Leadership
South Portland Land Trust is a nonprofit organization with an all volunteer board. Each person shares the commitment to linking neighborhoods and improving quality of life in South Portland. The board holds overall responsibility for governance, fiscal oversight, and financial development for the organization. They are the decision-making body that guides the activities and actions of the land trust. Additionally, the land trust has a Program Manager, who manages day-to-day activities.
We welcome diverse, committed citizens to our board. If you would like to learn more, contact Alex Redfield, Board President.
Alex Redfield, Board President
Alex comes from a farming family in Maine and still works in farmland protection for the State of Maine, so his commitment to caring for the land goes deep. Alex is “excited to help SPLT expand its role in protecting natural areas, expanding access and opportunity to enjoy our favorite spaces in South Portland, and advocating for progressive climate policy at the municipal level.”
charles (“Tex”) Haeuser, vice-president
Originally from Wisconsin, Tex moved to Maine in 1984 and was Planning Director for South Portland from 1990 to 2020. In his years with the City, Tex helped to expand the Greenbelt Walkway and to bring about several other pedestrian facilities improvement and conservation projects. Participating on the South Portland Land Trust Board gives Tex an opportunity to continue to aid in providing more opportunities for public access and the protection of valuable natural areas. Tex also reports that it's "kind of a fun group."
Karen Talentino, Treasurer
Karen and her husband Bill moved to South Portland from Burlington, Vermont, in 2021, to be closer to their children who live in South Portland and Massachusetts. She retired after 44 years from an academic career at three different colleges - Simmons, Stonehill and Saint Michael's. As a professor she taught courses in biology, environmental science and marine biology, and carried out research focusing on adaptations to extreme temperatures. She believes strongly that the best way to learn about the environment (or anything for that matter) is to be immersed in it, and to study it first-hand. So, at each of her colleges she designed and led numerous academic study trips to such destinations as Bahamas (marine ecology), Cuba (coral reef ecology), the Everglades (human impact on a unique ecosystem), and the Sonoran desert (art and the environment). She was involved in establishing the Center for the Environment at Saint Michael's College, as well as preserving a 400 acre natural area adjacent to the campus. Two major interests are the preservation of natural environments and education about global climate change. The South Portland Land Trust seems to be a perfect fit to work on both of these goals. She enjoys birding, camping, hiking, kayaking, snorkelling/scuba diving, vegetable gardening, travel with her husband Bill, and taking care of her new granddaughter Addison. Karen loves the small town character of South Portland - the friendliness of neighbors, strength of community, and the opportunity to contribute to local businesses and organizations like SOPLT. Living in coastal Maine is pretty cool, too.
tom Mauldin, Secretary
Tom Mauldin has lived in South Portland with his family since 2010. He enjoys walking and running in South Portland and hiking and skiing all over Maine. His favorite SPLT trail is the Greenbelt, which offers a wonderful tour of our city. Tom serves on the SPLT board to help contribute to trail development and maintenance in South Portland.
Jessica Queally Sobey
Jessica grew up in Cape Elizabeth but moved to South Portland to raise her family. She, her husband, and two children have lived in the same home in between Meeting House Hill and Willard beach for over two decades. They have been passionate about walking in Cape and South Portland as long as we can remember. Jessica grew up walking Robinson's Wood's, Winnic Woods, Great Pond, Hinkley, Willard Beach, the Piggery, the gravel pits of Cape and South Portland—the State and City parks are like the lines of her palm. In the last few years Jessica has learned to walk new paths like Dow’s Woods and Clarks Pond. A nurse by trade, a mother by luck, and an ametuer Naturalist by desire, Jessica wants to help protect and share the peace and insight that these pathways have given her family, her dogs, and herself for almost half a century.
RICHARD ROTTKOV
Richard Rottkov has been an SPLT board member since 2003. The immediate past president, he has served as President for two three-year terms and has also been Vice President and Secretary. Richard has been a member of the SPLT's West End Trails committee since its inception in 2008 and also represented the SPLT on the City of South Portland's Open Space Plan committee and the Open Space Implementation Committee. He has also served on several other City committees and currently serves on the Community Development Advisory Committee. Richard has been an adjunct professor at Southern Maine Community College since 2003. Prior to moving to Maine with his family in 2002, he was a New York City public school teacher for 10 years. A graduate of the University of Vermont and the holder of a Master's degree from New York University, Richard also worked in journalism and public relations. His most memorable job was from 1977 - 1984 when he was the Director of Public Relations for the United States Soccer Federation. He very much enjoyed international travel with the national teams. His hobbies include hiking, skiing, and gardening, and he's also a committed lover of dogs.
Mary Linneman
Mary is a retired teacher who enjoys being outside - walking, birding, gardening and reading. She loves camping in Maine, especially in the western mountains and Downeast. The Trout Brook trail offers her that sense of being in the woods listening to an untamed stream within moments of leaving my home. This is the reason she supports the Land Trust; keeping natural areas undeveloped so that South Portlanders can experience moments of wilderness in our urban environment.
Katie Parét
Katie’s bio coming soon!
Amy Bryant
Amy’s bio coming soon!
Rebecca BArr
Rebecca’s bio coming soon!
Dana Bettez, SPLT Communications
Dana Bettez is a native South Portland-er who joined the South Portland Land Trust in January 2022. In her free time, Dana loves to garden, visit surrounding Land Trust properties, take road trips, and spend time along the coastline. Her favorite aspect of working for SPLT is helping people discover special places around South Portland.
Dana lives in South Portland with her husband and two sons.