Submitted by ClearWater Conservancy
STATE COLLEGE — Elizabeth Crisfield of Harris Township, a conservation scientist for more than 20 years, has been selected as the new executive director of ClearWater Conservancy beginning Wednesday, May 1.
ClearWater Conservancy is a nationally accredited land trust and locally formed conservation organization that was established in 1980 to improve and protect the natural resources of central Pennsylvania for all through land conservation, water resource protection and environmental outreach to the community. The accredited land trust has protected more than 11,000 acres of land and water, restored more than 200 acres of streamside forests along more than 25 miles of stream and helped engage thousands of people in the outdoors every year.
“This is an exciting time for ClearWater as we welcome Elizabeth as our new executive director to support our incredible staff, board members and volunteers,” said Kevin McGarry, ClearWater’s board president.
Throughout the interview process, Crisfield expressed her goal to invest her efforts and expertise in securing central Pennsylvania’s natural resources in a meaningful and enduring way.
“I am so honored and excited to be joining the staff of ClearWater Conservancy,” said Crisfield. “ClearWater has a 40-plus-year legacy of land and water conservation in central Pennsylvania, and I am looking forward to contributing my experience and passion to furthering the mission.”
Crisfield graduated from James Madison University with a bachelor’s degree in physics in 1994, received a Master of Science in agronomy (soil physics) in 1999 and then received her doctorate from The Pennsylvania State University in geography in 2012.
Crisfield comes to ClearWater with experience as a hydrologist and water rights negotiator as part of an interagency team for Everglades National Park, and as the founding consultant of the Strategic Stewardship Initiative. Since 2015, Elizabeth has been consulting with state fish and wildlife agencies with a focus on the prioritization of conservation actions to protect rare and declining species.
Crisfield is also the president-elect of the Pennsylvania Biological Survey, an all-volunteer organization of biological experts assessing the conservation status of taxonomic groups to secure and recover imperiled species. She assumes the presidency in January 2025.
