After more than 14 years at the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association (PALTA), Nicole Faraguna has accepted the position of director of policy at the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). She begins her new role in late August.

Most recently serving as PALTA’s director of education and advocacy, Nicole has been instrumental in PALTA delivering exceptional educational opportunities for the staff and volunteers of conservation-related organizations and local governments and advocating for public policy in support of conservation. Some of her accomplishments include:

  • Leading campaigns to defend dedicated environmental funding sources that protect and restore the commonwealth’s waterways, conserve lands important to communities, and create outdoor recreational activities.
  • Organizing the annual Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference and making it the premier state training and networking event for advancing conservation.
  • Building productive, long-lasting relationships between people working and volunteering in conservation, local government, and other sectors.
  • Creating informative outreach materials for advancing conservation that have stood the test of time.
  • Contributing to the development and expansion of ConservationTools.org, an award-winning resource that supports the conservation efforts of nonprofits, local governments, and others.

Nicole looks forward to continuing her work to advance conservation and, in her new role, contribute to DCNR’s lasting legacy.

She will certainly be missed at PALTA, but we are thrilled for her as she takes the next step in her career!

Questions that would have been previously directed at Nicole should now be directed to Carol Grayshaw ([email protected]) or Nate Lotze ([email protected]).