We are delighted to welcome 3 new talented team members to our group of dedicated conservationists! Please join us in welcoming Diquan Edmonds, Brenna Thompson, and Jordan Iddings.
TLC is lucky to have such a hardworking, dedicated, and skilled staff. You can read the bios of our new staff and learn about and connect with all staff here.
Diquan Edmonds joins TLC as Education and Outreach Manager. Previously, Diquan worked with the North Carolina Recreation and Park Association, and has a background in parks and recreation. He received his Master’s of Science degree from North Carolina State University in Parks, Recreation, & Tourism Management where his research focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the outdoors. In the summer after earning his master’s degree, Diquan held an internship working with the Youth Conservation Corps in Yellowstone National Park. Diquan is passionate about conservation and connecting people to our natural resources.
Brenna Thompson joins TLC as Land Protection Manager – East. Originally from the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Brenna spent much of her childhood in the great outdoors and developed an enduring passion for land conservation. After receiving a B.A. in History and Philosophy from Colorado College, she moved to Washington D.C. and worked as a foundation and corporate relations officer (i.e., grant writer) for the African Wildlife Foundation. She later obtained a Master of Environmental Management degree from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, with a concentration in Ecosystem Science and Conservation. While at Duke, she did a Stanback Internship as a landscape analyst with the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina, which ignited her interest in land trusts. After graduation, she moved to the Pacific Northwest and spent three and a half years working as a conservation project manager at Great Peninsula Conservancy—an accredited land trust in western Washington. She is excited to be back in North Carolina, and looks forward to working with landowners to help protect the open spaces, local food, healthy watersheds, and recreational opportunities that make this such a special place to live.
Jordan Iddings joins TLC as Land Stewardship Associate. She previously worked as a habitat restoration technician for Portland Parks & Recreation in Portland, OR. Previous to that, she also worked with private, public, and non-profit organizations in the Portland area in other environmental stewardship roles where she gained experience with trail work, invasive species removal, reforestation, bioswale maintenance, volunteer leadership, and more. Jordan gained a love of the outdoors through travel and farm work, and she’s worked on farms as far south as Ohai, New Zealand and as far north as Tromso, Norway, doing everything from herding sheep to growing strawberries. She first knew she wanted to be a land steward while completing an internship with a land trust in college. Jordan attended UNC Chapel Hill and graduated with a degree in Environmental Studies and a minor in History.
