Staff

Parading through Springfield farmland. Photo: Bruce Johnson Photography, Cooperstown

 The Otsego Land Trust hired its first full-time staff member in 2002. Today, our small, but growing team includes professionals with extensive conservation experienceacquired with organizations working at the local, regional and national level.

Virginia Kennedy

Executive Director

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Virginia comes to Otsego Land Trust via the Delaware Highlands Conservancy, a land trust working to protect lands in the Upper Delaware River Watershed, where she served as Outreach and Development Manager. Virginia is a published writer who holds an MA in English from Montclair State University and a PhD in English and American Indian Studies from Cornell University, where her research and writing focused on environmental ethics. The recipient of several grants and fellowship awards through Cornell’s American Indian Program, Virginia was given the opportunity to travel to Native and non-Native communities around the U.S. to explore different cultural approaches to protecting the land. Prior to her work in the land trust field, Virginia taught high school and college level English, focusing on multiethnic and environmental literature as way to get students to connect to diverse human communities and the particular lands that contribute so much to making these communities what they are. Virginia and her husband, Kevin, who also works in the environmental field, have three children, Daniel, Joseph, and Marygrace.

Connie Tedesco

Field Representative

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Connie works with local landowners to protect and steward their cherished lands. She has also worked as a botanist for the U.S. Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy in New York and has compiled the first comprehensive flora of Otsego County. Connie serves as a board member for the New York Flora Association and has extensive administrative experience as a former postmaster. Connie has a Bachelor degree in plant science from Cornell University, and a Masters degree in biology from State University of New York–Oneonta. Connie lives in the 1792 Butterfield Tavern, known locally as the White House, overlooking Upper Otego Creek. She has two grown daughters, Jane and Sally, and three grandchildren, Quincy, Sam, and Liana.

Marcie Foster

Outreach Coordinator

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Marcie coordinates outreach activities such as, hikes, workshops and events. Marcie serves as the Peterson Conservation Fellow, a seasonal position developed in 2008 to honor the conservation legacy of our past president Dr. Earle Peterson. Marcie grew up in Cooperstown and graduated from State University of New York–New Paltz with a Bachelor degree in geography in 2008. Prior to Otsego Land Trust, Marcie worked for the Student Conservation Association in Arizona, where she conducted archaeological surveys and traveled around the Southwest camping, backpacking, and visiting archaeological sites. In her free time she enjoys traveling, hiking, swimming, rock climbing, identifying plants, and walking her dogs in the Red Creek watershed, where she lives.

Employment Opportunities

The Otsego Land Trust seeks qualified candidates who are committed to our mission and have a passion for land protection locally and regionally. Please follow the links below to learn more about available positions and how to apply for a job at the Otsego Land Trust.

We are an equal opportunity employer.