Nan Evans
Please join us in thanking our dear friend and colleague, Nan Evans, as she steps down from the Jefferson Land Trust Board after eight years of volunteer service — the maximum term limit for Jefferson Land Trust Board members.
“It was a labor of love and passion,” Nan says of her time on the Board. “I believe so strongly in the mission of the Land Trust.”
“Nan has shown a dedication to the Land Trust that you hope all Board members have,” says Executive Director Richard Tucker. “She loves the work we do, and loves the community in which we work.”
Nan worked at the Nature Conservancy in Portland, Oregon, before retiring to Port Townsend in 2012. A longtime believer in the work of land trusts, she was initially inspired to get involved with Jefferson Land Trust after meeting a pair of Chimacum farmers who were engaged in farmland conservation with the Land Trust.
“I was so impressed at how the Land Trust had figured out how to work within the community to find common ground, and to nurture and cultivate that engagement with the farming community,” Nan recalls, adding, “The work the Land Trust has done to help small farmers achieve goals that are so compatible with traditional land trust goals is just extraordinary.”
The Land Trust of eight years ago had a much smaller staff and budget, but Nan says it was fun to be part of the organization as it changed “in all sorts of good ways.” As the organization grew, so too did Nan’s commitment to it. Nan served as Vice President of the Board for many years. She gave generously of her time and skills, served on numerous committees, played key roles in planning and fundraising, and even frequently helped to recruit new Board members.
2015 tour of Chimacum Ridge. Left to Right: Sarah Spaeth, Owen Faribank, Congressman Derek Kilmer, Richard Tucker, County Commissioner Kate Dean, and Nan Evans.
“Nan is very insightful, very pragmatic, and very experienced. She’s the one person who’s never afraid to ask a question when she knows a question that needs to be asked,” Richard says.
Richard also credits Nan with helping the Board approach their work more strategically over time, saying, “She has taken us above the treetops where we can have a better view of the world.”
The Jefferson Land Trust Board gathers together different perspectives and voices from across our region. While paid employees manage the day-to-day operations of the Land Trust, Board members volunteer their time, providing critical oversight, strategy, and guidance of the organization. They regularly attend Board meetings and Land Trust events; stay informed about Land Trust projects and interests; and serve on various Land Trust committees, such as the Conservation Projects Committee, the Finance Committee, the Governance Committee, or the Community Relations Committee. Importantly, each Board member is an ambassador for the Land Trust — encouraged to bring our work into the community and help people learn about what we do and how we do it.
Term limits for board members are common at nonprofits like ours because they help ensure that new viewpoints, ideas, and personalities can flow through the organization. After a Jefferson Land Trust Board member serves the maximum eight years they must step down. However, they can apply to be on the Board again after a full year has passed.
“An eight-year commitment to an organization like ours is huge,” says Richard. “Nan’s brought so much to the Board and to the Land Trust as a whole, and we’re very grateful to her for that.”
“I will miss the meaningful interactions with Board members and staff, and being able to engage in such a thoughtful and meaningful way in the decision-making process,” she says.
Nan at a staff and board gathering at Finnriver Farm & Cidery in 2021.
Luckily, Nan has plenty to keep her busy and connected to local environmental causes, ideas, and groups. She’s producer and one of the hosts of KPTZ’s Nature Now program, where she enjoys being in conversation with many interesting folks — scientists, nature writers, and others — who seek to understand and connect to the natural world.
She’s also on the guiding committee for the Natural History Society, and enjoys walking on North Beach and Cappy’s Trails in the Quimper Wildlife Corridor. Nan will certainly remain part of the Jefferson Land Trust community, and shared that she has begun the process of including Jefferson Land Trust in her will, which she says has been “very rewarding.” (To begin a conversation about making a gift to the Land Trust in your will, please contact Development Manager Sarah Zablocki-Axling at szaxling[at]saveland.org).
We hope you’ll join us in thanking Nan for her inspiring dedication over these past eight years. We can’t wait to see what she tackles next!
