Staff Bios
Metzi Anderson
Metzi Anderson became Director of Operations and Finance in 2021 after being Stowe Land Trust's Operations Manager since October 2014.
Metzi, who was born and raised in Stowe, holds a BA in Complex Organizations from Mount Holyoke College and arrived at Stowe Land Trust after five years working for real estate trade associations in Massachusetts and New York.
Metzi’s appreciation for land conservation began at an early age when her family conserved their land which adjoins Sterling Forest with the Vermont Land Trust and created the Sterling Falls Gorge Natural Area. This interest in caring for the land was cultivated further by spending many hours helping her dad clear blowdowns on the trails in Sterling Forest and summers home from college as a Vermont Youth Conservation Corps crew member maintaining hiking trails in Sterling Falls Gorge and in the Moosalamoo region of the Green Mountain National Forest.
An avid skier, mountain biker and runner, Metzi enjoys the beautiful trails on Stowe Land Trust conserved land and the many other trail networks in the surrounding region.
Carolyn Loeb
Carolyn Loeb joined SLT as Conservation Program Manager in August 2022.
Carolyn is a field ecologist, GIS technician, and educator who is passionate about helping people build relationships with the outdoors and with each other. Carolyn fell in love with Vermont in 2013 when she joined the staff of a working farm and forest. She returned to the state in 2017 to complete an M.S. in the University of Vermont’s Field Naturalist Program. As the Land Trust’s Conservation Program Manager, Carolyn is responsible for overseeing the monitoring and maintenance of SLT’s conserved lands and for coordinating volunteer stewardship activities. She also assists with new conservation projects, outreach, and communications. Previously, Carolyn held roles as an ecological consultant, researcher, and in sustainable forest certification. She has a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Macalester College and speaks conversational French and Spanish.
Carolyn lives in Duxbury, Vermont with her husband, her cat, and a flock of ever-curious chickens. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, paddling, cross-country skiing, gardening, and puttering in the local pottery studio.
Barry Matthews
Barry Matthews joined SLT as the Community Engagement Manager in October 2021.
Barry is a storyteller, educator, and environmental historian committed to fostering sustainable relationships with the natural world. Originally from Charlottesville, Virginia, Barry arrives in Stowe after several years spent in the Berkshires. As the Land Trust’s Community Engagement Manager he organizes public programs, builds community partnerships, and supports the organization’s outreach and communication efforts. Barry joins SLT following a TerraCorps service year as Community Engagement Coordinator at Hilltown & Franklin Land Trusts in western Massachusetts. Previously, he held a variety of roles in higher education and museum interpretation. He holds a BA in Art History from VCUarts and an MA in American Studies from the College of William & Mary.
Barry enjoys spending time in the kitchen, trying new recipes, and hosting potluck dinners. An outdoors enthusiast, he can often be found exploring the region's trails, roads, waters and slopes.
Kristen Sharpless
Kristen Sharpless became Executive Director in 2018 after a four-year tenure as SLT's conservation program manager and upon graduating from the Snelling Center’s Vermont Leadership Institute.
Kristen leads Stowe Land Trust’s land protection work and oversees a talented team to achieve strategic financial, land stewardship, and community conservation results. Stowe Land Trust’s impact has grown significantly during her tenure: the organization has increased its staff capacity and operating budget by 60%, collaborated with partners to leverage $13 million toward protecting an additional 3500 acres of land important to the Stowe area community, and has grown the land trust’s stewardship endowment for the long-term care of conserved lands by 70% to $1.8 million. Previously, Kristen served as a conservation biologist at Audubon Vermont where she worked as part of a team to implement strategic regional conservation initiatives, including the Foresters for the Birds Project. Kristen is a graduate of the University of Vermont’s Field Naturalist Program and has worked as a consulting ecologist and volunteer specializing in assisting municipalities with community-based town forest planning. Kristen lives in Stowe with her husband and daughter and is likely to be seen stopping to listen to the birds, taking a walk at Kirchner Woods, or buying dark chocolate at Laughing Moon.
Dany Boyle
Dany Boyle began serving with SLT as the Youth and Volunteer Projects Coordinator in October 2022. She is an AmeriCorps member with the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board.
Growing up along the Appalachian Trail in New Jersey’s only ski-town cemented a deep relationship of respect and gratitude between Dany and the natural world. Dany is a nature enthusiast with specific interests in the relationships between agriculture, community, and climate resilience. She is excited for the opportunity to build relationships with the Stowe community through a shared love of nature and mutual goals to build a sustainable future.
Dany arrived in Vermont in 2021 after completing a B.S. in Biology at Fairleigh Dickinson University then an M.S. in Neuroscience at The Ohio State University. Determined to utilize the biological systems knowledge gained during her academic career in the context of the climate movement, she sought out opportunities to learn local-level land management strategies. This is what began her AmeriCorps service with the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board here at STL. The many natural wonders of Vermont continue to inspire her towards aspirational goals to conserve land and resources in a synergistic fashion with social and food systems justice.
Dany lives in Montgomery Center with her many roommates, who supply her with support, and many energized pets, who supply her with endless hiking companionship. Outside of STL Dany can be found hiking The Long Trail, snowboarding, chasing local waterfalls, and teaching science courses with the Community College of Vermont.