Stewardship Assistant Tali Hamilton in downtown Port Townsend.
Please join us in welcoming not one, but two new staff members to brand-new positions at the Land Trust: Tali Hamilton, Stewardship Assistant, and Lilly Schneider, Communications Coordinator!
As our half-time Stewardship Assistant, Tali will work with the Stewardship Team, Land Trust partners and landowners, and our incredible volunteers to monitor and support the management and oversight of our conservation easements.
Prior to joining the Land Trust, Tali received a BS in Environmental Sciences from the University of Washington and an MS in Natural Resources Management from Texas Tech University. Her MS thesis focused on the impacts of invasive grass and wildfire on native trees.
“By working at the Land Trust I can have a much greater impact on climate change adaptation and mitigation than I’ve ever been able to have before,” she said. “I’m looking forward to engaging with a large range of people to steward the land through the challenges ahead.”
Tali grew up in Western Washington and loved visiting Port Townsend as a child. To be able to live and work here is a dream come true! When she’s not at the Land Trust, you can catch her relaxing at the waterfront, hiking a trail, or trying out a new local restaurant.
“I’m excited to experience the great outdoors in this beautiful part of the state while working with landowners to increase climate change resiliency and preserve the land for years to come.”
Communications Coordinator Lilly Schneider.
Our second new staff member, Lilly Schneider, joins Jefferson Land Trust as our half-time Communications Coordinator. In this role, Lilly will support our marketing, outreach, and communications work by producing written content that informs, inspires, and promotes understanding and connection within the Land Trust and its broader community.
Lilly was raised in the Pacific Northwest and has a deep-rooted love for this land. She earned her BFA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Wyoming in Laramie. She has worked in communications at international, national, and local-level nonprofits and conservation-minded organizations, most recently at Camp Denali, a wilderness lodge in the heart of Denali National Park, Alaska.
She said, “Storytelling is a critical part of land conservation, and I’m humbled by this opportunity to build bridges of understanding between the people, groups, organizations, and wildlife who share this land.”
Beyond her work with nonprofits, Lilly’s held many jobs — book editor, social media ghostwriter, hostel bartender, diner waitress, English professor, and free-range-chicken-wrangler. She loves crossword puzzles, forest walks, and playing the ukulele.
“The Jefferson Land Trust has such an amazing history of land stewardship on the Olympic Peninsula as well as a viable long-term vision for a sustainable future. It’s a privilege to be part of this important work in the region I’ve always called home.”
