Openlands Vice President of Conservation, Emy Brawley, has completed a two-year term as President of the Prairie State Conservation Coalition (PSCC). As of March 3, she steps into the one-year role of immediate past President. Originally joining the PSCC board of directors in 2010, she served both as Treasurer and Vice President before being nominated and elected to serve as President of the Board.
Prairie State Conservation Coalition is the statewide organization founded to serve and strengthen the 35+ conservation land trusts operating in Illinois. Conservation land trusts are local, non-profit organizations that permanently protect land and water resources through land acquisition, conservation easements, and other tools. PSCC works to leverage the power of conservation land trusts and their members into strong statewide policies and practices benefiting land conservation. Collectively, Illinois’ conservation land trusts have protected over 200,000 acres of private land across the state in the past fifty years.
“My goal in supporting PSCC is to increase the amount of protected natural habitat and open space in the state through a strong network of conservation land trusts that have ample capacity, resources, technical skills, and public support,” says Brawley. “People instinctively understand that more open space improves their quality of life and ensures healthier, more sustainable communities for the future.”
Having joined Openlands in 2008, Emy currently oversees the land protection, restoration, stewardship, and greenways programs, develops and executes organizational strategy and regional conservation goals, creates and strengthens strategic partnerships, and originates innovative and complex multiple-party initiatives to protect land and water.
“These days, private land conservation is more important than ever. Governments are stretched thin, and long-term investments in parks and open space are at risk. Conservation land trusts fill a vital role in protecting and restoring land, and in providing opportunities for Illinois’ residents to connect with nature,” says Brawley.
Learn more about Openlands’ work to protect land and water.