Maine Coast Heritage Trust Announces New President and CEO, Kate Stookey

TOPSHAM, Maine, Dec. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT), a statewide land conservation organization, announced today that its board of directors has voted unanimously to appoint Kate Stookey to its top leadership position. Stookey grew up in Blue Hill, Maine, and will take over as president and CEO in early 2022. Current MCHT president Tim Glidden announced earlier this year that he will retire at the end of 2021.

Stookey brings deep experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She has held leadership positions in a number of organizations, including the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, where she built and oversaw the Public Affairs and Community Partnerships Division, and Pathfinder International, where she led multiple global organizational initiatives. Currently, Stookey serves as executive director of Revels, a national cultural arts nonprofit based in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Stookey earned a BA in international relations from Brown University and holds a graduate certificate in organizational behavior from Harvard University and a certificate in strategic leadership from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. The coast of Maine was the backdrop of her formative years, and, after time spent traveling and working and living abroad and around the country, Stookey is excited to return home to work in service to Maine's environment and coastal communities.

"I am honored to have been selected as the next president and CEO of Maine Coast Heritage Trust," said Stookey. "I believe deeply in protecting Maine's coast and natural spaces and keeping them accessible for those who work, live, and explore here. It is a privilege to join an organization that has such a profoundly positive impact on the people and the ecology of this state."

"Kate is a dynamic organizational leader with demonstrated success as a collaborator and bridge builder," said MCHT board chair Tom Armstrong. "Increasingly, the work of land conservation is about forging relationships across diverse groups of people and interests. Kate brings precisely the quality of inclusive leadership that is needed at this moment, especially in this era of climate change and the challenges it poses to the Maine coast."

Long-time MCHT board member Tom Ireland and co-chair of the presidential search committee stated, "Kate brings to MCHT everything we were looking for in our next president and CEO, including a deep love and passion for Maine, a track record of strategic and visionary leadership, and proven fundraising success. It was a pleasure to get to know her through the rigorous search process, and I look forward to working with her to further MCHT's mission."

Stookey joins MCHT at a time of great momentum and opportunity for land conservation. The organization recently completed a $130 million campaign for the coast?protecting over 11,000 coastal acres, creating 36 new public preserves, and becoming the state's leader in creating permanent access to the coast. As pressures on the coast of Maine increase, the 50-year-old land conservation organization is working with coastal communities to address issues including increasingly limited water access, food insecurity, degraded habitats, and sea level rise. Over the past five years, MCHT has launched several coast-wide initiatives to maximize coastal resilience in the face of climate change and has been part of a statewide effort to build bridges between Maine's land trust community and Wabanaki communities.

To learn more about MCHT President Tim Glidden's retirement, click here.

ABOUT MAINE COAST HERITAGE TRUST

MCHT is a dynamic, multifaceted organization with initiatives ranging from preserving coastal access for communities to high impact ecological work focused on reconnecting waterways and improving coastal resiliency to climate change. A leader in Maine's nationally renowned land conservation efforts since 1970, MCHT maintains a growing network of almost 150 coastal and island preserves free and open to everyone and leads the 80-member Maine Land Trust Network to ensure that land conservation provides benefits to all Maine communities. Get involved at http://www.mcht.org.

Media Contact

Betta Stothart, Betta Stothart Consulting, 1 2074000015, [email protected]

Nicky Blanchard, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, 2076074369, [email protected]

SOURCE Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT)