Board
Our by-laws allow for a board of up to 21 members, but traditionally Legacy Land Trust maintains a board of about nine to fifteen members from all disciplines within the community. We view our organization as a community asset, and as such, try to reach out as much as possible to representatives of the natural resource fields, the business community, and the agricultural community to make sure our Vision, Mission and Goals reflect the needs and desires of the whole community. We invite you to meet our Directors and encourage get-togethers over lunch or coffee when you’re in the neighborhood!
Sheila Baker, President
Sheila is a native of Colorado and has been a resident of Larimer County for over 40 years. She and her family own property in Northern Larimer County that is conserved through a conservation easement held by The Nature Conservancy. She earned a BS and MS in Zoology from Colorado State University. In addition to her involvement in LLT, she is active in other community-based organizations such as the North Fork Weed Cooperative and the historic Livermore Woman’s Club. Sheila served on the LLT Board from 1998 to 2003 and re-joined the board in 2005. She is chair of the Project Identification Team and a member of the Finance and Executive Committees.
Jerry Kopp, Vice President
Jerry is a retired Food Scientist and former Corporate Director of Quality Assurance for Dean Foods Company of Franklin Park, Ill. with responsibility for over 40 locations. He received his B.S. in Dairy Science and M.S. in Food Science, both from Kansas State University, Manhattan. Jerry and his wife, Marilyn are members of the Colorado Mountain Club and enjoy hiking, road biking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing in this beautiful area of northern Colorado. Jerry currently does volunteer work for the Food Bank for Larimer County. They have five children living in Boulder and the Chicago area. Having grown up on a farm/ranch in northeast Kansas, Jerry is particularly interested in conserving lands for us and future generations to enjoy.” He is a member of the Philanthropy Committee.
Dean Block, Secretary
A native Nebraskan from a farming community, Dean graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan in Business Administration and Management in 1964. His career path took him from working for the City of Lincoln in the mayor's office to Purchasing and Data Processing Departments. Twenty years prior to his retirement in 2002, Dean worked for DuPont/Conoco. His work there focused on finance, computer hardware acquisition and software licensing. Dean and wife, Susan, chose Fort Collins for retirement as they love to hike, garden and travel. Commitment to community is important to Dean as he serves on First United Methodist Church foundation board, church adult class organizer, and worker for Habitat for Humanity and The Nature Conservancy. He also enjoys fly fishing and upland bird hunting. Dean serves on the Finance and Project Identification Team for the Legacy Land Trust.
Steve Mason, Treasurer
Steve has been an environmental attorney, and is currently an assistant attorney with the City of Fort Collins. He is also a member of the Colorado Renewable Energy Society and Legacy Land Trust’s Project Identification Team. He enjoys skiing, fly fishing and hiking with his wife and two children. Steve became interested in Legacy Land Trust because he believes that as a community, we need to be engaged in private land conservation as a vital complement to government conservation programs. He is also interested in the education and outreach that LLT does that is important to spread the conservation message. He is a member of the Philanthropy Committee.
Stan Cass
Stan is President of Cass Farms, near Briggsdale, Colorado. He and his son Randy, as partner, produce forage for their cow/calf operation on 6,000 acres of dry land including rangeland, cropland, and Conservation Reserve acreage. Stan and Randy will have donated conservation easements on over 4,800 acres by the end of 2008. Stan is a retired Army Colonel and lives in Eaton with his wife, Cecily.
Robert Fenwick-Smith
Robert works in an international business capacity and presently dedicates most of his time to several Green early-stage companies in Colorado. He has an MBA from Harvard and has resided in France, Belgium, Switzerland, United Kingdom, the U.S., and Hong Kong. He has a passionate interest in conservation in northern Colorado and has placed an easement on his ranch in North Park. He currently lives in Boulder with his wife, Felice, and their two daughters.
Lorna Reeves
Lorna Reeves is a wife, mother and business banking professional with over 32 years of banking experience. Her advisory and personal relationship approach has inspired many business owners to set goals and elevate their businesses to new heights. Banking has been Lorna’s focus since her first job as a teller in her hometown bank. She was inspired by her father’s example in life, to always reach out and assist others in need. Banking seemed to fit that value extremely well.
Lorna’s passion for helping others is illustrated in a quote from John Wesley:
Do all the good you can.
By all the means you can.
In all the ways you can.
At all the times you can
To all the people you can.
As long as ever you can.
As Senior Vice President- Branch Manager, Lorna has worked for Cache Bank & Trust for the past 8-½ years. At Cache Bank & Trust she is responsible for the growth of the branch. She also oversees branch operations and the lending department. In addition she is responsible for community and business development activities along with volunteer and special project events for branch.
In addition to her career, giving back to the community is extremely important as she volunteers with many non profit agencies and serves on a number of boards. Her hobbies include: golf, music, reading and traveling. She is quick to note, that loving what you do is so important in life but balancing life is absolutely critical for health and well-being.
Jean Sutherland
Jean is a retired teacher, long-time resident of Fort Collins, and has worked and traveled extensively around the world. She owns mountain property in Tahosa Valley, south of Estes Park. She is the former president of the Tahosa Valley Landowners’ Association. She has worked closely with Rocky Mountain National Park and the Estes Valley Land Trust. She also owns ranch property in Phantom Canyon under conservation easement with The Nature Conservancy. She is Chair of the Events Committee.
Phil Teeter
Phil has lived in Larimer County since 1968. He has a BA from the University of Michigan and has studied outdoor recreation at Colorado State University. Phil owned and managed The Mountain Shop of Ft. Collins for 23 years. He is a member and post chair of the Colorado State Forest Advisory Committee, member and post chair of the Larimer County Agricultural Advisory Committee, a founding board member of the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest and Pawnee National Grasslands Foundation. He is also a pro-bono mediator for the Fort Collins Mediation Program. Phil is a member of the Executive and Philanthropy Committees.
Nancy West
Nancy West grew up in Puget Sound and earned an A.B. in geology from Princeton
University and an M.A.T. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She
worked has a geologist and was a high school chemistry teacher. She develops
curricula, particularly earth science, and works to help teachers develop field
studies that use spatial analysis and appropriate technology. She and her husband,
Geoff Feiss, own Quarter Dome Consulting, LLC.
When not working, she relishes her return to open spaces and beautiful terrain.
Like so many who live in northern Colorado, she values the prairies, foothills, and
mountains—as well as vibrant towns and communities. She hikes, snowshoes, skis,
bicycles, reads, is learning to paint in watercolors, strives to eat locally grown food,
and volunteers with the Legacy Land Trust.
Bob Wagner
Bob and his wife, Jan, live on and operate a 6000 acre ranch in northern Colorado where they breed registered Charolais cattle, Suffolk sheep and Border Collies, which they also train and trial. Their ranch is on the northern edge of the Pawnee Grasslands and includes a portion of the Chalk Bluffs. Bob also operates a biotechnology company in Greeley which performs veterinary diagnostics, primarily testing sheep for susceptibility to scrapie, and grant funded research on DNA diagnostics. Bob received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Harvard University and has lived in Colorado since 1994.
Jane Low
Jane grew up in Northern Minnesota where her grandfather and then her mother were dairy farmers. She earned a B.S. in Zoology from the University of Minnesota and an M.Ed. from the University of California. She worked as a Research Analyst at UC Davis for 16 years. Along with her late husband Don, she developed and operated an organic citrus orchard that supplied specialty citrus fruit such as blood oranges to restaurants and customers for nearly 20 years. Jane moved to Fort Collins in 2007 where she enjoys gardening and adventure travel. She is a member of the Project Identification Team and the Events Committee.
George Wallace
Dr. Wallace is a former Associate Professor of Natural Resources at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, where he taught courses in protected area planning and management (from wilderness to open space areas), land use planning; and the human dimensions of natural resource management. His research included protected area and ecotourism impacts, wilderness management, and public involvement in resource decision making. Dr. Wallace founded the Center for Protected Area Management and Training and is a member of IUCN's World Commission on Parks and Protected areas, where he worked both in the United States and Latin America. Closer to home, the Wallaces farm 13 miles north of Ft. Collins where they try and practice what they teach.
