The Hanover Conservancy is pleased to announce the selection of Barry Matthews as its third Executive Director. Matthews has served as the land trust’s Program Manager since 2023.
Matthews joined the Conservancy after holding outreach and education roles at several other New England conservation nonprofits including the Stowe Land Trust in Stowe, Vermont, where he served as Community Engagement Manager. During his time in Hanover Barry has served as land manager to the Conservancy’s portfolio of more than 1,300 protected acres and overseen the upkeep and expansion of a network of more than 20 miles of public recreational trails. He has also taken an active role in the organization’s communications, fundraising, and land protection programs.
“We are thrilled that Barry will be the next Executive Director,” says Heidi Trimarco, President of the Conservancy’s Board of Directors. “He was the strongest candidate in a truly impressive pool of applicants devoted to protecting our environment. He will be an excellent leader of the Conservancy, with his quiet competence, deep commitment to protecting Hanover’s natural spaces, and fresh ideas. I am excited to see where he takes the organization.”
“I am delighted that Barry Matthews will be the next executive director of the Hanover Conservancy,” adds Russ Muirhead, chair of the Conservancy’s Governance Committee. “Barry is intimately familiar with every step of the Conservancy’s trails and every patch of land the Conservancy stewards. He has an abiding passion for its mission. He combines a down-to-earth common sense with a big picture strategic sensibility. Most of all, he is a people person with a deep connection to the community.”
Stepping into his role as Program Manager in 2023 ten days before the organization closed on the largest and most challenging project in its history, Matthews found innovative and effective ways to address its significant stewardship needs. He has also expanded the Conservancy’s 65-year-long tradition of free community programming through co-sponsored events with Dartmouth College, the Howe and Etna Libraries, and other local and regional partners.
“I am overjoyed at this announcement,” says Adair Mulligan, the Conservancy’s first full-time executive director, who is stepping down after 15 years of service. “Barry is a strategic thinker and gifted communicator who is deeply committed to conservation and to ensuring that all can share in the benefits of our work. He knows the organization inside out and has been a key player in the strong progress we have made in recent years.”
Conservation has been a through line of Matthews’ personal and professional lives since he began exploring the expansive network of publicly and privately protected lands near his childhood home in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. As a PhD candidate in American Studies at the College of William & Mary his work focused on how images of the landscape shaped the American environmental movement, and he encouraged his students to enthusiastically build connections with the human and natural communities they shared space with. He holds a Masters of Arts from William & Mary, and a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from VCUarts in Richmond, Virginia.
An active and versatile volunteer, Barry believes getting involved goes hand in hand with making a home. He has rolled up his sleeves at a wide variety of community organizations including the Stowe Conservation Commission, Hartland Winter Trails, the Berkshires Natural Resources Council, and many more. He currently serves on the board of Central Vermont Community Radio, where he is also a volunteer programmer. An outdoors enthusiast, he can often be found exploring the Upper Valley’s trails, roads, waters, and slopes.
“I strongly believe in the power of grassroots organizations like the Hanover Conservancy to create sustainable communities and inspire lasting change,” says Matthews. “Our work has never been more important, and it is an honor to step into this new role leading an organization with such a long track record of success. I am looking forward to working with our members, volunteers, and partners as we continue to pursue community-centered conservation outcomes, protecting the places that make Hanover special.”
The Hanover Conservancy, New Hampshire’s oldest local land trust, was founded in 1961 to protect land and water in the Hanover community. A 13-member Board of Directors guides the work of three staff at the private, non-profit organization, which has protected more than 3,000 acres in the region through conservation easements, fee ownership, and assistance to the Town of Hanover and others pursuing local land protection.
