NCCT
Board of Directors
Jill Falstad: President
Jill joined NCCT’s Board of Directors in August of 2020 and stepped up as Vice President from November 2021 through October 2023. She currently serves as Board President. In her past legal career, Jill worked as a Marathon County Circuit Court Judge for 11 years until retiring in July 2020 from her full time position. Prior to that she served as the Marathon County District Attorney for 15 years and as an Assistant DA for eight years with positions in Wood, Portage and Marathon Counties. In her free time, Jill enjoys international travel, and spending time outdoors hiking, gardening and snowshoeing. She is a Master Gardener and volunteers to help with community gardening activities. She is passionate about green initiatives, land conservation and supporting organizations that work to stop climate change. She enjoys serving on the NCCT Board to support their work of conserving green spaces in our Central Wisconsin communities.
Kay Meyer: Vice President
Kay joined NCCT’s Board of Directors in October of 2018 and served as Board President from January 2021 through October 2023. She currently serves as Vice President. She has lived in Wausau for 32 years and has a cabin in Sawyer County as well. Kay is a retired pharmacist with experience in both the hospital and retail settings. She has served on the boards of the local PTO, the Marathon County Soccer Association, the Wausau Nordic ski club, her church, and the Wausau Symphonic Band.
As a child she was lucky enough to live in a small town that allowed her and her friends to frequently play near the creek or in the woods at the edge of town, and sharp memories of those special spots remain with her. While in college in Madison it didn’t take long for her to find Picnic Point and the UW Arboretum to center and energize herself in a natural setting near campus.
As a parent of two small children moving to her new home of Wausau, she took them to a new city or county park every day after school to acquaint them (and her!) with the many natural areas Wausau had to offer. Her love and appreciation for all things nature is a significant part of who she is, and has been as long as she can remember. A year ago, she completed the Wisconsin Master Naturalist training and continues to study and preserve our state’s natural abundance. Caring for our earth, specifically that part she’s connected to, seems to be something she feels naturally compelled to do, and she welcomes the opportunity to take that passion a step further with NCCT.
Marv Noltze: Treasurer
Marv joined NCCT’s Board of Director in October of 2019. Previously the Secretary of NCCT, he is now serving as Treasurer. He was previously involved in the Sheboygan Area Land Trust, and has been active in NCCT since 2006. He has made significant improvements to NCCT’s database and serves on the NCCT Properties and Public Relations Committees. He is also an active easement monitor. Marv has a Master’s degree in Public Administration and is an Institutional Planner at UWSP
Marv states “I was drawn to land preservation when in Sheboygan due to concern for never ending urban sprawl that seems to weaken rural character. I very much identify with the mission of NCCT and l think we need to continue sharing our mission to show the importance of greenspace protection. Due to the rural, dispersed nature of Central Wisconsin, I think organizations are hard pressed to maintain membership and volunteers as compared to more urban areas. I think it is important for NCCT to collaborate with other organizations as much as feasible for public events, outreach opportunities, etc.”
Don Romundson: Secretary
Anna Haines: Board Member
Anna Haines joined NCCT’s Board of directors in October of 2018. She is a professor in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point and a land use and community development specialist with the University of Wisconsin-Extension. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning.
Her research and teaching focuses on planning and community development from a natural resources or environmental perspective. Her research has focused on factors that influenced land division in amenity-rich areas of Wisconsin, understanding how zoning codes affect future build out scenarios, sustainable zoning, and local food clusters. Her extension work has focused on comprehensive planning and planning implementation tools and techniques, sustainable communities, and property rights issues. She co-chaired an effort to create a sustainable community’s course through the North Central Extension Region and Foundation of Practice.
Nichole Good: Board Member
Nichole joined NCCT’s Board of Directors in November of 2017. She also coordinates monitoring of all of NCCT’s conservation easement properties. Nichole states, “I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, but always loved going “up north” for family vacations. I studied ecosystem restoration as an undergraduate at UW-Stevens Point, then wandered to the land of the redwood trees for graduate school, where I earned a master’s degree studying forest soils at Humboldt State University. I now work as a soil scientist and environmental technician for Sand County Environmental, where I’m learning how to prevent and remediate environmental contamination. I am especially inspired by “green” remediation – Sand County Environmental is among the top in the country for use of phytoremediation technologies (using plants to clean contaminated soils and waters).“
“With roots in Wisconsin, an ecology-based education, and a growing awareness of local environmental issues, I naturally gravitated toward NCCT. In addition to serving as the NCCT Monitoring Coordinator and as a member of NCCT’s Properties Committee, I am also proud to contribute as a Board member. I am overjoyed to be part of the NCCT community, working towards conservation of unique Wisconsin landscapes.”
A.J. McCaskey: Board Member
A.J. joined the NCCT Board of Directors in October of 2018. He is a real estate professional for Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group in Wautoma. He has 20 years’ experience in real estate including vacant land sales. He has a strong land conservation ethic with his love of the outdoors: A.J. enjoys spending his free time outdoors, hiking, x-country skiing, snowshoeing, and biking. A.J. is also a member and vice chairman of the Waushara Chapter of the Ice Age Trail Alliance (IATA) and has been involved with the IATA for over 20 years. NCCT is honored to have A.J. serving on the Board as NCCT’s very first Director from Waushara County. A.J. generously provides this organization with a new network within Waushara County and can assist with the development of conservation easements in this portion of NCCT’s service area.
Sharon Schwab: Board Member
Sharon joined the NCCT Board of Directors in October of 2021. She has been involved with the organization since 1999 and served as Chair of the Properties Committee for more than a decade. She also served as interim Executive Director for nearly one year. Sharon earned a B.S. (wildlife management/biology) and M.S. (natural resources) from UWSP and has had a life-long interest in conservation. She has had a meandering 30+ year career with positions affecting: groundwater, farm safety, fisheries, botany, and wildlife conservation. Select projects sent her to work with international, federal, state and county governments, and in Wisconsin’s non-profit arena. She served as the Coordinator of the Central Wisconsin Grassland Conservation Area Partnership for eight years and continues some of this work as volunteer co-chair of the recently renamed Wisconsin Prairie Chicken Festival. She served as Chairperson for the Portage County Town of Grant board for 14 years (2005-2019) and was re-elected to that position in April 2021. Sharon serves on the Board of Directors for the Dane County Conservation League – owner of more than 4,000 acres of state-managed land within the Buena Vista Wildlife Area. She is a volunteer for Clean, Green Action (Wisconsin Rapids) that works on sustainability projects, and the Wisconsin Rapids Area League of Women Voters.
In her spare time Sharon likes to read, garden, take long walks with her beloved Labrador, and spend precious time with family. Travel, both domestic and international is another passion. Sharon is married to NCCT member Greg Dahl and has a daughter.
Eric Olson: Board Member
Eric Olson is a community planner and natural resource specialist who has dedicated his life to public service. In addition to researching and teaching urban and regional planning, he has volunteered for numerous community development efforts at the local, regional and state levels. His current role is a statewide outreach position where he works with hundreds of lakes and watershed organizations to assist them in carrying out the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership ideal: that the state and thousands of landowners can collaboratively care for our water inheritance. This includes planning for and managing aquatic invasive species, as well as developing watershed management strategies that reinforce natural ways to limit pollution coming into lakes. Eric has a BS in urban forestry from the University of Minnesota and a Master’s Degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Wisconsin Madison.
Austin Holland: Board Member
Austin Holland is an Assistant Professor at the College of Natural Resources and an Extension Specialist at the Center for Land Use Education at UW-Stevens Point. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Geographical & Sustainability Sciences at the University of Iowa in 2022. Austin’s research and teaching interests include conservation governance and policy, private land management, sustainable landscapes, ecosystem services, and stakeholder perceptions. His research makes use of both qualitative social science methods and geospatial analysis to better understand how governance/policy impacts the landscape as well as stakeholders’ perceptions of those policies, services, and landscapes. His previous work has examined federal agricultural policy, local ecological restoration, and governance of freshwater systems. Current projects examine climate change’s impacts on tourism and collaborations on private land conservation.
Jeremy Solin: Board Member
Jeremy Solin is an educator, community organizer, gardener, woods-wanderer, father, husband and entrepreneur. He’s worked in the environmental and sustainability education fields for the past 20 years. Jeremy and his wife Abi co-own Tapped Maple Syrup where they craft infused, barrel-aged, and pure maple syrups from sustainable forests in northern Wisconsin. Professionally, Jeremy works for UW-Madison Division of Extension where he is the Area Extension Director in Portage, Wood, Marathon, and Clark Counties. He has a bachelor’s degree in water resources (UW-Stevens Point), a master’s degree in environmental education (University of Minnesota, Duluth) and a doctorate degree in sustainability education (Prescott College).
Pat McMurtrie: Board Member
Pat McMurtrie joined Gathering Waters in 2018 as its first Communications Specialist. She served in this role for two years before transitioning to the development team as the Annual Giving & Outreach Manager. Before joining Gathering Waters, Pat worked as a freelance marketing consultant and content writer for the healthcare industry and co-owned a full-service advertising and marketing agency in Wausau. During the agency’s 15-year history, Pat acted as the customer relationship director and business manager in addition to being the copywriter and editor. She developed marketing plans and managed customer projects, acquiring a unique understanding of business and customer service as she developed long-term relationships with her clients. Pat has been serving on the NCCT Public Relations Committee since summer 2021 and on the NCCT Fundraising Action Team since November 2022. Pat is currently studying for the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) exam and hopes to become credentialed in 2025. Pat has also studied Business Administration at UW-Platteville. Her favorite protected place in Wisconsin is the Door County shoreline. It reminds her of her hometown near Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine. Pat enjoys spending time with family, road trips, hiking, snowshoeing, and capturing unique photos.