retired from the U.S. Forest Service, and is an avid birder. He lives in Jefferson, where is very involved with NH Audubon and the Pondicherry National Wildlife Refuge.
Ken Kinder
Ken, a non-voting member of the Finance Committee, is with Stifel Nicolas in St. Johnsbury, VT. He advises ACT on its investment portfolio. Ken lives in Haverhill and enjoys managing his several hundred acres of forest land.
Brendan Whittaker
Brendan is a retired forester and Episcopal priest who was one of the church’s earlies activists on conservation issues. He is the former secretary of the agency of natural resources in Vermont. He lives in Brunswick, VT and serves on ACT’s Lands Committee.
