Burnett Woods
Burnett Woods, photo by Dick Miller
Janet McCabe: Everything Touches Everything Else
Written By: Shawndra Miller
Date Published: November 28, 2021
Shawndra Miller
Earlier this year, we had the chance to sit down with Indiana resident Janet McCabe, who serves as Deputy Administrator of the EPA. We profiled her in the winter newsletter. Here are some highlights from our conversation.
Janet McCabe
From the layperson’s standpoint, problems in the environmental arena are so overwhelming. How are you approaching this in your new position?
You know, there’s the old joke: “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” We know that there is science that says there are things that we can do to make our future better. And everybody has things that they can do. At the EPA, we have the opportunity to do things that can affect a lot of people all at once, through policies or grant programs, investments, and that sort of thing. But everybody has the opportunity, wherever they are in their professional and personal life, to take action. Organizations like yours obviously play a big part in both doing those things yourselves and encouraging other people to take action.
What keeps you up at night in terms of specific threats to the environment?
One is climate change. We see it here in the Midwest with more severe storms and flooding and the impacts that that has on farmers, on communities and on local governments who are trying to contend with these changes.
Related to that is an increasing awareness and urgency around the chronic unfairnesses in our society about who is most impacted by degraded environmental conditions. People who are poor, people who are in communities of color, and indigenous people in this country bear a higher burden of environmental pollution. And they will be unfairly and more significantly impacted by the adverse changes that we’re seeing from climate change.
How can either everyday Hoosiers or private land conservation organizations like ours play a role in addressing environmental injustices?
A key issue is for people to educate themselves about their own communities. And that means opening your eyes to the way everybody in your community lives, in the kinds of environments that they have. And the contrast that we have in some of our communities right here in Indiana is pretty stark.
I think people need to appreciate that everybody has an important voice in what they want their community to be. And finding ways to talk with one another is really important.
When I ask experts, “How do you talk with people who might have different views about climate change?” the answers that I get from people that I really respect are: “We have to find common ground with people and not feel like we have to engage on the areas where we disagree, because we may not be able to persuade one another. But we may both like birds. We may both have grandchildren that we like taking to the park. We may both grow vegetables in our backyard.”
There are ways to find common ground with people, respecting one another for where we all come from and what we care about.
I think that there are so many people of goodwill in this state and all across the country who, given the chance, will have those conversations and we’ll all benefit from them. And when you know somebody and you find ways to do productive things together, that’s what builds really strong relationships and communities. You (at CILTI) have volunteers who get out and clean trails, you lead hikes and workdays. This is a way to get people to engage with one another.
What gives you hope?
I spent the last four years working through Indiana University with local communities in Indiana. Just in the last four years, there’s been an amazing stepping up of cities, towns, counties and many communities to say, “Let’s not quibble about what vocabulary we use. Let’s recognize that the river is flooding, and it is a problem for us. It is dangerous. It is risky. And let’s get the information we need. Let’s get people to help us. Let’s work together.”
And you can see the improved air quality from getting more of our energy from clean energy sources. You can see the impacts that planting trees have on our quality of life. It’s these sorts of things that give me hope.
And frankly, I’m heartened by the messages that are coming from the Biden administration about the importance of these things, and the fact that we can integrate attention to climate change and environmental equality into the other important work that we’re doing in this country. We can do all of that (while) being very mindful of not only not exacerbating the climate change challenge, but also making ourselves more resilient in the process.
What do you see as the role of small local land trusts like ours and addressing some of these problems?
First of all, protecting land in a natural state is important in and of itself. Open land helps with flood control. Open land helps with carbon absorbing vegetation. Open land helps with biodiversity which helps with healthy ecosystems. Everything touches everything else.
Also, your properties provide ways for people to get out into nature, which improves our physical and mental health, and it gives an opportunity to see how incredible it is to have open space. But even if people aren’t able to actually get out and hike in your properties, you provide an amazing service of educating people about the value of preserving open space.
You also give people a way to be engaged by volunteering with you, by helping to support your work. That’s something that individuals can do to contribute to all of these things that we care about.
Do you have a favorite place to hike or explore in Indiana?
I get to Fort Ben here in Indianapolis and Eagle Creek as often as I can. And we have an amazing state park system here in Indiana. Last weekend I was down in Cliffy falls. We had our 18-month-old grandson with us. Who’s very game, but he’s also very short. You look down the trail map and it says, you know, moderate, hard, hard, hard, moderate, hard, hard, hard. There was one that was easy. And that kid went a mile and did the whole thing!
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.
Stacy Cachules
Chief Operating Officer
Among her many key duties as Assistant Director, Stacy has the critical task of tracking our budget, making sure we channel donations for maximum efficiency. When her workday’s done, Stacy loves to spend time with her two young boys—and when not traveling, she’s likely planning the next travel adventure.
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
Development Systems Manager
Born and raised in Central Illinois, David spent many days as a child wandering around the river, forest and lakes there. He works behind the scenes as a key member of our fundraising team. 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.
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.
January 8, 2026
We knew at the outset that our goal would require everyone to dig deep. The Efroymson Family Fund offered a generous $350,000 matching challenge, our largest year-end challenge to date. It was a big stretch.
Fred & Dorothy Meyer Nature Preserve,Homepage,Newsroom,Properties
December 24, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Banker Potter donates Bedford Falls properties for perpetual preservation Banking tycoon Henry “Old Man” Potter has donated a swath of land previously set aside for a housing development to the Central Indiana Land Trust, Inc, (CILTI) for perpetual protection.
Newsroom
December 22, 2025
As nature-lovers ourselves, we appreciated the chance to reflect on our top nature moments. Enjoy these “postcards” from our staff, which first appeared in the fall 2025 newsmagazine.
Betley Woods,Meltzer Woods,Newsroom
