Staff

Michael Lach, Executive Director
In order to accelerate and expand land conservation efforts in Harwich, the Trustees of the Harwich Conservation Trust hired Michael Lach as their new Executive Director. The new position as well as plans for additional staff and office space resulted from a strategic planning process over several months during which the Trust reviewed and refined its land protection and land stewardship goals. Lach, who has served over the past five years as the Trust's Land Protection Specialist from The Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts, Inc., was selected unanimously by the Board. Founded in 1986, The Compact is a regional land trust service center that helps to acquire, preserve, and manage open space across Cape Cod.

Michael completed his undergraduate degree at Cornell University and graduate degree at University of Massachusetts. He also writes environmental features for the The Cape Cod Chronicle and has contributed eco-travel articles to The Cape Cod Times. Michael has called Cape Cod home since 1976, and enjoys the outdoors with his wife and 2 year-old son.

"Michael has proven his abilities to lead and get things done over the past five years. He has been an integral part of our biggest land protection successes and formulated our Save Land-Save Water campaign. Promoting him to Executive Director was a natural progression in order to accelerate our land protection efforts," said Trust President and founding Trustee, Robert F. Smith.

"We all know that the Cape and our Harwich quality of life is at risk from rapid development. The Trust wants to save the best of what's left before it's gone forever. With Michael stepping up as our first Executive Director, we believe we will have a better chance of doing so," said Isabel Smith, Trust Vice-President and founding Trustee (no relation to Robert Smith).

"I'm delighted and honored to be chosen by such a dynamic and diverse board of Trustees. Having been raised on the Cape, seeing the landscape changes over the past 30 years, and now raising my own family here, gives me profound motivation for making a difference," said Lach.

Ben Wright, Assistant Director
Originally from the Midwest, with time spent in both Nebraska and Kansas, Ben earned his B.S. in Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas. Pursuing academic studies and fieldwork, he has traveled throughout Kansas, into Oklahoma, Mexico, and Australia.

In 2004, he arrived on Cape Cod to work with AmeriCorps, a national volunteer service organization. His volunteer AmeriCorps work focused mostly on land stewardship issues. As the Trust's Outreach & Stewardship Coordinator, Ben is primarily responsible for organizing the Trust's volunteer program. The new program will have a strong stewardship dimension as well as other volunteer opportunities including work with the Trust's newsletter, membership database, and public outreach.

Ben has had strong connections to the land from an early age. Just after World War II, his great-grandfather started the family's farm of approximately 280 acres, planted primarily with soybeans, corn, and wheat. The farm is still in production today. Ben's countless trips camping, canoeing, and hiking throughout the U.S. and in Ontario, Canada has also instilled within him a great appreciation for open space and the outdoors. He continues to protect and enhance the Harwich environment as a critical staff member of the Harwich Conservation Trust.