Welcome, Ben Taylor!

A warm welcome to Ben Taylor, the newest member of the ACRES team! Taylor recently joined the staff as contract and project manager.

This new position oversees a wide range of projects to ensure the business of protecting land gets done.

“Creation of this new position allows the multiple staff members previously assigned to these projects greater capacity to work within their fields of expertise (fund development, negotiating land acquisitions and natural resource management),” said Jason Kissel, ACRES executive director. “It also creates greater efficiency and consistency by having one employee specializing in project management rather than multiple employees each occasionally leading projects.”

This work includes contract management, due diligence for land acquisitions, stewardship projects and visitor amenities installations. Taylor will work closely with community partners to build relationships across our 27-county service area.

Growing up in Winamac, Indiana, Taylor enjoyed fishing on the Tippecanoe River and spending time at nearby Tippecanoe River State Park. After learning how environmental pressures can affect these places, he felt called to devote his career to protecting natural areas.

He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and biology from Butler University and a master’s degree in forestry and natural resources from Purdue University before serving as a consulting forester and as a watershed project manager for Allen County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Taylor felt drawn to ACRES because its mission strongly aligns with his own values.

“The best thing we can do for the environment is protect land. Protecting land along rivers can protect from pollution and erosion. Protecting forest can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and provide habitat.”