Land Trust Alliance announces Ashley Demosthenes as its next CEO

Washington, D.C. — The Land Trust Alliance, a national land conservation organization, today announced the selection of Ashley Demosthenes as its new CEO. Demosthenes brings more than 25 years of conservation and land trust experience to the Alliance, including serving most recently as the CEO of South Carolina’s Lowcountry Land Trust, a nationally recognized leader in the land trust community located in Charleston, S.C. Demosthenes will assume the role on March 17, 2025.

The Land Trust Alliance represents approximately 1,000 land trusts and affiliates supported by more than 250,000 volunteers and 6.3 million members nationwide.

“Ashley’s selection was the product of a rigorous, expansive and inclusive process that included some of the most respected leaders from the land trust community, other conservation organizations and the federal government,” said David Calle, vice chair of the Land Trust Alliance board of directors and co-chair of its CEO search committee. “Ashley embodies a deep passion for private land conservation grounded in broad conservation experience and firsthand work with the Alliance, making her the ideal candidate to take over as Alliance CEO.”

“Land conservation is fundamental to our health and survival as a nation, and when land trusts conserve private land, they are providing public benefits both seen and unseen. Benefits like wildlife habitat, flood absorption, water quality enhancement, outdoor recreation, cultural preservation, food security — all things that are necessary to sustain healthy communities and our environment,” said Ashley Demosthenes. “The Land Trust Alliance does what no other organization does, acting as both the backbone of and the connective tissue for land trusts across the nation. I am very proud of the collaborative approach that has defined my success over the years. Establishing trust, building authentic relationships and leveraging partnerships will drive my work at the Alliance.”

Demosthenes started at Lowcountry Land Trust in 2013 as its director of conservation and was elevated to president and CEO in March 2015. While there, she has been at the forefront of community-centered conservation, aligned with the land trust’s mission “to protect land and water forever, nurture the relationship between people and place, and connect the community to conservation.”

Demosthenes steered the conservation program to achieve a new milestone of 100,000 acres of protected land; as of today, Lowcountry Land Trust has protected more than 163,000 acres. Under her leadership, Demosthenes also oversaw the design and planning for the Angel Oak Preserve — a 44-acre preserve featuring boardwalk trails, a nature play area for children and educational information about the tree and native people of the region for the benefit of Charleston residents. And she broke ground on the Lowcountry Center for Conservation, Lowcountry Land Trust’s new headquarters and a dedicated space for local conservation and community partners to collaborate and to house its education and outreach initiatives.

“Ashley’s deep well of experience in the land trust community has armed her with the qualities we need to take the Alliance forward, including the understanding that lasting conservation is founded on cultivating relationships between people,” said Blair Calvert Fitzsimons, governance chair of the Land Trust Alliance board of directors, co-chair of its CEO search committee and the founding CEO of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust. “This approach is critical to support the Alliance’s mission to mobilize and empower land trusts in communities across America to conserve private land for the benefit of all.”

Before her time at Lowcountry Land Trust, Demosthenes spent 15 years with The Nature Conservancy in South Carolina as its ACE and Savannah River Basins project director and as the organization’s associate director of land conservation. She is also the co-founder and board chair of the South Carolina Land Trust Network.

“Ashley has dedicated her professional life to private land conservation, and her strengths, in many ways, reflect the breadth and strength of the Alliance’s offerings,” said Michael Polemis, chair of the Land Trust Alliance board of directors. “Ashley graduated from the Alliance’s Wentworth Leadership Program, led her organization in achieving accreditation and served as a member of the Land Trust Leadership Council and the Alliance board. We are thrilled to have her at the helm of the Land Trust Alliance.”

Additional quotes (listed alphabetically)

“Ashley brings boots on the ground land trust experience to the job," said Elizabeth Hagood, the former executive director of Lowcountry Land Trust and a former Land Trust Alliance board member. "As an executive of one of the most successful land trusts in the south, Ashley understands the challenges facing land trusts today and possesses the vision to lead the movement in the next decade. Ashley’s real strength lies in her collaborative leadership style — she has the rare ability to bring diverse stakeholders together around a shared love of place that saves land and revitalizes communities.”

“Ashley Demosthenes is the perfect leader to lead the land trust and conservation community forward to address the challenges ahead,” said Mary Pope M. Hutson, president of Sweet Briar College. “Ashley has a brilliant strategic mind coupled with decades-long knowledge and experience in conservation and policy as well as a deep understanding of the importance of engaging partners in communities across America including local, state and federal partners. The future is brighter today with Ashley at the helm working with the exemplary team at the Alliance and all who endeavor to ensure the stewardship of America’s land.” *Hutson is also a former executive vice president of the Land Trust Alliance, a former director of Lowcountry Open Land Trust and the former chairwoman of the National Parks System Advisory Board.

"Ashley Demosthenes brings the perfect combination of skills to help lead an exciting new chapter for the Land Trust Alliance," said Arnold L. Randall, executive director of the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation. "She has a deep love and knowledge of conservation, an understanding of the importance of effective advocacy, and strong strategic insights and leadership skills. She has been a transformative leader and vital voice for land conservation in the Lowcountry, and I look forward to seeing all the Alliance will accomplish with her at the helm."

“The Land Trust Alliance has gained a leader who will guide the organization into a successful future,” said Dale Threatt-Taylor, executive director of The Nature Conservancy in South Carolina. “Ashley will provide insightful, strategic and thoughtful leadership to the Alliance. I have admired her strength and persistence in leadership for five years. Ashley adapts to challenges and successfully partners with organizations for positive outcomes. She will bring a listening ear to the Alliance and engage the board of directors. Ashley will represent a new voice that will address the greater land trust community’s concerns. I congratulate my friend Ashley.”

“I have had the great pleasure of working with Ashley as a former colleague and land conservation professional for almost two decades,” said Dr. Maria Whitehead, senior vice president and director of land for Open Space Institute. “Her knowledge and leadership have profoundly impacted the people and places in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. She has inspired us to be more ambitious and inclusive as we look toward a new paradigm for 21st-century conservation. By accepting this critical leadership role at the Alliance, we all stand to benefit from Ashley’s expertise, passion and vision.”

About the Land Trust Alliance

Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization working to save the places people need and love by empowering and mobilizing land trusts in communities across America to conserve land for the benefit of all. The Alliance represents approximately 1,000 land trusts and affiliates supported by more than 250,000 volunteers and 6.3 million members nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., with staff in communities across the United States.