Jim Pross is an attorney at the Elder Law Office of Kienitz & Pross in Lewiston, Maine, where his law practice focuses on estate planning, probate, and long term care planning. He has been in private practice in Maine since 2004. Jim graduated college with a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Charleston.  After graduation, he worked in the West Virginia Department of Tax and Revenue and then as a special aid to Governor Cecil H. Underwood.  After his work in state government, Jim moved to Concord, New Hampshire to attend law school.  He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of New Hampshire School of Law in 2004.  Jim has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Androscoggin Land Trust since 2009, including two years as Vice President and two years as President.  His commitment to conservation is rooted in his upbringing in rural Sussex County, New Jersey.  There, he developed an early appreciation for the many ways that open spaces, farmland, and public parks serve as the fabric of a community.  Jim served two-year terms as an Auburn City Councilor and as a member of the Auburn School Committee. His wife, Mia, hails from Lewiston, and the two reside in Auburn with their daughter.  Jim has played in two films, enjoys hiking, playing the guitar, and skiing with his family.

Justin is a lifelong resident of Maine, moving back to his hometown of Greene 20 years ago when he started his family. He received his BS in Psychology, and his Master’s degree in CyberSecurity from Thomas College. He has spent the last 15 years working in IT, currently employed with Included Health as a Senior Support Engineer. He has also started a technology training program with the help of the Julia Adams Morse Memorial Library providing individuals an opportunity to learn about technology at no cost. Justin’s passion has been bringing people outdoors and exploring the wilderness together. To that end, he has spent almost 10 years as a Scout Master in the BSA where he had the privilege of introducing hiking, camping, and conservation skills to the next generation of young adults. He was also fortunate enough to be elected the Vice President, and then President of the Maine Outdoor Adventure Club (MOAC) where he led events, helped coordinate speakers, and played an important role in the adoption of digital tools to engage a broader public. Justin especially enjoys hiking, camping, snow shoeing, and kayaking, and even participated in the ALT Canoe & Kayak River Race.

Jeremy grew up in Turner, Maine and has always enjoyed the outdoors. He is an Eagle Scout and has played music as a percussionist since a young teen. He is graduate from Unity College with a B.S. in Ecology and also earned a M.S. in Business from Husson College. Jeremy and his wife thru-hiked the A.T. in 2010 and hope one day to do it again. Currently Jeremy is the Facility Service’s Horticulturist at Bates College and also the campus’ Arborist. He runs a small greenhouse there and grows pretty flowers and plants for the Bates community to enjoy.

Jeremy appreciates his time outdoors and tries to be there as much as possible. He loves it most when he is able to be with his family and friends. He likes to point out all the trees, plants, flowers, birds, animals and the ecology of the Maine landscape. Jeremy likes to walk in the woods, hike, camp, fish, and take long walks on the beach.

ALT has given Jeremy the exciting opportunity to explore the lands and community he has always called home. Jeremy believes in conserving our natural resources and keeping our world as wild as possible.

Emmy is a Business Developer and Maine Network Coordinator with the Cooperative Development Institute. Emmy has a Master of Business Administrations degree with a focus on sustainable business practices and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies. She has many years of food retail management experience and most recently served as the General Manager for a local Food Cooperative. In recent years she has found joy in spending time with her two kids, coaching and playing soccer, acquiring a black belt in karate alongside her oldest daughter, fostering dogs and exploring the woods by attempting off-trail cross country skiing. She lives with her family in a house they designed and built in the beautiful woods of Androscoggin County. Emmy is originally from Sweden where public land access along with a deeply rooted sense of responsibility to care for the land is woven into the fabric of society. She is excited to bring her perspective on the delicate balance between the need for development, preservation of land, and land access to the ALT board.

Margaret grew up on a small farm on the west coast of Ireland and is well acquainted with and loves the outdoors. Her professional training is in social work and she worked at John F. Murphy Homes for 25 years. She is in the process of retiring from the Maine State Legislature after serving in the House for nine years and the Senate for six. She holds a Masters degree in adult education from USM Gorham and an undergraduate degree in Social Sciences from USM. Margaret is widowed after a fifty year marriage, has two sons and three grandchildren. She is an avid walker and hiker and spent 40 years as a long distance runner. She keeps busy serving on several boards with organizations that provide services to vulnerable populations. Margaret states, “my biggest concern is global warming, but the good news is that we know how to rectify that; we just need to do it.”

Margaret lives with her partner Ted Walworth. Together they like to hike, walk in the woods and tend their garden in season. They also like to travel. In the past three years they have been to Ireland and France and they went to the UK on Queen Mary 2. In January they are headed to the Galapagos. Margaret looks forward to serving on the ALT board and getting to know her fellow members and the staff.

Mary is a life-long resident of Maine.  She first got involved with ALT when she owned the Otis Mill in Jay and helped establish the Otis Falls Mill Recreation Area. She ran Howie’s Welding in Jay for over 30 years and now enjoys retirement. She is active at the Maine Paper Museum, supporting and preserving the history of paper-making in Maine. She is the mother of 2 grown sons and Grammy to 2 granddaughters.

Mary enjoys time spent outside, especially hiking in the mountains. She spends as much time as she can at her condo in Rockwood and kayaking on beautiful Moosehead Lake. She feels it is important work that ALT does, in making sure everyone has access to trails and opportunities to be in touch with the great outdoors.

Judy lives in an antique farmhouse on a “mountaintop” in Greene, Maine. Her surrounding 200 acres of woods and fields, called the “Marden-Chittick Refuge,” is covered by Conservation Easements held by ALT since 2003, and her 200+ year-old brick house is protected by a Preservation Easement held by Maine Preservation.  She has grown to love the concept of perpetuity. Judy has served a number of terms on the Board, beginning in 1991, and previously served as Chair of the Lands Committee, Vice President, and President.  Before retirement, her last career (of five, from events management to HR, all at Bates College over a span of nearly 40 years) was managing the coastal Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area.  An avid outdoorsperson, cross country skier, snowshoer, and kayaker, her favorite way to spend time is in the woods and on the water.

Ashley Medina was born in Texas and has lived in Lewiston, Maine, since she was three years old. She is a proud mom of two teenagers and serves as the Community Engagement Coordinator at Maine Community Integration. Ashley is passionate about using her lived experiences to advocate for positive change in her community. With strong ties to her Indigenous roots, she finds deep healing in nature, reflecting the values of her ancestors who respected and cared for the Earth. Ashley loves nature and is dedicated to learning as much as she can to advocate for the conservation of Maine’s forests. In her role, she works closely with inner-city youth, helping them access the outdoors and encouraging them to explore the environment, learn about wildlife, and experience the mental, physical, and spiritual benefits that come with connecting to nature.

Originally from New Hampshire, Joshua has called Androscoggin County home for almost two decades. As a child spending summers on the family subsistence farm in Richmond, NH with his grandfather, he developed an interest in the interplay of natural environment, local history, agriculture, and outdoor activities which has blossomed into a passion. An avid hiker and outdoors enthusiast, Joshua believes that empowering people to experience our shared wild and green spaces facilitates stewardship and conservation. Joshua gravitated to ALT’s mission due to the overlap in focus and currently volunteers for ALT as a Property Steward of the Packard-Littlefield farm. A former business owner in Lewiston, Joshua works as a business development manager for a leading international travel company located in Portland, ME when he isn’t promoting public trail access, expansion, maintenance and usage or supporting local food access and agricultural small business integration in our community.

Megan keeps busy as a mother of 3 boys. She enjoys hiking, she and her boys have completed three of the fourteen 4,000 foot mountains in Maine. She also enjoys skiing (alpine and Nordic), fishing, hunting and farming with her family. She is an active runner and is currently training for her second marathon. When not busy working on the farm she is usually with her family at Sugarloaf Skiing or in their camp in Northeast Carry fishing. She has been a member of the Turner Budget Committee for the last 14 years. She served on the Livermore Falls Budget committee before that. She records minutes for the Turner Planning Board and was part of the Comprehensive Plan process. She helps coach Youth Track in Turner and competes in track as well. Her home town was East Livermore and graduated from Livermore Falls High School before it became Spruce Mountain. She has a Bachelor’s in Political Science with a Minor in Economics from the University of Maine Farmington. She currently holds many job titles for Ricker Farms but you can usually find her running the Tasting Room in Turner, running the social media for their Hard Cider and ensuring that all the food safety regulations are followed.

Rick, originally from western Pennsylvania, moved to Androscoggin County in 1984 where he served as the director of the Lewiston Public Library for 33 years prior to retiring in 2017. Many of his lifelong interests revolve around his love for Maine’s wild landscapes. Over the years he has backpacked the entire Appalachian Trail in Maine and has canoed many of the state’s waterways. A volunteer stint as a guide at Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary led him to an interest in the flora of Maine which he nourishes through his involvement with the Josselyn Botanical Society and his work as a Plant Conservation Volunteer with the New England Wildflower Society. Other community commitments include serving on the Boards of Directors of both the Maine Humanities Council and the Auburn Nordic Ski Association.

Jon is a life-long resident of Lewiston and currently lives in Lewiston with his wife, Toni, and identical twin daughters Julia and Abigail.  Originally going to UMaine Machias for Environmental Studies with a concentration in Marine Biology, Jon has always felt a desire to be outdoors in nature.  Jon changed his career path to computer technology and has been working in the computer field for over 24 years. Jon currently works for Auburn Savings Bank as VP and IT & Security Officer and owns his own computer consulting business. Jon is a Red Cross Blood Donor Ambassador for the bank, helping out with local blood drives in the area.  Jon enjoys spending time outdoors hiking in Maine and getting out in nature whenever he can. He also enjoys bass fishing with his family, playing hockey locally in the Contractor’s Hockey League, volunteering his time to maintain the hockey league’s website, and watching his daughters play tennis at the collegiate level.

Hunter grew up in Lewiston and lives in a property abutting Thorncrag providing an outlet for his enjoyment of exploring trails. He recently graduated from Bowdoin College with a BS in Economics and works remotely for OGx Consulting, where he works to guide public-sector companies through organizational change management processes. As a lifelong resident of Lewiston who has returned to his hometown after graduating college, he has a keen interest in the future of conservation in Androscoggin County. His passion for conservation has been reinforced with his research into Edmund Muskie’s Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.

Rob teaches science at Spruce Mountain and fosters in students a love of the outdoors. For many years he has coached a local group of students in Envirothon, an annual competition that tests high school students’ knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management. Along with his high school students he stewards Stevens Island, a land trust property located on the Androscoggin River. In his free time he enjoys hunting.