Staff and Board of Directors
Staff
Ruth Gutman, Executive Director
After serving as the development assistant/director at the land trust since 2013, Ruth stepped into the ED position in October 2023. She lives in Acton and believes that a strong connection to the land benefits everyone.
Daniel Hill, Stewardship Director
Daniel worked in a number of conservation roles in New Hampshire and Maine prior to joining Three Rivers in May 2024. He is happy to be a part of an organization that plays a crucial role in preserving Maine's habitats and getting people out in nature.
Board of Directors
Officers
Keith Davis, President (Shapleigh)
Co-founder of MapleStone School in Acton – a non-traditional school for at risk youth. Small time farmer of animals and vegetables, passionate about the natural world.
Lee Burnett, Vice President (Springvale)
Writer, networker and handyman devoted to trails and local impact projects that make us feel better about the world. He enjoys covering long distances under human power.
David Mann, Clerk/Secretary (Shapleigh)
Retired professor of Biochemistry and Nutrition. Member of the Shapleigh Conservation Committee. He enjoys the outdoors, hiking, gardening, cooking and old houses.
Amy Titcomb, Treasurer (Alfred)
Volunteer coordinator at Maine Association for New Americans (MANA), off-gridder, mom of two.
Directors
Eric Ames (Springvale)
Eric lives in Springvale and is a 2022 graduate of Sanford High School, where he participated in music, unified basketball, and theater. A dedicated community volunteer, Eric has supported the Sanford Unitarian Universalist Corner Cupboard food pantry, helped annually with the “Stuff the Bus” program, and volunteers as an usher at the Sanford Performing Arts Center.
Eric also has a strong interest in local history and preservation. He volunteers twice a week at the Sanford Springvale Historical Society and often serves as a docent at the neighboring Goodwin House Museum. He enjoys researching Sanford’s history and contributing to the community in meaningful ways.
Eric is especially passionate about accessibility and inclusive outdoor recreation. He is excited about the opportunity to support Three Rivers Land Trust’s work and help make local trails more accessible to people of all abilities. He is a frequent volunteer at the Sanford Community Forest.
John Bozak (Lebanon)
Retired forester & UNH Professor Emeritus; Society of American Foresters member; Certified Maine Tree Farmer; Chair, Lebanon Conservation Commission; York County Soil & Water Conservation District board member; Maine Woodland Owners member; Berry Best Farm trustee; gardener and, bibliophile
Carl Davis (Acton)
Organic farmer and trail enthusiast.
Anna Desmond (Shapleigh)
Chairperson Shapleigh Conservation Commission, organic gardener, enjoys time spent outdoors in our wonderful natural environment.
Shawn Jalbert (Alfred)
As a lifelong Maine native, Shawn’s love of the natural world and specifically native plants began at a young age. He spent his childhood exploring the fields, forests, wetlands, and ponds surrounding his Alfred home, field book in hand. An avid hiker and cyclist, he has always been most content to spend his days outside, constantly distracted by plants. When it was time to pursue higher education, the study of Plant Biology was a clear choice, and he earned his BS at the University of New Hampshire in 1997. Upon graduation, his passion for ecology and the preservation of native flora and fauna had him searching for individuals and organizations that shared his passion. It quickly became clear that there were few local resources for encouraging the use of native plants in landscape environments. He has made it his mission to make native plants, and the knowledge of their critical importance, available to the general public. He founded Native Haunts in 2002; for the last 20 years he’s made it his mission to sustainably propagate and sell native plant materials, sharing the knowledge he has accumulated through his personal experience and his intensive studies as a lecturer and consultant. Shawn has been engaged in ecologically oriented volunteer work for all of his adult life and includes; Steward of Harvey Butler Rhododendron Sanctuary in Springvale 2001 to present, New England Plant Conservation Corps, and the Alfred Conservation Commission.
Ann MacEachern (Acton)
Luckily, I was born into a family that was happy to take the time to explain things to children. One granddad taught industrial arts at junior high level, played the fiddle and built furniture. Gram played the piano, loved books and bought them for all her children and their children. Another Gram taught us the names of wildflowers and collected buttons as a way of learning about world events and history. We all shared a spartan summer camp our family built on a nearby lake. As Dad was the superintendent of a water company, we never left a faucet running, were taught about water quality, aquifers and how sound carries across water. In 1965, my family and close friends made a six week camping expedition across Canada to Alaska and back again. We saw a lot of wondrous country that summer. High school during the late 60s was too tight for me so I wrote my own senior year plan which included a stint at The York County Coast Star, taking a variety of art classes at the Brick Store Museum workshop and spending great deal of time at my art teacher’s farm where “The School Around Us” was established. A couple of years at Goddard College in Vermont followed. Still needing more adventure in my life I opened up a craft shop in Kennebunkport, met a man at a contra dance who became my husband, married him at The Rachel Carson Preserve, moved to Acton, helped build our house, had three wondrous and solid children (raised them all on peaches…thank you to John Prine), raised chickens, went back to college to graduate with a BFA in Art Education and taught in Sanford schools for about 25 years. Through it all, a respect for the natural world, art making, education and social action have remained important to me.
Jean Noon (Springvale)
Organic Sheep Farmer, wire sculptor, photographer, retired art teacher, conservationist. Presently serving on the York & Cumberland Oversight Committee of the USDA Farm Service Agency. Member of the ARRT (Artist Rapid Response Team). Founding member and previous president of Three Rivers Land Trust. Outdoor enthusiast!