Anna Yelk, executive director of Central Pennsylvania Conservancy (CPC) announced her retirement. Below is her Anna’s message in her own words:
I am reflective today in announcing to our dedicated members, donors, colleagues, volunteers, and friends that a few changes are taking root at CPC, as we plan for a transition this spring (April/May). After ten years of service as CPC’s Executive Director, I will be respectfully retiring from this role and into one that will mentor and support my successor, while helping to move forward priority projects for CPC, as a volunteer. While personal/family reasons factor into my decision, please know that I have been working closely with CPC’s Board of Directors for two months to turn this transition into an opportunity for organizational growth and development, not just in hiring a full-time Executive Director, but in planning for new capacity at CPC. The consensus is to scale up our efforts to serve this region as its local land trust, prepared to address the challenges and opportunities in protecting and stewarding local natural areas in perpetuity.
I’ve been humbled time and time again by the commitments, dedication, professionalism, and support of all of the folks involved in CPC–board members, staff, members/donors, volunteers, partners, and colleagues. I thank you heartily for your support through the past years that were instrumental for CPC staff to lay a solid foundation for its growth–national accreditation, refocusing and redelivering on CPC’s core mission through key easement and acquisition projects, establishing CPC’s Letort Spring Garden Preserve, prioritizing landscape protection in the Kittatinny Corridor and South Mountain, hosting successful fundraising/volunteer events and membership appeals, supporting an engaged Board of Directors, and building a substantial stewardship endowment that generates annual support for our efforts to maintain protected properties. CPC’s staff consists of a very dedicated and skilled team of professionals working hard to advance the organization’s strategic vision. Together with our actively engaged Board of Directors, I look forward to recruiting the best possible candidate to lead the organization over the next 10 years!
