Betsy Ham

Director of Land Protection

Department: Land Protection
Email Betsy

Prior to joining MCHT, Betsy (she/her) worked as the Coordinator for Maine Rivers and The Kennebec Coalition at the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Before working at NRCM, Betsy was the Director of the Friends of Merrymeeting Bay, a land trust/educational/advocacy organization. Betsy worked in Vermont, before moving back to Maine, at a variety of jobs including land use planner, transportation planner, and educational coordinator.

Betsy received her MS in Land Resources Management from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and her BA in biology with a minor in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth. She was born in Rumford, Maine and grew up at Upper Dam on Richardson Lake in western Maine where she and her family now have a camp. She currently lives in Bowdoinham with her husband where they enjoy canoeing, rowing, skiing, hiking, and spending time with their twin daughters.

Betsy has been with MCHT since 2002.

On land conservation: “Before I started at MCHT I tried my hand at conservation through regional planning, transportation planning, advocating, and education. Each approach has value but your hard work can be undone overnight. I love the permanent nature of what we do. When we acquire land it’s there for people to enjoy forever.”

On the job: Betsy is a relatively new Mainer compared to the Wabanaki people. She has had the privilege of working to conserve land for MCHT since 2002. She works on land protection coast-wide with an 11-person land protection team.