TEXAS AG LAND TRUST - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Board Officer / past Chairman, San Antonio
Although Charles Davidson grew up in Houston, he has always felt completely at home in rural Texas.
Andy James' natural resource career got started at a very tender age. At a time when many teens are slinging burgers at a fast-food joint, Andy James was conducting vegetation transects with Texas A&M graduate students for a research project at Fort Hood.
Andy James' natural resource career got started at a very tender age. His conservation career was started at 15 when his high school 4-H plant identification team caught the attention of a professor a Texas A&M. That high school connection led to a Bachelor of Science degree in Rangeland Ecology and Management at Texas A&M, followed by a master's degree in Natural Resource Management at the Borderlands Research Institute at Sul Ross State University.
Job Titles:
- President
- Board Member / past Chairman, Victoria
McCan, who has served as president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and the president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, understands the forces that buffet ranching families and can lead to land fragmentation. In 1987, his extended family partitioned the historic McFaddin Ranch. McCan's father and aunt kept their holdings together as an operational unit, he said. The Victoria County property, where they operate today, was purchased in 1878.
The McFaddin family, of which Bob McCan represents the fifth generation, has always seen the value of productive working land.
"We've had a cattle company for almost 140 years," McCan, who manages ranches in Victoria, Bee and Refugio counties under the umbrella of McFaddin Enterprises, said. "We also operate a large-scale recreational hunting enterprise to diversify our ranch income."
Brad Pfeil has spent his entire life appreciating the heritage of working lands. He grew up in Florida, where his father has managed several ranches for the same family for more than 40 years.
"Watching and learning from my parents is what inspired my career path," said Pfeil. "That's our calling in life, working with families to steward and protect their land."
What he observed while growing up is one of the reasons he is now in Texas working for the Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT).
"Growing up in South Florida, I witnessed first-hand the rapid fragmentation of large agricultural operations and multi-generational family properties, especially through the historic residential boom and subsequent crash of the early 2000s," he said. "The very ranch I grew up on was sold during that time and purchased by a residential developer at the peak of the land boom. These experiences are part of what drew me to Texas in the first place."
He earned a Rangeland Ecology and Management degree from Texas A&M, and after a stint in the commercial agriculture and hunting industries in Australia and New Zealand, he set his sights on advancing his career in Texas.
TALT's mission statement to conserve the Texas heritage of agriculture lands, wildlife habitats, and natural resources were right in line with my passions in life.
Job Titles:
- General Counsel and Director of Additive Conservation
Joining the team at the Texas Agricultural Land Trust is a convergence of Brandon's ranching background, legal experience, and conservation ethic. Brandon grew up in the big sky country north of Abilene, Texas. Like the canyons carved by the Clear Fork of the Brazos River, Brandon's upbringing on his great grandfather's ranch shaped his character, seeded his conservation ethic, and endowed him with a natural inclination to look to the frontier.
Job Titles:
- Director of Project Management
Brenna Gaik has been around farmers and ranchers all her life. Her dad was a farm manager for a dairy and hog operation in the state of New York, and her family was also in the rodeo business.
She was involved in farm management through FFA in high school, and knew she would pursue a career in agriculture following college. She graduated from the College of the Ozarks with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science and Agribusiness, working for her tuition along with her fellow students. She worked on the college's dairy farm and beef operation, which not only allowed her to graduate with zero college debt, but also set her up with some impressive experience for her first jobs after she graduated.
In 2014 she landed at the Noble Research Institute in Ardmore, Oklahoma as an administrative assistant, and was then promoted to Education Associate. For the last six years at Noble, she worked on community advancement and education programs, coordinating the activities of the Lloyd Noble Scholars in Agriculture. She also developed train-the-trainer courses and learned about audience engagement strategies. That's also where she met Chad Ellis, who now leads the Texas Agriculture Land Trust (TALT).
In March 2022, she joined the TALT team as Director of Project Management, where she will be responsible for keeping all major TALT projects on track.
"My hope is that by joining the TALT team, I will be able to utilize my experiences in producer relations, education and project management to bring efficiency to processes within the organization and nurture the relationships with the farmers and ranchers that we serve," she said.
Brenna lives in Ardmore OK, where she is an active volunteer, serving on the Advisory Board for the Salvation Army, and the Board of Directors for United Way of South Central Oklahoma.
Brenna Gaik has been around farmers and ranchers all her life. Her dad was a farm manager for a dairy and hog operation in the state of New York, and her family was also in the rodeo business. Her unique skillset brings balance and efficiency to the TALT family.
Every step of Chad Ellis' life journey has led him to his new role as CEO of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT). He grew up on his family's ranch in Lohn, just north of Brady, in the heart of Texas. His graduating class numbered four students. His rural upbringing engendered a love for the hunting, fishing, and ranching heritage he cherishes.
He grew up listening to stories about his grandfather's ranch near Belton. In the 1950s, the family was pushed off their land by eminent domain proceedings related to the construction of Stillhouse Hollow Lake by the Army Corps of Engineers. He can still recall the conversations around the kitchen table about that life-altering move.
"It was tough for my family and as I grew older, I realized how many pressures can come to bear upon working lands and how livelihoods and passions can be upended overnight by unforeseen circumstances," said Ellis. "That's one of the things that draws me to TALT. TALT's core principles are about property rights and finding the right tools to help landowners keep working lands working and pass it along to the next generation."
Chad's father moved to Lohn to raise their family on a small farm. He was a professor and taught business courses at Howard Payne University in Brownwood. He also served as director of a small business incubator that served the rural community.
"Watching my dad working with ranchers and farmers and other rural businesses helped me understand that Texas working lands are businesses first and have to be profitable to be sustainable," he said.
While in high school, he spent his summers working at a fly-fishing shop in Colorado, where he also served as a fishing guide. Back home in Texas, he worked as a ranch hand on two different ranches in Lohn. Reed Ranch owner Klien Reed was his first mentor, and inspired in him an appreciation for innovation.
"Klien Reed was an early adopter and an innovative producer," he said. "He was always trying new things and he really helped me understand the dynamics of ranching and ecology."
Chad's interests led him to Sul Ross State University in Alpine, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Natural Resource Management. His first career aspiration was to become a Texas Game Warden.
"After I took a wildlife law class, I realized that game wardens spend most of their time working during hunting and fishing seasons, so I decided that was probably not the best career choice," he said. "I then shifted my focus to opportunities in wildlife and habitat management."
While earning his degree, he gained experience on several Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wildlife management areas. That's where he really made the connection between research and land management practices.
"Experiences at Kerr, Elephant Mountain, and Black Gap helped me see how wildlife research is applied to the landscape and the role that private land stewards play in conservation," he said.
He then went on to get a master's degree in animal science with an emphasis on range management at Angelo State University and worked as a research assistant. His first professional job was with the USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). His career took off from there and he spent the next 13 years moving up the ranks of NRCS in increasingly responsible positions. Those positions allowed him to hone his leadership skills and work with a variety of nonprofit partners, but they also took him further and further away from working directly with producers on the land.
"I had worked closely with the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Oklahoma during my tenure with NRCS, and I admired the work they were doing with agricultural producers across the country," said Chad. "When they offered me a position in 2012 to work directly with landowners as a range and pasture consultant, it was an opportunity I couldn't refuse."
Chad quickly moved up in that organization, too, and learned the ropes of working in a nonprofit. The organization was rebranded as the Noble Research Institute during his tenure, and his most recent position was Industry Relations and Stewardship Manager, working across the nation on a variety of projects. That experience positioned him perfectly for the challenge of taking on the CEO role at the Texas Agricultural Land Trust.
"The position at TALT brings together every experience I've gained throughout my professional career," said Chad. "It speaks to the passion I have for working lands and conservation, and my respect for the farmers and ranchers of Texas who steward the land we love."
As he reflected on his life journey, Chad brought it back home to the story of his grandfather.
"I can't help but think about my own family story as I think about TALT's mission," he said. "It will be so meaningful to work with landowners to provide the tools they need to keep their family ranch and hand it down to the next generation."
Chad and his family glad to be in the San Antonio area, just a few hours away from the family ranch in Lohn, where his parents still live.
"It is great to be back home in Texas," said Chad. "I look forward to working with and learning from the incredible team at TALT and building on the sound foundation that has been created by Blair Fitzsimons and TALT's Board of Directors."
Every step of Chad Ellis' life journey has led him to his role as CEO of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT). He grew up on his family's ranch in Lohn, just north of Brady, in the heart of Texas. His rural upbringing engendered a love for the hunting, fishing, and ranching heritage he cherishes.
"I didn't know a whole lot about TALT beforehand, and within five minutes of meeting James and Blair, I knew I wanted to be affiliated with the organization," said Miller. "They are the right kind of people who are doing the right thing. Whatever they're selling, I'm buying."
As it turned out, TALT was not selling anything. Which sold Miller completely.
"Blair and James made it clear that TALT was not pushing anything on anybody," said Miller. "We just want people to know that a conservation easement is a voluntary option for private landowners to preserve their land legacy. That's the message we want to share. I'm a ranch guy who comes from a ranching background, and I hope that adds some credibility to our message."
Miller has a deep understanding of the heritage of ranching and the legacy of land. His great-grandfather purchased a ranch near Valentine in 1925, and Miller is the fourth generation of his family to work the land. After college and working on other ranches and feed yards, Miller returned home to be close to family, as well as raise his own. He continues to care for land and livestock, and serves on the boards of the Trans-Pecos Grazing Land Coalition and the Jeff Davis County Underground Water District. As TALT's Regional Land Steward in the Trans-Pecos, Miller will be educating landowners about what TALT has to offer.
"I've spent most of my life right here in West Texas, and in the last 20 years I've seen a lot of family ranches around here split into pieces and sold," said Miller. "Every time that happens, the ranching community of the Trans-Pecos loses a little bit more of that heritage. It's personal for me. I want to do everything I can to help landowners preserve their land legacy for future generations."
Carrying on a family tradition is woven into Clay Richardson's DNA. He is the sixth generation to work his family's ranch in Crockett County near Ozona. His forebears came to the area in the late 1800s as sheepherders, and the family still tends sheep and goats, along with a prized herd of Hereford cattle whose lineage dates back more than a century.
In late 2023, Clay stepped up to serve on the board of directors for the Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT). That, too, is a family tradition.
"My dad Wade Richardson served on TALT's original board, and my mom Jane Richardson succeeded him on the board. When I was asked to serve after she stepped down, I realized it was my turn to give back," he said.
Besides his family land in Crockett County, Clay also manages other properties in Edwards and Val Verde counties in Texas and a ranch in Creede, Colorado. Conservation of wildlife resources while maintaining optimum livestock production is the cornerstone of his business model. He is passionate about his family's land legacy and is doing all he can to conserve it for future generations.
"Once land is subdivided, it is changed forever," said Clay. "I am a voice for protecting the wide-open spaces of Texas."
Clay earned a degree in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M in 2005 and completed the TCU Ranch Management Program in 2006. Now one of the highlights of his year is hosting the TCU Ranch Management class on the family ranch. The Richardson family also operates Dairy Queen franchises across the state.
Colin Walden has been around agriculture and natural resources management since childhood. Growing up outside a small town in southern Oklahoma, he helped his family raise show pigs and a small cow herd. From there, he attended Oklahoma State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Ecology & Management in 2008 with a minor in Animal Science.
He worked with USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service from 2009 to 2023 as a rangeland management specialist, where he led technical teams in the development of ecological site descriptions and also provided training to employees and landowners regarding land management outcomes throughout the southern great plains region of Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. In 2018 he earned his real estate license and he specializes in buying and selling farm, ranch and commercial properties in his spare time. He has also done some baseline monitoring work as a contractor for the Texas Agricultural Land Trust in the last couple of years.
The intersection of his interest in conservation and real estate transactions led him to more in-depth discussions with TALT CEO Chad Ellis, whom he had known when Ellis was at the Noble Foundation in Oklahoma prior to taking the helm at TALT.
"I was ready to make a career move, and that coincided with TALT's need for additional help with the many conservations easements that are in the pipeline," said Walden. "I believe in the mission of keeping working lands working. We talk about conserving soil and water for future generations, and if we don't keep parking lots and subdivisions off some of it, we won't have any soil and water to conserve. That's what really drew me to TALT. I am passionate about the mission."
Walden will join the growing land team at TALT that is shepherding conservation easements through the pipeline.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer and Director of Land Conservation
After a 33-year career with USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Darren Clark made the decision to retire from federal service at the end of July 2021. He wasn't quite sure what he would do next. And then TALT CEO Chad Ellis called.
"I've known Chad for years, and our paths crossed through my work as the NRCS State Easement Program Manager," said Clark. "He congratulated me on retiring, and then asked me if I wanted to join the team at the Texas Agricultural Land Trust. My retirement lasted all of a month!"
Clark signed on with TALT as Chief Operating Officer and Director of Land Conservation effective September 1, 2021. Clark's career at NRCS perfectly positions him for his new role with TALT. He has interacted with Texas landowners for years, and in his last position with NRCS he oversaw the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) for the state of Texas. ACEP is a Farm Bill program that funds purchased conservation easements and is a program TALT has utilized with certain landowners.
"Over the last ten years there's been a growing interest in conservation easements as a flexible management tool," said Clark. "Of all the conservation measures you can apply to a piece of ground, an easement provides the longest-lasting bang for the buck. It protects open land in perpetuity and it keeps working lands working."
Clark notes that there have been a lot of misperceptions about what a conservation easement is and how it benefits landowning families. Clark says his experience has been that once a landowner learns more about it, they understand that it is not a one-size-fits-all approach and that each individual easement can be tailored to the needs of the landowner.
After a 33-year career with USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Darren Clark took on his role with TALT as Chief Operating Officer and Director of Land Conservation in September of 2021. Clark understands that conservation easements are not one-size-fits-all, but that each individual easement needs to be tailored to the needs of the landowner.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Board Member / Nacogdoches
Job Titles:
- Board Officer / Corpus Christi
"We sold our family businesses in Corpus in the late 1980s and we started investing in good ranchland," said Crow, whose holdings now include four South Texas ranches in Bee and Goliad counties and a fifth in Jeff Davis county in far West Texas.
In the ensuing years, Crow has not only seen the Texas landscape change in response to a growing population, but has seen views about conservation easements change.
"TALT and other land trusts have done a good job in helping people understand the importance of conservation easements," said Crow, who serves on the TSCRA Board of Directors and the Grazing Land Coalition for the Coastal Prairies. "Certainly, there is much education left to be done, but the millennial generation, of which my kids are a part, have grown up watching open spaces disappear. They're now coming of age, knowing they are the ones who will steward these lands into the future-and they're open to tools like conservation easements that can make that job easier."
Crow's son is working in the family's ranching business and the transition to a second generation of ownership and leadership is underway. While they don't work on the ranch daily, his three daughters are passionate about keeping land intact.
"They-and I don't think they're alone-understand that no one is making any more land," Crow said. "And we get one shot because it's tough to put it back together."
Despite the demands on his time, Crow joined the TALT board because its mission is "good and necessary," especially since it focuses on productive working lands.
"Working lands are crucial to the environment and the economy," Crow said. "TALT can play a pivotal role in Texas."
David Crow, a lifelong Corpus Christi resident and first generation rancher, changed his career path and followed Read More
David Waggoner, who lives and works in Hill and Navarro counties, understands the importance of production agriculture and the various resources required to achieve a wholesome and plentiful food supply. Moreover, he recognizes the need to conserve and maintain working lands across the state.
"I've been involved in agriculture from production to policy-it's fundamental to who I am," said Waggoner, who founded The Waggoner Law Firm in 2000. Prior to practicing law, David worked in several national policy positions in Washington, D.C., including the U.S. Department of Agriculture during President George H.W. Bush's Administration.
A graduate of Texas Tech University's College of Agricultural Sciences and Law School, Waggoner recognizes that the agricultural sector is increasingly challenged to meet higher demands for food and fiber while conserving and protecting natural resources such as water. Yet, at the same time, Texas is losing acres of agricultural land to urban sprawl.
David's passion for production agriculture and natural resource conservation can be traced back to his childhood experiences on a cattle operation near Athens where his family produced commercial and purebred cattle.
In addition to serving on the TALT board, Waggoner is a two-term President of Hill County Farm Bureau, a Superintendent at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, recent past President of the Texas 4-H Youth Foundation Board, and Co-chair of the Annual Agricultural Law Course for the State Bar of Texas.
"TALT's primary mission of promoting conservation of open space land while recognizing the role of private land stewardship is an admirable endeavor," Waggoner said. "TALT is forward thinking and uses strong research and science as it provides practical options for land conservation."
Deborah Clark is a familiar face in agricultural and conservation circles in Texas and beyond. Though she came to the ranching game relatively late in life, she has become one of the most well-respected ranchers in Texas and is considered to be an expert in the field of regenerative ranching. Among many other accomplishments, she is a certified educator with Holistic Management International.
Along with her husband Emry Birdwell, Clark runs the Birdwell and Clark Ranch in Clay County in North Texas. The ranch operates under holistic management principles, and since the two acquired the ranch in 2004, a seemingly miraculous transformation has occurred, with native tallgrass prairie re-emerging across the landscape. The healthy habitat now supports not only their cattle herd, but also a healthy array of wildlife.
Clark and her husband freely share their knowledge, inviting landowners, university students and many others on to their land for research projects and workshops. They also welcome hunters young and old to their property, from the youngsters involved with the Texas Youth Hunting Program, to the annual Clay County Dove Salute for the service men and women stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls.
The ranch has been honored with numerous prestigious awards, including Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Lone Star Land Steward Award and the Environmental Stewardship Award from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Clark has been honored with numerous awards, too, including the Terry Hershey Award through Audubon Texas' Women in Conservation program.
Clark's expertise has been recognized by many organizations who have recruited her for board service. She has served on the board for Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers and the Texas Wildlife Association. She also currently serves on TPWD's Wildlife Diversity Advisory Committee and is a former member of TPWD's Upland Game Bird Advisory Council. She gives back on myriad local boards for causes close to her heart, including the Henrietta Independent School District Education Foundation and Clark Gardens. In 2023, Clark accepted the invitation to serve on to the board of directors of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT).
"Emry and I had a very positive experience with TALT in 2022 when we closed on a conservation easement to forever protect our ranch from future development," said Clark. "What we learned in this process is that the ranch will be protected from fragmentation and yet still leave our adult children and grandchildren the option of selling it if that time ever came. I think that is one of the biggest misconceptions about private lands placed in a conservation easement. People are hesitant to make this decision because they fear it will handcuff future generations. That simply isn't true. We have found the whole process to be freeing, and putting our ranch in a conservation easement has allowed Emry and me to sleep soundly for the first time in almost 20 years."
Clark says that experience is one of the reasons she was inspired to join the TALT board.
Everyone involved in TALT wants to build the organization the right way. They understand that the organization must be sustainable to fulfill the charge of holding conservation easements in perpetuity.
Job Titles:
- Board Member / San Antonio
- Director of the Texas a & M Natural Resources Institute
- Secretary, San Antonio
"My team works to identify the trends, and the drivers behind them, that are reshaping Texas. Organizations like TALT need numbers, photos and analysis to support their passion when they make the case for conserving Texas' working lands," said Lopez, whose family has ranched in Starr County for the last six generations. "By basing decisions on current, fact-based information, TALT can be nimble, responsive and pro-active."
As the Director of the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, Dr. Roel Lopez uses data to tell the story of
For Fay Fitzsimons Walker, an interest in the intersection of natural resource conservation, policy and energy development, combined with her ranching roots, has defined her career path. It also defines how she chooses to spend her time serving her community, and is one of the reasons she is now serving on the board of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT).
Her family's deep commitment to TALT is well-known. Her mother, Blair Fitzsimons, helped shepherd the organization into existence, and now serves as CEO Emeritus. Her father, Joseph Fitzsimons, and her aunt closed on a conservation easement on their family ranch in South Texas with TALT in 2009, forever protecting the land for future generations.
"I've seen firsthand how hard it is to keep ranches together for families," said Walker. "But it's really so much bigger than that. It's about mitigating land fragmentation, which means ensuring a stable food source and fresh water and air that we all rely on. I think there is still a lot of work to be done to make that connection for folks, and I look forward to helping to spread that word."
Walker currently serves as Manager of Government Affairs and Community Engagement for Apache Corporation, a global exploration and production company based in Houston. In addition to her service on TALT's board, she also serves as a director of the Texas Wildlife Association. She graduated from The University of the South in Sewanee, TN.
Along with a busy work life and service work, Walker and her husband are raising a family. Her toddler son represents the next generation that will steward the family lands.
"I can't expect him to carry on this legacy that my dad and my grandfather and my great-grandfather fought so hard to protect if I don't put in the good work to really understand these really important issues that are facing his evolving world that we're living in," she said. "When it comes to water and conservation and habitat and land stewardship in general, it's ever changing. I am grateful to have a seat at the TALT table to continue to learn and to share that knowledge with others."
Water and conservation and habitat and land stewardship in general is ever changing
Hannah Blankenship developed her passion for agriculture as a child in south-central Oklahoma where her focus was livestock, 4-H and FFA. Her father works as a wildlife and range consultant for the Noble Foundation (now the Noble Research Institute), an organization known for its cutting-edge, real world agricultural research and extension, so she grew up immersed in applied research and outdoor pursuits.
"I'm in the field from the start of dove season in September to the end of turkey season in the spring," Blankenship said. "The land is our vocation and our avocation."
Her interests led her to Oklahoma State University where she earned a degree in rangeland ecology in 2016. As a college student, she interned for the Natural Resources Conservation Service for three summers.
"I've experienced applied conservation from the federal side," Blankenship said. "TALT offers me the chance to be on the front lines of an action-oriented non-profit."
Colleagues from the Noble Research Institute, the Rolling Plains Bobwhite Brigade and the NRCS sent Blankenship the job posting and encouraged her to apply.
"This job is an intersection of my passions," Blankenship said. "Personally, I want to help bridge the understanding gap between urban and rural America. Agriculture is so much more than a weathered cowboy in a beat-up hat. It's a vital economic and ecological engine that is essential for our wellbeing."
"Learning is a lifelong process," Blankenship said. "From my perspective, the land is the ultimate classroom. There is so much to learn from nature that we can't let it disappear."
This job is an intersection of my passions. I want to help bridge the understanding gap between urban and rural America. Agriculture is so much more than a weathered cowboy in a beat-up hat. It's a vital economic and ecological engine that is essential for our wellbeing.
Born in San Antonio, Texas, Jesse Womack is a fifth generation rancher and founder of the RanchNetwork, which seeks to connect livestock producers, managers, employees, vendors, and service providers to create an open community with the goal of increasing profitability and efficiency. Mr. Womack currently helps to manage his family ranch in Victoria County, Texas with his brother William. He graduated from Texas Christian University's Ranch Management program in 2002.
"I was drawn to TALT because I feel that conservation easements are a great tool to further our conservation goals in Agriculture. I am very passionate about agriculture and its future here in Texas. Conservation easements are one tool to help ensure the future of agriculture and maintain open spaces for generations to come. They are also a way to acknowledge the eco-system services that well managed working lands provide to the general public."
Mr. Womack was born in San Antonio, Texas, Jesse Womack is a fifth generation rancher and founder
Growing up surrounded by different facets of agriculture, Kacie always knew she wanted to pursue a career in the industry. Through many years of FFA involvement and leadership development, it became clear that no place would feel like home quite like agriculture. She has a passion for preserving the land for future generations and loves that by working for TALT, she can play a part in that endeavor.
After graduating from Louisiana State University with a bachelor's degree in Plant & Soil Systems, she began her career by working with the National Grazing Lands Coalition managing their communications and outreach department. In that role she further developed skills needed to be an effective communicator, gained an understanding of the needs of producers across the country, as well as how to work efficiently within a remote team setting.
"I will always cherish the faces of the landowners I've had the privilege of meeting. Hearing their stories and seeing the love they have for their land motivates me to advocate for them and these wide open spaces." Hatsfelt says.
After working behind the scenes for over a year, Kacie joined the TALT team full time in January 2023. Driven by her faith, she takes pride in providing the best effort possible with honesty and integrity.
Surrounded by agriculture from a young age, I've always known my heart belongs to this industry. With a deep commitment to preserving the land for future generations, I'm proud to be a part of TALT's mission.
Passionate about good land stewardship, Kason is eager to help landowners sustain their operations, conserve their family land, and protect that ranching heritage for future generations.
That was certainly the case for Kelly Langdon and his family as they contemplated a conservation easement on their family ranch in Hood County near Granbury, Texas. Fall Creek Ranch has been in the family for more than five decades, and in recent years, Kelly's mom had been exploring the idea of a conservation easement to forever protect the land they love.
Kelly and his wife live full time on Fall Creek Ranch, making them the third generation of Langdons to run and maintain the ranch.
Job Titles:
- Leader
- Panhandle Regional
Ken Cearley's life has been shaped by a love for the land and a desire to help those who steward it. "As a child, I fell in love with the land," says Ken. "My entire career has focused on our rural heritage and helping landowners sustain their agricultural operations."
After graduating from Texas A&M University with a BS in Wildlife Science, he worked in the Texas Hill Country as a ranch and wildlife manager, then as a rancher, raising his family on the land. Eventually, he returned to school, earning a MS in Range Animal Science from Sul Ross State University, leading to a career that included university-level teaching at Sul Ross and outreach through Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, in West Central Texas the Trans-Pecos and the High Plains.
Ken is a leader in the Texas Wildlife Association, in the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society, Past President of the Texas Section of the Society for Range Management, and Past President of Texas Brigades (a collection of youth wildlife leadership camps). He was drawn to TALT because the organization, through conservation easements, gives landowners a practical tool that allows them to pass their land to the next generation while helping stem the tide of land fragmentation that threatens agricultural lands and open space in Texas. As a former rancher and ranch manager, Ken understands the challenges that landowners face.
As a child, I fell in love with the land. My entire career has focused on our rural heritage and helping landowners sustain their agricultural operations.
Lindsey Lee is honored to be the most recent appointee to the Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT) Board of Directors. A sixth generation Texan and resident of Jackson County, she comes from a family with a long tradition of ranching and land management. For the last fifteen years she has been running the family's ranch along the Coastal Bend between Houston and Corpus Christi.
"I am thrilled at the opportunity to help TALT with their mission," says Lee. "Our farming and ranching communities play a vital role in the economy and culture of Texas. It's of utmost importance that we dedicate the resources to our ranchers, farmers, and landowners to help continue this proud tradition for future generations."
Lee is a graduate of the University of Texas. She worked for the Hyatt Corporation for several years after college. She was at a work function near the Pentagon in Washington, D. C. on September 11, 2001. That event led her to rethink her life's course. She ended up in Mexico, where she learned to speak Spanish, and built a thriving export business. For years, she went back and forth between San Miguel de Allende and Edna, Texas.
Back home, she took an interest in the family's ranching operation. As a young girl, she watched her grandmother run the cattle business and was inspired by her dedication and hard work.
"She just really taught me a lot and I admired what she did," said Lee. "I love ranching, the land, and the culture. Eventually that called me back home. I started working with my dad and uncle on the two ranches my grandmother owned in Jackson County."
A few years after her return, her dad and uncle split the ranch operations, and Lee asked her dad to entrust her with more of the day-to-day responsibilities of running the ranches. Soon they became partners and the Lee Cattle Company was formed.
"Looking back, it now seems inevitable that I would become a rancher. There's nothing I love more and I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to do something so fulfilling and meaningful," she says.
Lee is also a realtor with Twin Rivers Real Estate specializing in farm and ranch sales in a seven-county area around Edna and co-brokers throughout the state.
In addition to her real estate dealings and running her cattle company, Lindsey is also incredibly involved in civic affairs. Among the many organizations she is involved in, Lee serves as past President and current Vice President of the Jackson County Farm Bureau. She is the treasurer of the Jackson County Cattle Raisers Association, past member of the Texas Farm Bureau's Natural Resource Committee. She is also a state board member of the Independent Cattlemen's Association of Texas, and a member of the Jackson County Field Crop Committee. In 2015, she was named Jackson County Rancher of the Year and Lee Ranch was named Conservation Ranch of the Year by the Jackson County Soil and Water Conservation District.
In 2016, Lee was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to serve as a public member to the board of Texas Professional Geoscientists, and in January of 2020, Lee was chosen as a gubernatorial appointee to serve on the Texas Broadband Development Council.
Even with all that on her plate, Lee didn't hesitate to accept an appointment to the board of directors of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT). In her real estate business, she's seen firsthand the challenges facing the future of working lands in Texas.
A sixth generation Texan and resident of Jackson County, Lindsey comes from a family with a long tradition of ranching and land management. Read More
Welcome! This is our dedicated team.
Did we say that we would love to work with you? So dont be shy, get in touch!
Job Titles:
- Austin, Texas / Austin Attorney Marshall Bowen 's Appreciation for the Value of Conservation Easements Is Hard - Wired into His DNA
- Board Officer / Austin
Austin attorney Marshall Bowen's appreciation for the value of conservation easements is hard-wired into his DNA. In 1938, his great-grandfather and great-grandmother purchased a beautiful expanse of land 18 miles southwest of Austin. Four generations have carefully stewarded the Shield Ranch, and as urban development pushed even closer in the 1980s and 90s, the family grappled with how to ensure its future.
Marshall's grandmother, mother, and uncle donated a conservation easement on the Travis County ranch in 1998 and sold another easement to the City of Austin in 1999. Today, nearly all of the 6,800-acre ranch is under easement, forever protecting the land the family has cherished for generations. Marshall's family also stewards ranches in Real and Jeff Davis counties.
"My personal philosophy mirrors the mission of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT)," said Marshall. "With 95% of Texas privately owned, the responsibility falls on landowners to keep the wide-open spaces of Texas available for generations to come. I'm grateful to get involved with furthering conservation of private land beyond our family's ranch gate."
Marshall is an attorney in the Austin office of Butler Snow LLP, where he practices in the firm's appellate and written advocacy and commercial litigation groups. Previously, he clerked for Judge Kevin Patrick Yeary on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and then for Justice Paul Green on the Supreme Court of Texas. Marshall also worked as a political and government affairs consultant to corporations, non-profits, and political campaigns, and also served in senior positions for a member of the Texas House of Representatives.
Marshall holds a B.A. in political science from Texas A&M University, a M.A. in theology from St. Mary's University, and a J.D. from St. Mary's University School of Law.
Conaway was a certified public accountant for more than 30 years in both public and private practice. His first elected position was on the Midland School Board in the mid-1980s, and that whetted his appetite for public service. Governor George W. Bush tapped him to serve on the Texas State Board of Accountancy in 1995, and that led to his interest in running for Congress.
Former U.S. Congressman K. Michael Conaway has had a storied career that spans more than five decades.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Board Officer / Fort Worth
Perry R. Bass II, like the six generations before him, has deep roots in Texas. In his opinion, conservation easements
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board Officers Team
- Board Officer / Chairman, Victoria
- Chairman, Victoria
"In my lifetime, I've seen a major shift in Texas," said Marshall, whose family has ranched near Victoria and along the Gulf Coast since 1910. "We've gone from a rural state where the majority of the population inherently understood our farms, ranches and wild things to an urban state where many of our residents have no history in Texas, much less a connection to our private lands and the role they played in the state's development."
Marshall, who earned both his undergraduate and master's degree in agriculture from Texas A&M, identifies land fragmentation as one of Texas' biggest challenges.
"Everyone wants their own piece of Texas, which fuels the trend to carve large properties into smaller pieces," said Marshall, who currently ranches in Goliad, Victoria and Lavaca counties.
Russell Marshall's dual career as a rancher and a financial services professional gives him a front row seat
When Sandra Velarde's children left home for college, she re-entered the full-time workforce and was drawn to the non-profit sector.
Wide open spaces were a gift, but we took it for granted because it was all we knew. Understanding the need to conserve land so it's available for the next generation is the first step in actually making it happen.
Job Titles:
- Board Member / Vice - Chair, San Antonio
- Vice - Chair, San Antonio
There is a long history of ranching in Watt Matthews' family. His mom and dad are both from ranching families. In fact, his dad met his mom in college while working for her dad on the family's ranch near Amarillo. Matthews spent his early years living on the Matthews Ranch in Clarendon, moving to Amarillo when he was old enough to attend school.
He earned a finance degree from the University of Texas, and also graduated from Texas Christian University's Ranch Management Program. Besides operating a part of the family ranch in Clarendon, he also serves as Vice President of Investments at the Legett Foundation and the Kickapoo Springs Foundation. Since March 2021, he has served on the Board of Directors of First Financial Trust and Asset Management Company, an Abilene, Texas based wealth management firm, and has been a member of its investment committee since July 2020. Prior to that, he worked for a Houston-based investment firm, where he managed a portfolio of credit related assets, and was involved in sourcing and underwriting high yield corporate loans across a diverse set of industries.
Matthews and his wife Elizabeth have three children, and the family moved to San Antonio in 2020 to be closer to her family. That move connected Watt to Steve Lewis, who is a past chairman of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust's board of directors and who still serves on TALT's board. Through Lewis he learned more about conservation easements, and the work TALT is doing to keep Texas big, wide and open by working with rural landowners to permanently protect their land through voluntary conservation easements.
"I didn't know much about conservation easements except what I had heard, and that had mostly negative connotations," said Matthews. "The more I learned about what TALT is doing to mitigate the loss of rural land in Texas, the more I wanted to be part of it. It resonated with me and I wanted to get more involved."
Matthews is now serving on TALT's board of directors and is looking forward to spreading the word to other ranchers about what a conservation easement is and how it can be used to help preserve Texas' ranching heritage.
"I want to help TALT grow the organization and hopefully increase the acreage in Texas that will be forever protected," said Matthews. "TALT is helping Texas families keep their ranches working into the future, which benefits us all."