WHO WE ARE

Based in Virginia, Jeff is currently serving as managing partner for a new company focused on bioenergy and carbon capture and sequestration utilizing purpose-grown biomass and pyrolysis to produce bio-oil and biochar.  With extensive experience in international forestry, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and the international carbon markets working on land conservation and climate change, Jeff advises clients and NALT on land management, carbon, biomass energy, timber and wildlife.

He recently served as the Chief Technical Officer for Forest Carbon Offsets LLC a company devoted to the development of forest carbon offset projects in tropical forests and the United States. FCO developed the first Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) project in the tropical western hemisphere certified by both the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance and the Verified Carbon Standard. He has managed research centers at Virginia Tech for 23 years and has been integral in the development of NALT’s bat studies!

John served for 34 years with senior staff at the Brandywine Conservancy after previously serving for 7 years as Chester County, PA’s first open space planner.  John has a Bachelors degree in Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Virginia Tech.  He also served for 12 years as an adjunct professor of planning at West Chester University, PA, and is presently in his 15th year as a member, and now chair, of the Board of Supervisors in East Bradford Township, Chester County, PA.

John’s work has focused constantly on preservation of open space, natural resources, historic resources, and scenic landscapes, and to promote sustainable community design.  He has made dozens of presentations on those topics to broad audiences across many municipalities and states, including for the Governor’s Center for Local Government Assistance and the Department of Community and Economic Development in PA. He has worked with landowners, developers, local and county governments and other land trusts.

John and his wife Maureen have four grown children, two granddaughters, and a rescue dog named Biloxi from Mississippi.  While both still work part-time, they love to swim, walk/hike and travel to explore new places.

Andy, as most folks know him, is a former trial lawyer who originally focused his practice on civil litigation matters, first with the Philadelphia law firm, Cozen O’Connor, then with the West Chester based firm of Lamb McErlane.  He broadened his practice over the years to better utilize his creative problem solving skills, working on alternative dispute resolution, business and land use matters.  He also helped found an entrepreneurial medical software venture. Realizing he thrived on executive actions, he embarked on a journey of exploration, choosing to transition to the nonprofit sector through his passion for land preservation.

Mr. Schaum was fortunate to work with some of the early pioneers in Chester County who set the county on a path to leading the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on land and historic preservation initiatives.  He consulted with the Chester County Community Foundation and their 2020 land use affiliate, worked for Tyler Arboretum and French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust, serving both as Director of Development.  He then found his true calling, as President & CEO of CCWA – Paradise Farm Camps for twenty years.  Children’s Country Week Association (CCWA) was founded in 1875 and has been connecting children to the outdoors ever since.  Andy led the youth development organization through a transformational period of growth and renewal.  He helped place a conservation easement on the majority of their almost 600 acres of scenic natural resources and led the effort to develop public trails on the property, in collaboration with East Bradford Township and Natural Lands.  Through his leadership, CCWA became a vibrant community-based institution, now partnering with hundreds of schools each year through its environmental education and team building programs.

Andy earned his B.S.in Business Administration (Marketing Major) from Pennsylvania State University and received his Juris Doctor from Villanova University School of Law.  He attributes those combined educational experiences in serving as the foundation for his values-driven approach to the nonprofit sector.  He willingly serves his community in many ways, on East Bradford’s Zoning Hearing Board, formerly chairing its Trails Committee, while also having been appointed to serve on numerous open space and planning committees at the local and regional levels.  Some of his more notable accomplishments include co-founding the Valley Creek Restoration Partnership, envisioning the Plum Run Greenway and trail system, and helping restore West Valley Creek for improved fish habitat and water quality.

The Schaum family resides in the National Register Strode’s Mill Historic District.  Andy’s wife, Jennifer, has spent her entire career working on improving early childhood education in the Philadelphia region.  Their son, Casey, moved to Truckee, California to live the mountain life, while pursuing his passion for skateboarding as Director of Operations for Woodward Tahoe.  Together, they share a love of nature, immersing themselves in its splendors from coast to coast.

John v.H. Halsey is founder and President of the Peconic Land Trust, a nonprofit land conservation organization serving Long Island, NY. The Trust’s professional staff identifies and implements alternatives to development that result in the perpetual protection of working farms and natural lands on Long Island. Since it was founded in 1983, the Trust has completed more than 400 projects. In partnership with landowners, communities, municipalities, and like-minded organizations, the Trust has protected approximately 12,000 acres. The Trust is currently engaged in over 100 pending projects comprising several thousand acres that are key to defining the communities of Long Island and to preserving its rural heritage. John serves on the board of the North American Land Trust in an emeritus status (meaning he is a non-voting board member working in an advisory capacity), as well as the boards of Nassau Land Trust, South Fork Land Foundation, and the Southampton Youth Association. He is former Chair of the Land Trust Alliance/New York Advisory Board and board member emeritus of the Long Island Community Foundation. Mr. Halsey earned a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a M.S.W. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Paul operated a family wholesale and retail seafood and poultry business from 1962 until 1992.  In 1994,   Paul joined Andy Johnson at Conservation Advisors, a for- profit environmental consulting business.  Paul served as the Business Manager of Conservation Advisors and soon was instrumental in the transition of Andy’s company into a 501(c)3 not-for-profit, North American Land Trust. In October 2004, Paul was voted unto the Board of NALT and served as Vice President, and later served as Treasurer. In addition, he has served as Board member and Treasurer of the Chadds Ford Historical Society, Chairman of the Pocopson Township Open Space Review Board, Chairman of the Bayard Taylor Library Board, and presently serves as Board member and Treasurer of the Brandywine Valley Hemophilia Foundation and is a member of the Pocopson Township Zoning Hearing Board.

Paul and his wife, Janet, enjoy retired life in their 18th century home on preserved land on the banks of the Pocopson and Brandywine Creeks.