Meet Heidi and Jeff

We’re big thinkers, community connectors, and project builders. We are driven by our dedication to healthy, holistic, and equitable land use, and we value collaborative partnership as the ultimate tool in helping people, and organizations thrive.
Picture
Connector, collaborator, planner
Heidi Hannapel builds collaborative partnerships, bringing together ideas, people, and their lived experiences. She has designed workshops and resources for building a stronger land trust community, focused on best practices, community engagement, and high standards for land conservation. Heidi works with private partners and land trusts on conservation burial site assessment, community partnerships, project development and planning. 

​     Work and Nonprofit Experience
  • Bluestem Conservation Cemetery, Co-founder
  • ​Land Trust Alliance, Southeast Program Manager
  • FailFest, Co-founder and facilitator
  • Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association, ECWA Land Protection Specialist
  • Triangle Community Foundation, Community Park Planner ​
  • Conservation Burial Alliance, Co-founder
  • Durham County's Farm Campus Exploratory Committee, Member
  • Durham's Beaver Queen Pageant and Festival for the Eno, Volunteer
  • Scrap Exchange, Facilities Committee
  • Conservation Trust for North Carolina, Assembly Project Lead 
  • Funeral Consumers Alliance of the Piedmont, Member
  • Clerking Team at Durham Friends Meeting

Education
She holds a BA in English from George Washington University and a Certificate in NonProfit Management from Duke University. 

Fun Fact
Heidi loves a good piece of pie and walking the Carolina woods with her Plott Hound. 
​Contact Heidi
Picture
Thinker, builder, budgeter
Jeff Masten partners with nonprofits and land trusts to integrate the public benefits of conservation with the growth of vibrant communities. Jeff's expertise is in creating and leading cutting-edge conservation programs and building partnerships to conserve and steward land in new and innovative ways. To date, he has protected more than 15,000 acres of land throughout the Triangle region valued at $151 million. Jeff works with private partners and land trusts on site assessment, land and risk analyses, project development, financing models and funding opportunities for conservation burial projects.

​         Work and Nonprofit Experience
  • Bluestem Conservation Cemetery, Co-founder
  • Triangle Land Conservancy, Director of Conservation Strategies
  • Triangle Community Foundation, Environmental Grants Program; Community Park Planner
  • Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association,  ECWA Land Protection and Land Management Committees
  • Conservation Burial Alliance, Co-founder
  • Durham County's Farm Campus Exploratory Committee, Member
  • Conservation Trust for North Carolina, Land Protection Specialist
  • University of North Carolina and Duke University, Teaching Consultant
  • Funeral Consumers Alliance of the Piedmont, Member
  • Scrap Exchange, Facilities Committee

Education
Jeff holds a BS in Finance from Northeastern University and a Masters in City and Regional Planning with a focus on Land Use and Environmental Planning from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Fun Fact
Jeff hiked the Schwarzwald in Army boots and prefers wiener schnitzel over sauerbraten. Contact Jeff
Top photo: Greensprings Natural Cemetery Preserve, Newfield, New York
​Bottom photo: Conservation Project, Chatham County, North Carolina