Decorative background image
Home
 » Investment opportunities »Company Profile

Western Reserve Land Conservancy

Impact sector(s)

Neighborhoods + Real Estate

About

We are conservationists, urban planners, biologists, lawyers, communicators, real-estate professionals, fundraisers and public policy experts. We share a passion for protecting our natural resources and revitalizing our communities. Our staff is dedicated to preserving natural areas, farmland and coastal lands in northern and eastern Ohio and working statewide to help cities devastated by the foreclosure crisis. Western Reserve Land Conservancy is the largest land trust in Ohio and one of the largest in the nation.

Videos

Facts & Stats

  • The Western Reserve Land Conservancy is the largest land trust in Ohio
  • Over 70,000 acres of land and water resources have been conserved
  • More than 15,000 trees have been planted and distributed in Cleveland
  • Thousands of feet of headwater streams are permanently protected
  • Hundreds of acres of wetlands and wildlife habitat are permanently protected
  • Over 32,000 acres of prime Ohio farmland protected
  • Helped raise over $900 million in state and federal funding for the demolition and rehabilitation of homes left vacant and abandoned following the housing crisis and Great Recession

Notable Successes

The nationally accredited Western Reserve Land Conservancy - the largest local land trust in Ohio - provides the people of northern and eastern Ohio with essential natural assets through land conservation and restoration. The Land Conservancy has preserved natural areas and working farms in 28 counties across Ohio. Its urban program, Thriving Communities, works statewide to clean and green urban centers devastated by the foreclosure crisis. To date, the Land Conservancy has permanently preserved more than 70,000 acres at over 880 properties; helped create and expand nearly 200 public parks and preserves; led the efforts to create 50 county land banks across Ohio; and planted and distributed more than 15,000 robust trees in Cleveland. Our robust environmental education program leads children and adults on dozens of in-person and virtual nature experiences each year. Vibrant Places hikes are naturalist-guided walks that explore the wide variety of natural landscapes, family farms, and urban green spaces Western Reserve Land Conservancy has played a role in protecting. They are offered for free due to the dedicated sponsorship of Ohio Real Title. Field Explorations take a deeper dive into a particular nature subject. We enlist experts to host these unique field trips that focus on an array of topics such as mushrooms, moths, owl migration, and Odonata - to name a few. These experiences take us all over the region to different sites, broadening our understanding of nature. Nature Quests are fun, free-formed outdoor experiences for kids and a parent/guardian. Each focus on a seasonal nature happening, such as Monarch tagging in late summer or nest building in the spring. Even though we theme our adventures, you never know what we'll see. Come ready to explore! In response to Covid-19 restrictions and mandatory quarantines, the Land Conservancy moved quickly to open six publicly accessible nature preserves owned and managed by the organization and embarked on an aggressive marketing campaign to “Get Outside Ohio,” encouraging Ohioans to explore nature in a safe and socially-distant way. For more information, please visit www.wrlandconservancy.org.

Team

We are conservationists, scientists, planners, lawyers, communicators and businesspeople. We have come to care about land conservation from a variety of backgrounds. The protection of land is our driving passion.

Rich Cochran, President, CEO

Rich Cochran is President and CEO of a land conservation and urban revitalization organization operating in more than 28 counties in Ohio....

Rich Cochran is President and CEO of a land conservation and urban revitalization organization operating in more than 28 counties in Ohio. In 1996 he became the first employee of Chagrin River Land Conservancy. Since 1996, 13 organizations have merged to create the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. Today, Cochran reports to a 33-member board of trustees and leads and manages an organization of more than 50 employees & hundreds of volunteers. The Land Conservancy operates several field offices and one central office. His key personal roles include board development and management; cultivation of state and federal elected officials; negotiating complex transactions; major donor fundraising; leadership of senior staff; public speaking; and strategic planning. His professional research interests include human benefits of natural areas and working lands; corporate management and excellence; public economic benefits of land conservation; collaborative planning and action to achieve regional economic growth driven by natural resource conservation.

show moreless

Matt Zone, SVP, Director of Thriving Communities

Matt Zone is a former municipal government official with experience in strategic planning, land use, public art and environmental policy...

Matt Zone is a former municipal government official with experience in strategic planning, land use, public art and environmental policy with the purpose of creating positive change for Northeast Ohio. With a background in Urban Planning and a commitment to social equity, Zone’s work engages diverse community stakeholders to inform and support sustainable community development goals. Zone’s specialties include sustainability initiatives, smart growth, community and economic development, utility works, conflict resolution and safety forces. Born on Feb. 14 in Cleveland and raised by middle-class parents, Zone was taught the values of hard work and civic responsibility at an early age. He is recognized nationally, regionally and locally as a leader on environmental and arts & cultural issues.

show moreless

Alex Czayka, Chief Conservation Officer

Czayka is employed by the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, a non-profit land trust based out of Cleveland. Czayka’s role at the Land...

Czayka is employed by the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, a non-profit land trust based out of Cleveland. Czayka’s role at the Land Conservancy entails oversight of the conservation transactions, public funding, public policy, project management, stewardship, sporting circle and GIS/IT teams. Czayka started with the Land Conservancy in 2013 as an Associate Eastern Field Director. Over the years, Czayka has been promoted to his current role, which involves personnel and program management, revenue forecast and pipeline management, transactional guidance and training, habitat restoration and land management guidance, and many other duties. Czayka also serves on the Land Conservancy's Management Team which guides the business operations of the organization.

show moreless

Stella Dilik, Chief Development Officer

Stella Dilik is an experienced Chief Development Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit organization management...

Stella Dilik is an experienced Chief Development Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit organization management industry. Dilik is skilled in nonprofit organization development, major gift fundraising, strategic planning, volunteer management and recruiting. Dilik is a strong business development professional with a degree from Miami University.

show moreless

Sue Bailey, Chief Financial Officer