Because everyone needs a good advocate.

Advocacy Matters, LLC founder, Gwendolyn Lacy, principal attorney, consultant, and mediator, works with private landowners, regional, local, and national land conservancies, as well as governmental agencies and environmental organizations to actively preserve those special places where life-long memories and legacies are forged. Client Services, include drafting and/or review of conservation easements, land acquisitions, historic preservation, mediation of easement violations, legislative advocacy, eminent domain, succession planning and non-profit capacity building.

Serving the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest Regions of the U.S.

BackOffice Thinking is the creator of LOCATE, the premier land trust database built on Salesforce. Besides LOCATE, we also design, built, and support websites as well as implement and support nonprofit CRMs ( Salesforce, NeonCRM, and CiviCRM ) and provide technology assessments to help guide nonprofits to right decisions.

Although we work with a variety of nonprofits, we have particular expertise with conservation-focused organizations and cultural destination nonprofits such as land trusts, botanical gardens, and smaller museums. Last year we worked with over 50 conservation-based organizations.

Judy Anderson of Community Consultants has worked in the land trust sector for over 30 years. She currently assists nonprofit organizations on practical strategic conservation initiatives incorporating local communities, climate change, governance, communications and marking, and community-based fundraising strategies.

Judy offers a free bi-monthly newsletter related to climate change, conservation and land trusts taking action to slow down climate. Judy also provides coaching on inclusive conservation, easement drafting and stewardship, and building greater community relevance to ensure land trusts withstand the test of time.

Judy coaches remotely as well as proving in-person trainings, workshops, and discussions.

David Allen at Development for Conservation assists conservation organizations raising money from individual donors by improving renewal, cultivation, and major gift development systems. David brings 25 years of experience to the practice, including 13 with The Nature Conservancy. With a focus on implementation and follow-through, he has worked with dozens of land trusts across the country on fundraising audits and plans, board training, campaigns, and coaching. “You can raise more money for your land trust. I can help."

Grant & Lyons was founded in 1994. Since founding, our practice is dedicated solely to environmental, land use and real estate law. One of our founding partners, Drayton Grant (now deceased), was a founding member of the Winnakee Land Trust in Rhinebeck, NY. Current partner, John Lyons, presently sits on the Board of Directors of both the Winnakee Land Trust and the Catskill Center (whose land trust was recently accredited by LTA) and sits on the Board’s stewardship committee. John is an individual member of the LTA. Our legal practice regularly involves all facets of conservation easements. We represent both land trusts and landowners. We have drafted, negotiated and reviewed many easements, and provided legal advice to parties on both sides of the conservation easement equation. In addition to helping Winnakee and the Catskill Center, we also have worked with Scenic Hudson, Dutchess Land Conservancy, and Hudson River Heritage (for whom we successfully defended a lawsuit seeking to extinguish a conservation easement). We participate actively in continuing legal education to remain at the forefront of new developments in this field. We also work regularly with planners on open space preservation initiatives for our municipal clients.

After 19 years as a conservation professional, I decided to launch Strong Outcomes to use what I learned to help environmental agencies and organizations be more successful.

In my career, I have helped dozens of communities and organizations build capacity to conserve natural resources and authored a book on natural resource-based land use planning. I developed conservation plans, organized workshops and events, developed community engagement strategies, and implemented practical measures of success.

I have a BS in Biology and an MS in Biodiversity Conservation and Policy from the University at Albany, and a Certificate in Change Leadership from Cornell University. I am a Senior Fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program and have 13 years of nonprofit board experience.