Betley Woods
Betley Woods at Glacier's End, one of Ellen's favorite CILTI preserves
How Ellen Jacquart Gardened CILTI
Written By: Olivia O'Neal
Date Published: July 9, 2025
Olivia O'Neal
Third in a series about CILTI’s early supporters, in honor of our 35th anniversary
Ellen Jacquart is one of the people who planted the first seeds of CILTI. Before it fully took to bloom, she served as one of its many supporting roots. Now a member of the board of directors, she is helping the organization grow.
Ellen was CILTI’s first board president. Lending her expertise and guidance as a retired botanist, she has worked to accomplish her life-long goal of “botany in the service of conservation.”
A passion for land conservation was with her even in childhood.
“Since I’ve been a little kid, I’ve watched areas get destroyed and you know it’s a terrible thing to experience seeing a place that you love get destroyed,” she said.
That passion translated into her work while interning for the DNR’s Division of Nature Preserves from 1986-1987. She first learned about land trusts from John Bacone, Director of the Division of Nature Preserves at the time. He is now her fellow board member.
Ellen Jacquart in the early days of CILTI
Ellen recognized the pivotal role that land trusts can play in conserving Indiana land. Her DNR involvement also gave her a look into the many significant natural areas of Central Indiana that succumbed to development.
The idea of CILTI was planted after Ellen met James (Jim) Barrett, a founder of the northeast Indiana nonprofit ACRES Land Trust.
“Somebody has to do something—it might as well be us,” Ellen recalled thinking in regards to protecting land in Central Indiana.
Inspired, she and the other founding members together formed CILTI. They began by drafting the first conservation blueprint, laying out the organization’s priorities and the why behind them.
“It was not only a plan for them but it was also a rallying cry of ‘here’s why we need to do this and why these actions are important,’” she said. “A lot of the logistical things we hadn’t figured out in our heads yet. But we knew the first step was: you’ve got to have a land trust. You’ve got to have a group of people who work together to do this.”
A new job in Bedford took Ellen out of the area. As a result, she handed the presidency over to Dan Zay and continued to watch from afar.
From learning how to get funding, to figuring out how to prioritize properties, to finding support—Ellen recalls CILTI’s evolution as a fascinating thing to watch.
“In the beginning there were a number of us who were passionate about land conservation but had very little experience. It was really just grassroots,” she said. Today however, she is proud to see that the staff and board members of CILTI “are just the best in the business. These are some of the best conservationists I’ve worked with. They know what they’re doing with how to protect land and how to manage land. So that level of professionalism that they have developed through the decades is really impressive.”
Ellen says the experience of returning to CILTI’s board of directors has been “gratifying” and “terrific.”
Betley Woods at Glacier’s End is among her favorite CILTI properties.
“It’s just a delightful example of southern Indiana forests and hills,” she said.
Ellen now spends her time volunteering and lending her services to manage invasive species and native plants through Monroe County Identify and Reduce Invasive Species (MC-IRIS). Ellen also served as president of the Indiana Native Plant Society and won the 2022 Carl N. Becker Stewardship Award from the Natural Areas Association.
As Ellen serves the board, she is excited to watch more of CILTI’s blooms unfold and stretch towards a bright future.
Mary Callaghan
Assistant Outreach Biologist, International Crane Foundation
Mary Callaghan is an Assistant Outreach Biologist for the International Crane Foundation. Her work aims to educate Indiana communities on Whooping and Sandhill cranes, their habitats, and how we can all work together to mitigate threats that these birds face. She is responsible for monitoring populations of these species on their wintering grounds across Indiana, most importantly tracking movements of the endangered Whooping Crane. Her Golden Hour presentation was one of our most popular events of 2026.
Ben Valentine
Guest Blogger
Ben Valentine is a founding member of the Friends of Marott Woods Nature Preserve and is active in several other conservation organizations. He leads a series of NUVO interviews with Indiana's environmental leaders, and he cherishes showing his son all the wonders of nature he grew up loving.
DJ Connors
Guest Blogger
DJ Connors, a Central Indiana native and late-to-life hunter, combines a lifelong appreciation for wildlife and the outdoors with a deep passion for exploring the natural beauty of the area he has called home for most of his life. As a husband and father of three, he is committed to ensuring his children have the same opportunities to connect with nature and appreciate the outdoors in their community. DJ’s unique journey into hunting emphasizes sustainability, responsible stewardship, and the importance of preserving these experiences for future generations.
Bridget Walls
Guest Blogger
Bridget is our first ever Communications and Outreach Intern. She is a graduate of Marian University, where she combined English, studio art, and environmental sciences in her degree studies. As treasurer for Just Earth, the university's environmental club, she helped plan events encouraging a responsible relationship between people, nature, and animals.
Jordan England
Guest Blogger
Jordan England is a lifelong Shelby County resident who graduated from Waldron Jr. Sr. High School (just a few miles from Meltzer Woods!). After earning her B.S. degree in Retail Management from Purdue University, she returned to Waldron to start a family with her husband, Brian. Together they have 3 young children and enjoy sharing with them their love of the community. Jordan is the Grants and Nonprofit Relations Director at Blue River Community Foundation, managing BRCF’s grant program, providing support to local nonprofits, and promoting catalytic philanthropy in Shelby County.
Cliff Chapman
President and CEO
As CILTI’s President and CEO, Cliff keeps CILTI’s focus on good science and stewardship. He’s mindful that the natural places you love took thousands of years to evolve and could be destroyed in a single day, and that knowledge drives his dedication to their protection.
Ryan Fuhrmann
Board Chair
Ryan C. Fuhrmann, CFA, is President and founder of Fuhrmann Capital LLC, an Indiana-based investment management firm focused on portfolio management. Ryan’s interest in land conservation centers around a desire to help preserve natural habitats for wildlife and the subsequent benefits it brings to people and the environment.
Joanna Nixon
Board Member
Joanna Nixon is the owner of Nixon Consulting, an Indianapolis-based strategy and project management firm focused on the nonprofit sector. She currently serves as the Philanthropic Advisor for the Efroymson Family Fund. Prior to opening her consulting practice in 2000, Joanna was vice-president for grantmaking at Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF). Joanna has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit and arts and culture sector. She is passionate about the environment and loves bringing big ideas to life and creating high-quality arts and culture programs and experiences. Joanna enjoys outdoor adventures, including competing in fitness obstacle course races and hiking with her high energy Australian Cattle Dog, Jackson.
Karen Wade
Board Member
Before retiring, CILTI board member Karen Wade worked for Eli Lilly & Co. In retirement she volunteers for a number of organizations, including the Indiana Master Naturalist program, Johnson County Native Plant Partnership CISMA, Meadowstone Therapeutic Riding Center, and Leadership Johnson County.
David Barickman
Director of Advancement
Born and raised in Central Illinois, David spent many days as a child wandering around the river, forest and lakes there. Now he enjoys working with CILTI donors, helping them to protect nature through their giving. When not working, David loves to be outdoors hiking, fly fishing, kayaking or woodworking.
Jamison Hutchins
Stewardship Director
Jamison leads our stewardship team in caring for the land that is so important to you. He comes to our team after eight years as Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator for the city of Indianapolis, where his work had a positive impact from both health and environmental perspectives.
Robert McCrea
Land Protection Director
Robert grew up in Bloomington, IN, where he opted for exploring the hills of southern Indiana rather than the expected high school extracurricular pursuits. This formative time set the tone for his career in conservation. Most recently, Robert was an attorney at Conservation Law Center and provided counsel to land trusts and conservation partnerships throughout Indiana. As CILTI's Land Protection Director, he works to protect Central Indiana’s remaining natural areas.
Jen Schmits Thomas
Media Relations
An award-winning communicator and recognized leader in Central Indiana’s public relations community, Jen helps us tell our story in the media. She is the founder of JTPR, which she and her husband John Thomas own together. She is accredited in public relations (APR) from the Public Relations Society of America, and loves to camp and hike in perfect weather conditions.
Shawndra Miller
Communications Director
Shawndra’s earliest writing projects centered around the natural world, starting when a bird inspired her to write her first “book” in elementary school. Now she is in charge of sharing our story and connecting you to our work. Through our print and online materials, she hopes to inspire your participation in protecting special places for future generations.
Phillip Weldy
Stewardship Manager
Phillip enjoys nature’s wonders from an up-close-and-personal perspective as he works to restore the natural places you love. As an AmeriCorps member in Asheville, NC, he had his first full immersion in relatively undisturbed land while reconstructing wilderness trails in National Parks and National Forests.
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