Land Trust of the Upper Arkansas Staff

Andrew J. Mackie
Executive Director

Andrew grew up in New York State’s Hudson Valley. After graduating the State University of New York College at Geneseo with a Bachelor’s in biology, Andrew moved to Seattle, Washington. This is where his passion for the mountains began. However, graduate studies and scientific research pulled him away.

In 1992, Andrew started working for the National Audubon Society at a sanctuary on the Hudson River. Continuing to work for Audubon, Andrew moved to Southwest Florida as the Assistant Director of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. While at the Sanctuary, he became involved with a regional land trust, and a variety of land use issues ranging from Everglades Restoration to a local conservation ballot initiative that successfully passed raising funds for land conservation projects. During this time, he also was recruited to serve on the board of directors for several organizations, including the Florida Native Plant Society, Collier County Audubon Society, Collier Environmental Education Consortium, and the Southwest Florida Society for Ethical Ecotourism.

Andrew returned to New York State in 2002 as a project manager for Audubon. He was responsible for working with a variety of sanctuaries and nature centers across the State, including several new projects. During this time, Andrew worked closely with the Montezuma Wetlands Complex in Central New York. Andrew left this position to complete his Masters of Environmental Management degree at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in New Haven, Connecticut. While at Yale, Andrew worked with the Guilford Land Conservation Trust, creating a stewardship program for their holdings. He also worked with the Great Land Trust in Anchorage, Alaska. While in Alaska, he worked routinely with conservation easements. This included writing baseline documentation for new easements, and monitoring existing easements.

Before accepting the position with LTUA, Andrew was most recently working under contract with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation managing several projects. He also completed oversight of a $3.5 million construction project resulting in the creation of the Montezuma Audubon Center. The Center is sited on a property with three created wetlands and restored grasslands.

Leah K. Cerise
Office Administrator

She is a third generation Colorado native, Leah grew up in Twin Lakes where she learned early the value of open space and maintaining historical landmarks. A portion of summers in Twin Lakes were spent backpacking, fishing and exploring the Mount Massive Wilderness and the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. Leah also spent the summers with her parents and two sisters living in the Dexter cabin at the InterLaken Resort, on the upper lake of Twin Lakes. While living at the Dexter cabin the ongoing process of educating visitors to InterLaken and maintaining the buildings and grounds were a part of the chores.

Leah has earned an Associate’s Degree in Accounting and is an artist who uses the dramatic colors in the Colorado landscapes as her palette for print making and jewelry. She enjoys hiking to high lakes to fly fish and spending time in the wilds of the world with her best friend Mike and dog Rico.

Nathan Ward
Director of Community Relations and Development

A 5th generation Coloradoan, Nathan Ward grew up in the Arkansas River Valley and has used Salida as his base ever since. Nathan holds degrees in Public Policy and Environmental Studies from the University of Chicago. He also studied documentary photography at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography. After university, Nathan worked as a freelance journalist for 16 years, completing assignments on six continents and working for a long list of clients that included the United Nations Development Program, the United States Agency on International Development, Outside Magazine and CNN. He specializes in issues surrounding adventure tourism destinations, sustainable development, humanitarian and environmental issues. Nathan and his family returned to Salida, from East Africa, in 2009 and they have all been enjoying the open spaces of the Colorado mountains every day since their return. See Nathan’s private work at www.NathanWard.com.