We are pleased to announce that Matt Freeman will be joining the Open Space Authority as Assistant General Manager. Matt has over twenty years of experience in land conservation, open space planning, and resource management. He will lead the Authority’s strategic planning process in 2012-2013, developing a long-range conservation vision for hundreds of thousands of acres of productive farmland and foodshed, critical greenbelts, streams and wildlife linkages across Santa Clara County.
Matt previously served as Director of Conservation for the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, where he led a variety of land acquisition, regional conservation planning, and stewardship projects. This work included development of the Watsonville Slough Farms Conservation and Management Plan and the Conservation Blueprint, a state-of-the-art conservation plan for Santa Cruz County. Matt serves as the Vice President of the Santa Cruz Mountains Bioregional Council and as an Advisory Board member of NextSpace. He has a BA in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a Masters in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon. Matt lives in the Santa Cruz Mountain community of Ben Lomond and can often be found hiking on nearby trails, and kayaking on Monterey Bay.
