The Washtenaw Land Trust is proud to have an active Board of Trustees which provides it with substantial expertise in areas of law, financial planning, fundraising, farming and natural resources. Our Board meets six times a year, with additional committee meetings as necessary. We welcome inquiries from potential new board members.

Interested in becoming a Board member? Email us now!

Guy O. Williams
President
Mr. Williams is founder of G.O. Williams and Associates, a business and project development consulting firm. He is formerly of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), where he most recently served as the Senior Director for Community Development and Relations. Williams received his B.S. from Bucknell University and is well-known nationally as a developer of community programming and advocate for environmental justice. His current board and committee memberships include the national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Michigan's People and Land Advisory Task Force, the External Advisory Committee of U-M's Center for Sustainable Systems, the S.E. Michigan Sustainable Business Forum, and many others.

Phil Surratt
Vice President
Mr. Surratt was president of American Title Company of Washtenaw from 1969 until his retirement in 1991. Since that time he has been active in various business development and charitable endeavors in the community. He holds undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Michigan. He has a continuing interest in land preservation and environmental issues and served on the board of trustees of the Washtenaw Land Conservancy, which later became the Washtenaw Land Trust. He and his wife, Ann, have lived in Scio Township since 1969.

James W. Govert
Executive Secretary
Mr. Govert is senior counsel at the law firm Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone, PLC in Ann Arbor , where he specializes in commercial real estate and capital markets lending law. He has also worked at firms in Philadelphia and San Francisco. Jim's professional activities include membership in the State Bar of Michigan and its Real Estate Section, the American Bar Association, and the Washtenaw County Bar Association. In addition to the Land Trust, he has served as a board member for other local nonprofits, including Michigan Ability Partners and the Ann Arbor Book Festival.

Janet Crone
Treasurer
A former tax accountant, Mrs. Crone operates a personal gardening service and has long been interested in the preservation of local farming land. She earned a BA from Denison University (Granville, Ohio) and an MBA from the University of Michigan. Other volunteer activities include the Ann Arbor Thrift Shop and select gardening projects for local organizations. Recent returnees to Washtenaw County from years of living in both east and west lower Michigan, Janet and her husband, Charlie, now live in Scio Township.

James C. Adams
Mr. Adams is a partner with the law firm Butzel Long. Jim is the former President of the Old Mission Conservancy (Traverse City) as well as one of the members of the steering committee that organized the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy. He holds an undergraduate degree from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Michigan. He resides in Ann Arbor with his wife, Naz Edwards.

Rosanne Bloomer
Ms. Bloomer is a Senior Financial Service Officer for GreenStone Farm Credit Services, where she manages a commercial and mortgage portfolio.  GreenStone Farm Credit Services is an agricultural cooperative which provides credit and financial services to rural Michigan and northeast Wisconsin.  Through Greenstone, Rosanne has worked with a large percentage of farm and ag related businesses in Washtenaw and Wayne Counties.  She is also co-owner of Bur Oaks Farm LLC, a family farm operation in Ann Arbor which processes and markets dry roasted soybeans and gourmet popcorn.  Rosanne has a bachelor’s degree and post graduate work in business administration from Michigan State University.  Rosanne also serves on the Washtenaw County Ag Advisory Committee,  Washtenaw County Extension Advisory Committee, and FSEP – Food System Economic Partnership.

Peter H. DeLoof
Mr. DeLoof is an attorney and senior partner in the Ann Arbor-based law firm of Seeligson, DeLoof, Hopper & Dever, PLLC, and specializes in commercial and residential real estate matters, commercial transactions, and zoning and land use issues. He is a mediator trained in alternative dispute resolution techniques, and on the list of approved mediators for the Washtenaw County Circuit Court. Mr. DeLoof is a member of the Freedom Township Planning Commission, serves on the Washtenaw County Farm Bureau's Land Use committee, and actively participates in the Southwest Washtenaw Council of Governments, a regional land use planning organization. Mr. DeLoof and his wife, Sara Bassett, own and live on a farm in Freedom Township, which is actively farmed and part of which is being conserved by reestablishing native Michigan trees, grasses, and wildflowers.

Rob Ewing
(Biography coming soon)

Gavin Clabaugh
Mr. Clabaugh is vice president of information services for the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, a private philanthropic organization based in Flint, Michigan, with additional offices in Detroit, Prague, Dublin, and Johannesburg. Mr. Clabaugh oversees the administrative, developmental, and operational aspects of technology, and has overall responsibility for the Foundation's worldwide information, library, and technical services. Before joining the Mott Foundation, he was vice president of the Telecommunications Cooperative Network (TCN), a not-for-profit information technology cooperative serving thousands of NGOs and non-profit organizations worldwide. Mr. Clabaugh holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Kansas, and a master's degree in futures research from the University of Houston. He and his wife, Margaret, live in Scio Township.

Robert R. Helber
Mr. Helber is chairman and CEO of Continental Capital Realty, Inc., a real estate development and management company with offices in Pittsfield Township. Mr. Helber holds a business degree from Eastern Michigan University. He is past president of the Washtenaw County Home Builders Association, a Trustee of Cleary University, and chairs the board of Continental Capital Equities, Inc., a real estate investment trust. Mr. Helber has a passion for wildlife and the outdoors, and has developed numerous environmentally sensitive housing projects. Mr. Helber and his wife, Cindy, both lifelong residents of Ann Arbor, live on their family horse farm in Scio Township.

Carol Peacock
Ms. Peacock is a retired CPA, having practiced public accounting at Icerman, Johnson & Hoffman and Touche Ross & Co. in Ann Arbor.  She holds degrees from Indiana University, the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University.  After leaving accounting, she served as Bridgewater Township Treasurer and as Bridgewater Township Supervisor.  Currently she serves on the Bridgewater Township Farmland Preservation Board and is the Treasurer of Unity on Campus, a campus ministry in Ann Arbor.  In 2000, Carol and her husband Wade donated a conservation agreement on their 40-acre farm in Bridgewater Township to the Washtenaw Land Trust.  They live there with their cats and three Percheron draft horses.

Charity Steere
Mrs. Steere earned a BA in education from the University of Michigan and is a former branch librarian for the Jackson District Library. A resident of the Waterloo area for over 30 years, she led the successful campaign for the first miles of Natural Beauty Roads in Jackson County and is active in preservation efforts in the Waterloo area. She volunteers with Sitting Tall, a 4-H riding program for the disabled, has chaired the Waterloo Hunter/Jumper Horse shows, is a member of the board of directors of the Waterloo Hunt Club, and serves on the Jackson County Agricultural Preservation Committee.

Robert Tetens
Mr. Tetens is the Director of the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission, where his duties include management of the County's Natural Areas Preservation Program. His prior experience includes serving as Executive Director of the Urban Area Transportation Study; and with the Washtenaw County Planning Department and Administrators Office. He is a resident of Dexter Township, where he was appointed and subsequently elected twice to serve as Dexter Township Supervisor. He has also served as a member and Chair of the Township's Planning Commission, Zoning Board of Review, and Purchase of Development Rights Committee. Mr. Tetens attended the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University.

Robert M. Ward
A specialist in rural planning, Dr. Ward has published academic articles in geography, environment, and planning journals for more than thirty years. A professor at Eastern Michigan University since the late 1960s, he initiated the university's undergraduate and graduate degree program in Urban & Regional Planning. He retired in 2003 and remains an adjunct faculty. He holds a doctorate degree in geography from the University of Michigan, as well as degrees from Earlham College (Indiana) and Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. Currently, he enjoys retirement in Sharon Township while pursuing hobbies in antiques, international travel, and hiking.