Staff

Marcella Brawley

Associate Director, Major and Planned Gifts

(415) 663-1158 ext. 318 | Email

Marcella joined MALT in 2017 to help grow and develop the organization’s major gift program. She is focused on building and maintaining strong relationships with our supporters. Prior to joining MALT, Marcella was a major gift officer at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. She has spent the last ten years of her career as a development professional and fundraiser for various non-profit organizations around the Bay Area. She holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Hawaii Pacific University and a master’s degree in Asia Pacific studies from the University of San Francisco.

Jennifer Maude Carlin

Director of Advancement

(415) 663-1158 ext. 315 | Email

Jennifer joined MALT in 2019 to lead its strategic fundraising, communications and outreach programs. Prior to joining MALT, Jennifer served as the director of development at Ten Strands, an environmental education organization committed to bringing environmental literacy to all of California’s K–12 students. Jennifer has worked in the nonprofit sector for more than 20 years with a focus on development, engagement, philanthropic partnerships and organizational capacity building. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from DePauw University.

Jeff Clare

Acquisition Project Manager

(415) 663-1158 ext. 322 | Email

Jeff joined MALT in 2021 as a member of the acquisitions team. Prior to MALT, Jeff worked as a transactional real estate attorney. Jeff holds a law degree from UC Berkeley School of Law where he specialized in environmental law, and a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and international affairs from the George Washington University. Jeff spends his free time hiking throughout the Bay Area and cooking for his family.

Tristan Conway

Community Engagement Manager

(415) 663-1158 ext. 321 | Email

Tristan oversees MALT’s community engagement efforts and coordinates MALT’s dedicated team of volunteers. Prior to joining MALT in 2016, Tristan worked for Ocean Riders of Marin as a program developer and community outreach coordinator. She spent years working in specialty veterinary medicine and has worked for the USDA Agriculture Research Service. Tristan is a graduate of Oregon State University and holds a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture Science with an emphasis in Animal Science.

Isabel French

Associate Director, Communications and Community Engagement

(415) 663-1158 ext. 311 | Email

Isabel joined the MALT team in 2018 to oversee communications and community engagement. Before coming to MALT, Isabel directed communications and development for San Francisco Friends School, a Quaker school in the Mission District of San Francisco, and for Children Now, a children’s policy and advocacy organization in Oakland. Prior to that, she served on development teams for educational non-profits in the Bay Area and as an English teacher in a small town outside of Madrid, Spain. Isabel holds a Bachelor of Arts in cultural anthropology from University of California, Santa Cruz.

Peter Fugazzotto

Senior Manager, Donor Experience

(415) 663-1158 ext. 323 | Email

Peter joined the MALT team in 2018 and currently manages online and direct mail fundraising for MALT’s core donors. Before coming to MALT, Peter led online and offline individual donor efforts and coordinated online advocacy programs at Turtle Island Restoration Network, a marine conservation organization. Prior to that, he provided fundraising and communications consulting for a range of environmentally-focused nonprofits. Peter holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Stanford University.

Lexi Fujii

Development & Communications Coordinator

(415) 663-1158 ext. 312 | Email

Lexi Fujii joined MALT in 2020 to support the fundraising, communications and events teams through digital communications. Prior to joining the MALT team, Lexi worked for a variety of farm, garden and education organizations, and ran her own wedding events business. She holds a Bachelor of Science in sustainable agriculture and food systems from the University of California, Davis, where she developed a deep passion for and interest in sustainability, food and farming. 

Colleen Hogan

Operations Manager

(415) 663-1158 ext. 300 | Email

Colleen joined the MALT team in 2014. Her responsibilities include maintaining and improving the MALT office and technologies, assisting with recruiting and training, providing support to the executive director and board of directors and general operational management. Colleen has more than 25 years of operations experience, including 16 years as director of administration and coaching operations for E-Myth Worldwide, a small business training organization. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Whittier College.

Thane Kreiner, PhD

Chief Executive Officer

(415) 663-1158 | Email

Thane joined MALT in 2021 as CEO, where he leads strategy, innovation and the team to build regenerative, inclusive, local agriculture systems. Prior to joining MALT, Thane served for a decade as executive director of Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University, which accelerated more than 1,000 ventures serving the poor and protecting the planet. He built and was CEO of multiple life sciences ventures during his 17 years in the private sector. Thane earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Neurosciences and Master of Business Administration from Stanford University; he holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Texas, Austin. 

Kathryn Lyddan

Director of Conservation

(415) 663-1158 ext. 320 | Email

Kathryn oversees MALT’s conservation program. A former real estate lawyer, Kathryn has fifteen years of experience completing complex conservation transactions. Prior to joining MALT, Kathryn served as the executive director of the Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust and the director of the California Department of Conservation’s Division of Land Resource Protection. Kathryn holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California and a law degree from Hasting College of the Law.

Zach Mendes

Associate Director of Conservation — Stewardship

(415) 663-1158 ext. 304 | Email

Zach works closely with the director of conservation, supervising stewardship staff, monitoring MALT’s easement interests through annual visits, providing stewardship assistance to farmers and ranchers, reviewing new prospective easement projects and representing MALT at local and regional levels on collaborative conservation and stewardship efforts. Zach joined MALT in 2014, having previously worked with the Northern California Regional Land Trust. He comes from a dairy farming family in Glenn County and holds a bachelor’s degree in urban studies and planning from the University of California, San Diego.

Lana Richards

Development Associate

(415) 663-1158 ext. 309 | Email

Lana joined MALT in 2020 as a member of the development team. She has previously worked with the Avalonia Land Trust in New England and with the Big Sur Land Trust in Monterey, and has been a member of fundraising and customer service teams at various theater companies. Lana holds a Bachelor of Arts in theater with a certificate in environmental studies from the Goodwin-Niering Center for the Environment at Connecticut College.

Denise Rocco-Zilber

Senior Manager, Donor Stewardship

(415) 663-1158 ext. 310 | Email

Denise joined MALT in 2012 and manages MALT’s fundraising events. Prior to working with MALT, Denise produced and designed events set in unique West Marin locations utilizing only local foods, sustainable businesses and resources. Before her career in event production, Denise was a professional environmental photographer reporting stories from more than 15 countries. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in documentary photography from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston.

Eric Rubenstahl

Stewardship Program Manager — Easements

(415) 663-1158 ext. 319 | Email

Eric joined MALT in 2016 to assist in monitoring existing conservation easements, help evaluate future agriculture conservation easements and facilitate best management practices on MALT’s working landscapes. Prior to joining the MALT team, Eric worked with the City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Department and with the South Yuba River Citizens League in Nevada City, California. Eric holds a master’s degree in conservation leadership from Colorado State University, where his thesis research consisted of creating a management plan for a 22,000-acre protected area in southern Belize.

Maggie Sowell

Senior Manager, Communications

(415) 663-1158 ext. 308 | Email

Maggie joined the MALT team in 2019. Before coming to MALT, Maggie oversaw communications at a variety of nonprofit organizations in California and beyond, and taught English and creative writing in Sonoma County and New Orleans, Louisiana. Maggie holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Smith College Program for the Study of Women & Gender and a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University.

Nancy Turner

Accounting Manager

(415) 663-1158 ext. 316 | Email

Nancy joined MALT in 2018 to handle the organization’s day-to-day accounting functions and support the director of operations with finance, reporting and human relations. Nancy has spent 30 years in both public and private accounting and a lifetime wandering local hills and trails, where she honed her deep love of nature and the bucolic open spaces of West Marin. Nancy holds a C.P.A. license (inactive), a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in taxation.

Sydney Weisbach

Major Gifts Coordinator

(415) 663-1158 ext. 305 | Email

Sydney came to MALT in 2019 to support the major gifts team in achieving fundraising objectives. Sydney grew up in Marin County where she developed a passion for cooking and sustainability. Her two passions combined into a degree in agriculture and environmental science at McGill University. Prior to joining the MALT team, Sydney worked in a variety of farm and food businesses around the West and East coasts.