Staff
Meet our team.
Bringing passion and dedication to their work, day in and day out, these are the people who get things done around here. Together, they contribute over 45 years of experience to advancing land conservation across the North State.
Cynthia Graves Perrine, Executive Director
Cynthia’s hometown is Chico, and she’s spent the past three decades working throughout California and Nevada as a field biologist and program director for state and federal agencies, non-profits, and academic institutions. In addition to her academic and work experience in applied ecology, she holds an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University, is a Certified Non-profit Professional (CNP) with Non-profit Leadership Alliance, and a Certified Wildlife Biologist (CWB) with The Wildlife Society.
Cynthia’s career is fueled by an authentic connection to a land ethic that was formed by the habitats and land-uses of Butte County. From fishing and hunting, to backyard gardening, to recreating on bike or on foot, the many outdoor activities enjoyed here provide a quality of life closely tied to the land, requiring effective and collaborative stewardship. She’s eager to contribute to that stewardship effort.
Prior projects include a K-12 conservation education program in which university students guided school-aged kids for a walk from their school to open space to learn the art and science of observation and instill a sense of place, coordinating expert-led learning experiences and scientific collecting forays across California, Nevada, and New Zealand, and coordinating CDFW’s onboarding, training needs assessment, and education program for newly-hired scientists statewide. Species she’s inclined to work with include bats and birds, and her favorite habitat is blue oak woodland.
Working to strengthen the community connections between all stewards of our land and advance conservation objectives in Butte, Glenn and Tehama County is what she’s most excited about for this new role. Away from her desk, she enjoys hiking, biking, kayaking, cooking, playing the trumpet or listening to live music of any kind, and spending time with her family and dogs.
Hannah Espinosa, Stewardship Director
As the Stewardship Director, Hannah is responsible for monitoring and stewardship guidance for all of NCRLT’s preserves and conservation easements, as well as providing leadership and transaction management during conservation easement and/or fee title acquisition. Hannah joined NCRLT in 2022, and she is excited to continue working with current landowners to sustain the ongoing management and stewardship of the land. She is also eager to work with perspective landowners to create new and lasting conservation easements. Hannah graduated from the University of Kentucky with a B.A. in Chemistry and a B.S. in Biology. She then received her MSc in Biodiversity, Evolution, and Conservation in Action from Middlesex University in London, England. Hannah has lived and worked in a variety of environments, from the mountains of Vermont to the rainforests of Africa. She hopes to put her wide range of knowledge and experience to beneficial use in Northern California. She is passionate about conservation and restoration of natural habitats and open spaces, improving the accessibility of nature for all people, and protecting local food availability. When Hannah is not at work, she can be found baking for no one and everyone, hiking, reading, or exploring new places.
Lucas RossMerz, Conservation Director
As the Conservation Director, Lucas is responsible for overseeing conservation planning and outreach opportunities throughout NCRLT’s three counties. Lucas is also charged with providing support to the Executive Director and Stewardship Director on administrative, technical, and organizational tasks associated with securing and maintaining conservation easements. Lucas joined NCRLT in April of 2024 and is excited to work with the entire NCRLT team to guide prospective projects through the conservation easement funding and acquisition process. Lucas attended college at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, California, earning his BS degree in Environmental Management and Protection in 2010. Lucas was born and raised in Northern California, and he feels blessed to have grown up exploring the creeks, orchards, foothills, mountains, wetlands, and rivers of his home region. Lucas has worked in a variety of professional fields: greenhouse gas emissions calculation and management, climate action planning, riparian habitat protection, river resources and physical processes education, water resource management, groundwater monitoring and management, sustainable/regenerative agriculture, k-12 outdoor education, mushroom packaging, ecotourism, heavy equipment operation, and construction. Lucas is an avid paddler and loves to experience natural areas from an on-river perspective. Lucas also enjoys skiing, snowboarding, backpacking, fishing, and playing in his garden.
Isaiah Babboye, Administrative Assistant/Bookkeeper
As a Chico native, Isaiah is proud to be serving the community he grew up in by providing administrative support to the Northern California Regional Land Trust. As a recent Graduate of Butte College, earning an A.S. in Accounting, Isaiah offers a substantial amount of financial insight to help facilitate financial operations and procedures of the Land Trust. Isaiah continues to pursue his educational goals by taking his next big steps and attending CSU Chico with determination, with a goal to achieve his B.A. in Business and Administration in Accounting. Isaiah has worked for a variety of local businesses in the Chico area, each helping him to further hone his excellent work ethic. He has even had the opportunity to travel around the USA while working as a truck driver. Isaiah is happy to have his first opportunity to work for a nonprofit organization, and be a part of a team whose goal is to make our community a better place.
Sam Vasen, Stewardship Assistant
As Stewardship Assistant, Sam aids in a variety of efforts central to NCRLT’s mission. He is primarily focused on easement monitoring and stewardship of the Deer Creek Preserve, but he also lends his support to educational outreach and volunteer recruitment efforts throughout the region. Sam became a part of the NCRLT team as an AmeriCorps member through the Sierra Nevada AmeriCorps Partnership (SNAP). He is thrilled to work with landowners and the public to help conserve this beautiful and ecologically important region. Originally from New York, he quickly became enamored with the Sierra Nevada and the mighty wetlands and lush farmland of the Central Valley. Sam graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Before joining NCRLT, he worked in Southern California, conducting surveys for endangered birds and in Plumas County, leading native seed collection for burn scar restoration projects. He is excited to bring his passions to these lands and communities. He hopes to build close relationships with the local people and natural areas all while growing as a conservationist. For fun, Sam loves birding, botanizing, rock climbing, gardening and cooking.
Daniel Deem, GIS Specialist Intern
A lifelong resident of Red Bluff, California, Daniel works in Geographic Information Systems, satellite imagery monitoring, and data insight for the Northern California Regional Land Trust. As a senior at CSU Chico, earning a B.S. in Geography, Daniel’s duties include data management, mapping and presenting easement boundaries and qualities to prospective easement holders, and presenting new projects in the context of existing protected lands to show the progress of conservation in the North State. In addition, he assists with fieldwork, preparing photo documentation for baseline property reports, and analysis of satellite imagery for annual monitoring on remote properties. From a family of biologists, with a long history in Fish and Game, the Forest Service, and other agencies, Daniel hopes to continue the conservation tradition by focusing on GIS and landscape-based land and water stewardship; where people are neither mere extractors, nor separate from the land, but actively engaged in mutual benefit with the human habitat.