Staff & TerraCorps Members

Emma comes to Mount Grace as an avid hunter, angler, hiker, and outdoors woman. She lives at the base of Mount Tully, a Mount Grace protected property. Emma feels very passionate about protecting her “backyard” and grateful to be able to call it a job. Emma spent the last 20 years as a union organizer and negotiator, fighting for social justice, for working class people to have a voice on the job, and for a chance at a decent quality of life. She is thrilled to be applying those same collaborative skills to conservation. She believes deeply in our need to bridge differences, foster a culture of finding common goals, and stand up for what we believe in if we are to be successful. She follows in the footsteps of her father, who was a Mount Grace board member, her brother who was the key note speaker at an annual meeting, and her parent Jay Lord, who helped found Just Roots, another Mount Grace project. Love of the land is in her blood. In this age of crazy storms, unprecedented weather, and bird population decline, conservation of our “backyard” is more important than ever.

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Sarah oversees Mount Grace's conservation and stewardship programs and staff, and specializes in putting together multi-landowner, multi-partner projects. She also coordinates the North Quabbin Regional Landscape Partnership (NQRLP), an informal network of land trusts, state agencies, municipal boards, private landowners, community members, academic institutions, and others interested in conserving and stewarding land in north-central Massachusetts. Sarah joined the NQRLP in 2010 as the MassLIFT-AmeriCorps Regional Conservationist, where she was responsible for organizing the multi-partner/multi-landowner Quabbin to Wachusett (Q2W) Forest Legacy Project. After two AmeriCorps terms, Sarah joined the Mount Grace staff in 2012 as a firm believer in collaboration and partnership-building. Sarah holds a B.S. degree in Natural Resources Studies with a minor in Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation from UMass-Amherst. Sarah grew up in Orange playing in West Brook, and now lives two miles upstream on Fox Hill Farm with her family. She continues to play in West Brook.

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David joined Mount Grace in 2007. He is responsible for managing major gifts fundraising, foundation grants development, and the annual and spring appeals. He has worked in fundraising for nonprofit environmental and conservation groups for over ten years, including four years with Greenpeace and four with the Citizens Awareness Network. He has a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College.

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Jenn is responsible for the integration of Climate and Land Justice into every aspect of Mount Grace’s work: conservation, stewardship, and outreach. Before Mount Grace, she held a faculty position at Mount Holyoke College in the Environmental Studies Department where she taught classes that focused human-environment interactions associated with climate change, environmental pollution, sustainability, and food systems- all from the perspective of human health and social justice. Jenn holds a Ph.D. in Plant and Soil Sciences and a B.S. in Environmental Science, both from the UMass Amherst. She held postdoctoral positions at Harvard Forest and UMass Amherst. Her academic research focused on how climate change will impact plants that produce allergenic pollen both within populations and across the landscape, and thus impact human health. Outside of work, she plays leadership roles in two community organizations working to create racial equity and justice: The Holyoke Food and Equity Collective, focused on creating a more equitable and just food system in Holyoke, MA through direct action and policy work, and the Petersham Anti-Racism Coalition (PARC), focused on education, awareness, and action to help our rural communities find our roles in building racial equity and ending systemic racism. In her free time, you can find her on wheels or sled runners behind her team of Siberian Huskies, where she is the lead musher for the Swift River Siberians racing team, as well as working in her garden in the summer.

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Rocio recently earned a Ph.D. in Geography and Environmental Science and Policy, focusing her dissertation on land conservation and, specifically, on the motivations of agricultural-land owners to protect their land in perpetuity from non-agricultural forms of development. She was born and raised in Spain, where she completed two master’s degrees in the fields of Sustainability, Corporate Responsibility and Rural Development Project Planning. Her professional background includes positions as management consultant for entrepreneurs in rural areas and director of human resources for a regional environmental nonprofit.

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Tessa has been catching frogs and poking under logs since she was a kid. Her inquisitive nature led to an invasive species lab at UMass Amherst, a master’s program studying salt marshes in Maine, and back to Massachusetts to serve as a TerraCorps member at Hilltown Land Trust. Serving as their Land Stewardship Coordinator made her realize conservation work connected all the pieces she loved about being an environmentalist: community, sustainability, research and education. When not delving into natural history, she can be found practicing swing dancing or attempting to quilt.

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Aaron recently completed his B.A. in International Affairs from George Washington University, with a focus on the effects of climate change on different communities around the world, and their approaches to adaptation. Returning to his hometown, Ashfield, he served as the Farm & Climate TerraCorps-AmeriCorps member at Mount Grace in 2020. In that role he helped to facilitate Mount Grace’s Climate Subcommittee and complete an inventory of farmland in Mount Grace’s region. He is excited to continue at Mount Grace as the Community Conservation Project Manager and work with towns, communities, and landowners to conserve land critical for climate resilience. When not at work he can be found expanding his cooking skills, hiking, and cross-country skiing.

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James recently earned a master's degree in Environmental Science with a concentration in Advocacy for Social Justice and Sustainability from Antioch University New England. He previously worked in the food systems realm, working with food cooperatives to secure funding to support local farmers and producers. In the warmer months, you can find James hiking, bouldering, or camping and in the winter you will find him on the ski slopes. 

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Liz is originally from Rehoboth, a small farming town in southeastern Massachusetts. When she wasn’t out fishing with her father, she usually spent her childhood getting lost in the woods with her sisters, riding her bike, or exploring her neighbor’s farms. After graduating with a master’s degree in History from the University of Connecticut, she moved to her husband’s childhood home of Winchendon in 2012 and worked as an operations supervisor in the financial sector prior to joining Mount Grace in 2019. She loves to read, swim, try new restaurants with her friends, and explore local trails and parks with her husband Deric, her one-year old son Isaac, and her dog Stormy.

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Jessica was born in Central Florida to a family of pioneer cattle ranchers and coastal New England transplants, growing up with a deep connection to land & sea, seeing the importance of conservation to both people and environment.  Jessica has a bachelor’s in Literature & Philosophy, a master’s in Education, and is currently pursuing a degree in Natural Resources Management.  She is a voracious independent learner who usually has an audiobook or podcast playing in one ear.

Jessica has worked in public schools, community centers, and kitchens, a deserted coastal island, and the FL state capitol.  She’s been farming in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts since 2011 with passion for connecting community through local food and working lands, and for understanding the microbial soil community that sustains all life.  

On most weekends she can be found hosting BBQs with her partner Jackie, gardening with her cat, or psychoanalyzing her flock of chickens.  She is an avid angler and hunter, a happy camper and beach bum. Her favorite meal is collards and cornbread. 

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Julia Fitzpatrick is from Charlton, Massachusetts, and recently graduated from Worcester State University with a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Science. While at Worcester State, she gained some experience in event planning through being part of the Commuter Activities Board, which held various events on campus. She also was part of a research project studying partridgeberry plants. In her spare time, Julia enjoys reading, painting, and taking her dogs for walks. Julia is very excited to be serving her second TerraCorps term as the Land Conservation Coordinator with Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust and the North Quabbin Regional Landscape Partnership! 

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May grew up in the woods of Franklin County. She graduated from Bard College with a B.A. in Historical Studies.  In college she found her passion for the environment while involved in citizen science water quality projects on the Hudson River Watershed. Post-graduation May worked in environmental and outdoor education. She spent two years in the JET Program, teaching English in Japan. After returning to the States, she worked for Nature’s Classroom. In that role she taught residential environmental programs, focusing on sustainability and ecology, but most importantly sparking children’s curiosity about the natural world. Her enthusiasm for the environment and desire to learn more led her to TerraCorps. She is excited to serve as this years Land Stewardship Coordinator. In her free time you’ll find her traveling and camping in beautiful places, reading, petting cats, and taking photos of cool things she finds in the woods.

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