What is my role at TLC? As the Working Lands Manager, I will be supporting farmers and landowners in crafting conservation solutions that both protect their ecosystems and allow for thoughtful agricultural and forestry projects. With a focus in Chatham County, I’m looking forward to supporting more habitat connectivity, a resilient rural economy, just food systems, and community building across the area.
Favorite TLC preserve? This is a difficult choice! Right now, I would have to say White Pines because of all the lovely different pine species represented and the bloodroot and trout lilies I’ve just spotted there!
Emma hails from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western NC and joined TLC in early 2025 as the Working Lands Manager. She recently finished her graduate degrees at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment studying forestry and ecosystem conservation after spending the last decade farming, working at a community garden to pizza cafe, teaching outdoor education, and organizing grassroots conservation projects. She is delighted to have the soil of the Piedmont under her fingernails and is looking forward to engaging with the vibrant web of relationships at TLC. Also a trained birth doula, she always enjoys being in the forest, growing food, cooking food, sharing food, and dancing of all kinds.
