Our Board & Staff

Heidi Trimarco, President of the Board, is an environmental attorney with the Conservation Law Foundation, where she works to protect clean air, clean water, and healthy communities in New Hampshire.  She is a proponent of renewable energy and a member of Sustainable Hanover’s Energy Subcommittee.  She and her husband, Tom, are both Dartmouth graduates and lifetime members of the Dartmouth Outing Club. An experienced outdoorswoman, she coaches Ford Sayre Nordic skiing for K-2 skiers. In addition to skiing, she and her family also enjoy hiking, camping, and biking. She observes that through her work she has come to value the conservation of land as one of the purest and most effective forms of environmental protection. The Trimarcos live in Hanover with their three young daughters.

Mary Brown, Vice-President of the Board, is a court-appointed guardian for children in state custody. She has worked in admissions at Bates College, Geisel School of Medicine and the Tuck School of Business, and in alumni relations at Harvard Business School. Mary is a longtime board member of The Family Place and served as chair of its board. Brown has been a member of HC’s community engagement committee since 2016. An active outdoorswoman, Mary is an officer of the Dartmouth Class of 1978. She and her husband, Scott, live near the Connecticut River and are the parents of four grown children.

Ryan Johnson serves as Treasurer. Responsible for direct originations in the Retail Finance Division at Wells Fargo Capital Finance, he holds an undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech and an MBA from Babson College. Ryan joined Wells Fargo Capital Finance in 2007 after spending nine years with Wells Fargo’s wholesale bank, most recently serving as senior vice president of market growth and development supporting new business efforts.  Ryan is an avid outdoorsman, nature enthusiast, and was a fly fishing guide in Truckee, CA.  He lives with his young family near the Balch Hill Natural Area and is an active volunteer at Balch Hill.

Kelley Lemay, Secretary, is a general urology and urologic oncology nurse practitioner at DHMC. She holds a Master’s degree in Nursing from Yale University. Kelley has been active on many committees at Dartmouth Hitchcock and is a dedicated community volunteer – a member of the Howe Library corporation, recently past Girls on the Run coach at the Ray School, Girl Scout troop leader for the Richmond School Cadettes, and presently a Ford Sayre ski coach. Kelley has spent countless hours hiking, running and skiing with friends on Upper Valley trails. She and her husband, Rick, live in Etna with their two daughters.

Karen Geiling is a financial advisor and principal of KLG Financial Solutions. She holds an MBA from Boston University and an undergraduate degree in biology.  An active outdoorswoman, she says that easy access to such outdoor activities as hiking, biking, skiing, and paddling attracted her to Hanover.  Karen serves on the board of Tuko Pamoja, a  socially responsible LLC serving marginalized women in Kenya, and on the Finance Committee of Our Savior Lutheran Church. She recently served on the Hanover Affordable Housing Commission and has given her time to several citizen groups that care for the community in various ways. She and her husband, Jim, live in the Greensboro neighborhood of Hanover and are the parents of young adult children. Karen co-chairs our Development Committee.

Richard Howarth is Chair of the Environmental Studies Department at Dartmouth, a position once occupied by former Conservancy president Jim Hornig. Professor Howarth is an environmental and ecological economist who studies the interplay between economic analysis and the ecological, moral, and social dimensions of environmental governance, including climate stabilization policy. He is also editor-in-chief of the professional journal, Ecological Economics. Howarth holds degrees in biology from Cornell, in Land Resources from U. of Wisconsin, and a Ph.D. from University of California at Berkeley. He lives with his wife, Kari Asmus, in Hanover Center.

Steve Lubrano lives on Huntington Hill in Hanover, a 500 acre parcel of land put into conservation trust by Sam Doyle. Weekends are mostly spent on the property mowing fields, rebuilding stone walls, harvesting cordwood, and doing trail maintenance. Steve has degrees from St. Lawrence University and the Tuck School of Business where he has been employed since 1994. He is a former board member and chairperson of the Howe Library Corporation. He and his wife Allegra are parents to three wonderful adult daughters. Among the items on Steve’s bucket list is a desire to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, but first needs to tackle 11 peaks to become a member of the AMC 4,000 footer club.

Ann Malenka, Director of Administration and Special Projects in Advancement Administration at Dartmouth, has deep experience in alumni relations, fund-raising, and special events planning. She is a Trustee of the Howe Library Corporation and a member of the boards of the Friends of CHaD, the Dartmouth Athletics Sponsors program, the Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Hanover Hockey Association. A Dartmouth graduate, she received her MBA from Columbia University with a concentration in marketing and finance. She and her husband, David, live in Etna and have college-age twins. She chairs our Education Committee.

Jill Kearney Niles was recreation director for the town of Norwich for 27 years. She has a degree in physical education and health education from McGill University. A longtime Hanover Conservancy volunteer,  including as steward of the Trescott lands and the Greensboro Ridge Natural Area, she is experienced at recruiting other volunteers and encouraging community involvement. Among her favorite pastimes is getting out on our local trails, whether it be running, hiking, snowshoeing or skiing. Jill moved to Hanover 13 years ago and lives with her husband, Nat, in Etna. She is the mother of two well-known athletes, a son and daughter.

Patrick O’Hern oversees Dartmouth’s buildings and utilities renewal program on the Facilities Operations and Management team. Previously, he led real estate and construction projects for several consulting and development firms. He holds degrees in civil engineering and business from Northwestern University. Patrick coaches youth sports and is a board member at Twin Pines Housing Trust. He moved to the Upper Valley in 2010 with his wife, Karen, and two children.  They live in Etna where they enjoy their proximity to the Trescott Lands and Appalachian Trail.

Dudley Smith is a Dartmouth graduate and a retired insurance industry executive, having spent 35 years with Chubb & Son where he was a Senior VP and the President of the Chubb Foundation. He brings a wealth of high-level experience in the non-profit sector where he has been either President or Board Chair of the Dunbar Free Library, Canaan Lake Association, Dartmouth Club of the Upper Valley and the New London Hospital. He currently serves as president of the Dartmouth Class of 1960. Dudley and his wife, Julie, have lived in the Upper Valley for 20 years, moving to Cutting’s Corner in 2015. The Smiths love spending time on the many local trails, including the AT.

Aricca Van Citters is a Senior Program Director at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine. Aricca completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees at Dartmouth, where she studied Psychology and Evaluative Clinical Science. Her work largely focuses on improving health and healthcare. She is also a member of the governing board of the Howe Library Corporation and the Hanover Improvement Society, and an active leader in the Ford Sayre Ski Program. She lives in the Balch Hill neighborhood with her husband, Doug, and their three children.

Jim Wooster’s 33-year career with New England Telephone and NYNEX included experience in operations, public relations, labor relations, marketing and human resources, with a tour as General Manager for the State of Vermont.  An alumnus of Dartmouth College, Jim holds Master’s degrees in Engineering and Business Administration from the Thayer and Tuck Schools.  Since retiring to the Upper Valley, he has been involved in many Dartmouth activities, and has served on the Hospice board and the board of the VNA/VNH. Active with ILEAD, he also belongs to the AMC 4000 footer club (four times over) and is a section adopter of the Appalachian Trail.  Jim and his wife Betsy live at Kendal.

Bob Norman served the Council as Secretary (1964), President (1970-75 and 1996-99), Treasurer (1975-96), and was honored as Emeritus Board Member when he stepped down in 2009. He continues as a wise and valued member of our Lands Committee. He was one of five co-founders of the Hanover Conservation Council, now the Hanover Conservancy. Read more…

Gail McPeek served on the Board of Directors from 2007-2016, including as Secretary (2013-14). A treasured volunteer and wildlife biologist, Gail leads outdoor trips, manages the Trails Challenge program, and advises on stewardship of our natural areas. She was honored as Emerita Board Member in 2021. She continues as an energetic and imaginative member of our Community Engagement and Development Committees.

Adair Mulligan, Executive Director, holds a master’s degree in Environmental Biology from Smith College, and has worked in the conservation field for 40 years. A former loon biologist and Education Director for NH Audubon, she moved to Lyme in 1992 to join the staff of the Connecticut River Joint Commissions. As Conservation Director, she directed the task of 150 volunteers to write management plans for the 275 miles of the river’s path in NH and VT. Adair is the author of several books and of essays in Where the Great River Rises and Beyond the Notches, an anthology of NH’s North Country, and has completed the NH 4000 footers. A member of the Lyme Conservation Commission for 14 years, she now serves on the Lyme Heritage Commission and is a speaker for the New Hampshire Humanities Council’s “Humanities to Go” program. Her three adult children are pursuing careers in the law, environmental economic policy, and medicine.  Adair came to the Hanover Conservancy in June, 2010.

Myrilla Hartkopf, Program Coordinator, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Conservation and Sustainability from the University of New Hampshire. Most recently she coordinated land stewardship activities on 31 properties of The Nature Conservancy’s NH Chapter, including legal and ecological monitoring, invasive plant treatment, and trail work. She has developed a volunteer program for preserve stewardship and community science projects, is chainsaw certified, and has worked on prescribed fire operations. Myrilla has also previously worked as a land steward at Southeast Land Trust in NH. In her free time, Myrilla enjoys trail running, hiking with her pup and paddling. Myrilla came to the Conservancy in August, 2021.

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