Staff

Maine Woodland Owners staff are here to help. Contact us anytime!

Tom serves as Executive Director. A third generation woodland owner, Tom graduated from the University of Maine with degrees in Forest Management and Wildlife Management. He has been a Licensed Professional Forester for 30 years. Early in his career he worked as a forester and land manager on Maine’s state owned forestland working for the Bureau of Public Lands (BPL). He became Director of the Maine Forest Service in 1999 and served in that capacity for nearly four years. He joined Maine Woodland Owners in 2004.

**Karla Black**

Deputy Executive Director

Karla serves as Deputy Executive Director. A born and raised Mainer, Karla grew up in Bucksport, a small mill town on the coast. She attended college at the University of Maine at Orono where she received a degree in Political Science. After spending several years living in Washington, D.C. after college, Karla returned to Maine to attend the University of Maine School of Law, where she graduated cum laude. Before joining Maine Woodland Owners, Karla spent 16 years working for the executive branch of Maine state government. Most recently, she served for 11 years as Deputy Administrator and General Counsel of the Maine Office of Securities, the state agency that regulates the financial industry in Maine. Among her many duties, Karla was responsible for monitoring state and federal legislative issues for the agency. Karla spends as much time in the woods as possible. She is a Registered Maine Guide and is an avid hiker, backpacker and camper. She joined Maine Woodland Owners in 2021.

Debbie serves as Office Manager. Debbie has a degree in Secretarial Sciences and joined Maine Woodland Owners in 1987 along with her father, Abbott, who was the first Executive Director of Maine Woodland Owners. Together they established the organization’s first office. Debbie has an important role in the day-to-day operations. She has had a life-long learning experience in good management and conservation of woodlands.

**Jennifer Hicks**

*Director of Communications and Outreach*

Jenn serves as Director of Communications and Outreach. Jenn graduated from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania with a bachelors degree in Education and Antioch University New England Graduate School with a masters degree in Environmental Studies. Over the past 25 years she has been a conservation professional in a variety of capacities, first, as a Chesapeake Bay Foundation educator, and later, a program leader for small environmental organizations in New Hampshire and Washington DC. From 2004 - 2016 she was a self-employed community sustainability consultant on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. In 2016, Jenn became the Executive Director of Pemaquid Watershed Association in Damariscotta. Jenn joined Maine Woodland Owners in July 2019.