Ryan Owens: Executive Director
Ryan Owens first discovered the woods at age 11, attending summer wilderness camp in the northern Adirondack Mountains. Since then, his travels through the conservation landscape have followed a sinuous path, ranging across three continents (Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, and New Hampshire) and multiple disciplines - including policy, fundraising, and ecological research.
(Photo courtesy Keene Sentinel/Steve Hooper)
Ryan comes to the Monadnock Conservancy with a Master's Degree from the Field Naturalist Program at UVM, where he studied natural resource inventory and interpretation with an eye to applying science to land conservation challenges. Prior to that, he worked in non-profit development with The Wilderness Society in Boston. He holds an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, where he studied ecology and environmental studies.
When not working, Ryan can be found identifying plants, pondering overgrown cellar holes, and baking sourdough bread. Ryan and his wife Amy live in Walpole, surrounded by easement-protected land.
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Anne McBride: Conservation Project Manager
Anne grew up in western New York State and spent many of her summers first attending then later working at an environmental education camp. These camp experiences helped shape the direction of her life, leading her to pursue a degree in Environmental Studies at Mount Holyoke College. She first came to New Hampshire for an AmeriCorps program, teaching environmental education and doing trail-work in numerous state parks. After spending time on the coast of Maine and in the Hudson Valley of New York, she eventually decided to return to New Hampshire for a Master’s Degree in Conservation Biology at Antioch University New England in Keene.
Anne most recently comes to the Monadnock Conservancy after working nearly four years in land protection at the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. She has also spent time as a volunteer land steward, monitoring conservation easements.
When not working, Anne enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing, and following old woods roads to see where they take her. Anne and her husband, Richard, live in a small house they built themselves in Nelson.
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Emily Hague: Stewardship Manager
Emily Hague came to love the natural world exploring Moose Brook and the Lake Horace Marsh near her family’s home in Weare, New Hampshire. Emily spent summers in college working for the USGS assessing water quality all over the New England coastal basin and developed a strong interest in environmental issues. After living briefly in Ireland, Australia, and Ohio, she has returned to her native state and made the Monadnock Region home. Emily and her partner Jonah currently live in Keene.
At both Oberlin College and subsequently Antioch University New England, Emily pursued her interests in geology and environmental science, supplementing school with work in the fields of recycling, organic agriculture, water resource management, and land conservation. Emily holds a Master's Degree in the field of Resource Management, telling of her interest in conscientious land use planning and resource conservation. Off the clock, Emily can be found hiking, wading, snowshoeing, taking photographs, or playing music.
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Pete Throop: Project Director, Community Conservation Partnership
Pete’s connection to the land formed at an early age, exploring the woods in a nature preserve abutting his childhood home in Connecticut and spending summers on his grandparent’s sheep farm in North Hebron, New York.
Most recently working as a City Planner in Keene, New Hampshire, Pete gained extensive experience supporting the efforts s of community groups: facilitating planning efforts, critically analyzing proposed development projects, and drafting a variety of natural resource protection ordinances. Pete also served as an Associate Core Faculty member in the Resource Management and Conservation Program at Antioch University New England Graduate School, where he taught course work in land use planning, land protection and stewardship, and community and organizational sustainability.
Prior to his planning and teaching work, Pete spent 18 years in the business world as a management consultant, specializing in strategic planning and organizational development. He has an MBA from New York University and a Masters in Environmental Conservation from Antioch.
When not pursuing his passion for protecting the integrity of the landscape, Pete can be found puttering around the family’s farm, working in his garden at his home in Keene, or exploring the region's natural areas with his wife Michele and daughter Emily.
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Rick Brackett: MCCP and Stewardship Assistant
The Conservancy welcomes AmeriCorps member Rick Brackett to a full-time, one-year position. Rick is splitting his time between the Monadnock Community Conservation Partnership (MCCP) and the stewardship program. On the stewardship side, Rick will be assisting with easement monitoring, baseline documentation, and record-keeping. Rick has been working with MCCP since its inception in early 2008, and he will continue to have a supporting role with participating towns over the next year.
Rick holds a Master's degree from Antioch University in Resource Management and Conservation, and a Bachelor's degree in Geography from Keene State College.
A third-generation Fitzwilliam resident, Rick is excited to get to know the Monadnock region even better. Rick and his fiancé Becky live in Fitzwilliam and enjoy hiking and fishing.
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Katrina Farmer: Communications Associate
Katrina’s earliest memories include canoeing and swimming in northern Minnesota, where her father was a YCC camp director and forester. She spent considerable time during her youth at family properties in the Monadnock Region and at Moosehead Lake, Maine. In all three places it was de rigueur to be outside and learning about the flora and fauna.
After earning a journalism degree at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Katrina moved full-time to New Hampshire to work for Yankee magazine. She has spent time as a volunteer banding birds, planting trees, and stuffing envelopes for various environmental organizations. Today, she serves on the board of the Peterborough Folk Music Society and volunteers for the Peterborough Players and the Monadnock Institute of Nature, Place & Culture.
Katrina and her husband, Seth, currently live in Dublin. They enjoy traveling and being outdoors as often as they can whether hiking, biking, bird-watching, fly-fishing, canoeing, cross-country skiing, or snowshoeing.
Pat Payne: Development and Office Assistant
Pat Payne started exploring the New Hampshire woods when she moved here with her family at age seven and has never wanted to leave! Her explorations of old farms, fields, and woods roads helped create a lasting curiosity about New Hampshire’s history and the landscape.
She studied writing and history at the University of New Hampshire and the University of California, then went on to work in the publishing industry for more than 15 years, holding both editorial and sales positions.
Pat lives in Hancock with her husband and daughter. Together, they enjoy skiing, hiking, swimming, and paddling in the many protected acres around their home.
