Staff

Chris is a graduate of Shippensburg University with a B.S. in Geo Environmental Studies and has been with Cecil Soil Conservation District since 2004. Chris started with the District as a Conservation Technician. In 2005, he took a position as a Soil Conservationist and worked with the District’s Urban Program, conducting reviews of Erosion and Sediment Control Plans for construction projects.

Since 2011, Chris has worked to develop the District’s policies and procedures to assist in integrating a farm’s County, State, and Federal permit requirements with traditional agricultural Best Management Practices under each farm’s custom Conservation Plan. He is looking forward to this opportunity to serve and preserve Cecil County Agriculture and provide assistance to our partnering agencies.

In Chris’s free time he enjoys spending time with his wife, Kayce, and their two children.

Tracey started with the district as the Financial Coordinator in September 2017 and in 2023 she was promoted to her new position as District Coordinator. She has her two-year degree in Business Administration from the Community College of Baltimore County. Her experience consists of over 25 years in financial services, bookkeeping, computers and customer service. This opportunity at Cecil Soil Conservation District has given her the chance to reconnect with her childhood.

Tracey grew up in Glen Arm in Baltimore County and was involved in 4-H, showing dairy goats and competing in public speaking contests. She also worked on a local farm by picking produce and working the Farmers Markets in Baltimore City and Towson. When Tracey is not at the district she enjoys camping and spending time at the beach with her husband, Carl and sons, Garrett and Michael

Gerry has worked in the civil engineering industry since 1984. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Carson-Newman College, he was hired as a technician by a private engineering consulting firm where Gerry developed skills in land development preparing construction documents for residential, commercial, and industrial projects with an emphasis on stormwater management and small pond design.

He completed his Master of Civil Engineering (emphasis Structural & Coastal Engineering) at Johns Hopkins University. While focusing on project management in this season of his career, guiding teams of engineers to support the visions and goals of our clients in land development, Gerry expanded his portfolio in structural and coastal engineering projects which he found very rewarding.

After obtaining his Professional Engineering License, he continued to expand his knowledge, skills, and responsibilities as a Civil Engineer. Presently, he has been given this wonderful opportunity to use his knowledge and skills in the public sector, supporting the vision and mission of the Cecil Soil Conservation District. Gerry and his wife enjoy life and love spending their time with their three children and being grandparents.

Mari’s interest in the Soil Conservation District began with her participation in the Envirothon program in high school. After graduating college with a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies, she began working at the District as a soil conservationist, where her roles include reviewing erosion and sediment control plans, environmental site design plans, and forest harvest plans, and working with the Envirothon program.

Ryan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Resources from West Virginia University, as well as a minor in Conservation Ecology, and is currently pursuing a Masters of Natural Resources through Virginia Tech. He currently works at the Cecil Soil Conservation District as a Soil Conservationist, reviewing Erosion & Sediment Control Plans and Agricultural Storm Water Management Plans. Ryan has thoroughly enjoyed working with and serving the agricultural community through his position at Cecil Soil Conservation District.

He is a lifelong resident of Cecil County, an avid outdoorsman, and has been active in his community through church, sports, the Mount Pleasant Sporting Club, scouting, and as a board member with the Cecil Land Trust. Ryan is passionate about conservation and believes that the proper stewardship of Cecil County’s agricultural and natural resources will benefit generations to come. Ryan, his wife Courtney, and dog Nina reside in Colora.

Patty began her career with Cecil County Government in November 2013 first as a temporary Office Service Assistant and was then hired full-time by Cecil Soil Conservation District in March of 2014. Not only does she hold her position at the district but is also the secretary for Cecil County Farm Bureau, she has the opportunity to work with many partnering agencies in the county such as Natural Resource Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency, Maryland Extension, Cecil County Economic Development, Ag Advisory Board, Cecil Land Trust, Cecil County Young Farms, Cecil County 4-H and so many others.

In Patty’s free time she enjoys supporting her husband, Eric’s music career and family time with their two children, Greg and Miranda.

Dan has enjoyed over 20 years working with the Cecil Soil Conservation District providing education and technical assistance in the Agricultural community. He started with the District in the Winter of 1996 completing soil descriptions for the District Conservationist from submitted Erosion and Sediment control plans. Dan was an NRCS Earth Team volunteer from June 1997 thru August 1997 assisting in the District in surveying of Best Management Practices (BMP). He worked for NRCS from September 1997 thru June 1998 analyzing, interpreting and measuring land uses from aerial photography as part of the National Resources Inventory.

Dan graduated from University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture, majoring in Environmental Soil Science, in June of 1998. That same month and year he was hired by the Maryland Department of Agriculture as a Conservation Associate, assisting with planning and designing of BMP’s. Throughout 2004, he assisted in the design and installation of over 40 Dry Hydrants in the County. From April 2005 to currently, his position title changed to Engineering Technician. Throughout his tenure, Dan has served as the CADD Committee chairman, CADD State Trainer, lead technician for the District and Envirothon instructor. Dan is responsible for assisting in the creation and management of the District’s website and Facebook page.

Dan resides in Wilmington Delaware with his wife and children. He enjoys hunting, fishing and spending time with his family.

A lifelong resident of Cecil County having grown up on a former 30-acre farm dating back to the mid-1800s Andrew has enjoyed spending time outdoors from a young age. After graduating from Perryville High School in 2013 he attended the University of Maryland College Park, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science with a concentration in Land Use, along with a minor in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Upon graduation Andrew returned home and spent 4 years working with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources as a lead trail technician at Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Area. During his time at Fair Hill he oversaw the maintenance of an 80-mile trail system. His daily jobs included clearing fallen and hazardous trees, building bridges, controlling vegetation, and making various trail improvements.

In addition to these jobs he also played an integral role in the planning, designing, and early stages of construction of a brand-new trail system at the soon to be Bohemia River State Park. While with the Department of Natural Resources Andrew was a member of the states Wildland Fire Fighting Crew and spent 3 weeks in Northern California in Oct 2020 inside the Klamath National Forest on the Red Salmon Complex Fire.

Andrew still resides in Cecil County and in his free time enjoys doing a wide variety of outdoor activities including fishing, mountain biking, hiking, geocaching, golfing, and searching for arrowheads and relics with his metal detector.

Jessica was raised in Cecil County, graduating from Rising Sun High School. Jessica then attended Cecil Community College and began a 15-year career in the mental health field. In 2015 she decided to return to school to pursue her dream of starting a career in natural resource conservation. Jessica graduated from University of Maryland with a BS in Environmental Management. Shortly after graduation she became a Conservation Technician at the district. She was extremely excited to join CSCD in a position that supported her goal of environmental stewardship in her native county.

Jessica enjoys backpacking, fishing, hiking, skiing, and kayaking with her daughter Ava. She continues to look forward to providing conservation assistance to our community and supporting the local agricultural community.

Josh grew up in Northern NY in the Adirondack State Park where he graduated from Paul Smith’s College with a B.S. in Forest Management and B.S. in Forest Operations. He has worked with various institutes on invasive plant management, worked with a few family-owned farms, and spent 10+ years working with nurseries and orchards. Let him know if you want to talk fruit trees!

Most recently Josh comes from being the Grounds Maintenance Supervisor for Alapocas Run and Wilmington State Parks. In his spare time, Josh can be found working on his home with his wife Maureen and son Jameson. He also enjoys hiking, woodworking, and relaxing with a good book or movie. He is excited to develop relationships with the Cecil Soil Conservation District and local farmers, and in expanding conservation practices throughout the county.

Lauren has been a Cecil County resident her entire life. From a young age, she has loved the outdoors. She grew up hunting and fishing with her family, but especially with her dad. Once she got into middle school, she started horseback riding. While in high school, she attended the Natural Careers Camp held by the Department of Natural Resources twice. She attended once as a student and once has a staff assistant. This is where she learned about all her job options within the natural recourses.

After high school, she went onto Cecil College where she got an Associate Degree in Agricultural Science. While at Cecil, she was recognized on the President’s list. Her two favorite courses were agricultural science and environmental science. In Lauren’s free time, you can find her with friends, family, or with her dog, Bandit. She loves playing the piano and singing in the worship teams at her church. Lauren also loves taking pictures of wildlife and plants.

Sean has lived in Cecil County nearly his entire life. He came to us in 2021 from the Cecil County Department of Public Works Stormwater Management Division where he was an MS4 Compliance Supervisor. He started at Cecil County Government over 13 years ago as a Stormwater Management Inspector. Sean’s job involved coordinating stormwater BMP inspections, project management, reviewing development, stormwater and grading plans. A large component of Sean’s job also involved outreach and education; from talking to contractors and residents, to visiting schools to work with students as well as providing continuing education opportunities for teachers.

Sean strived to make others aware of their impact on the environment around them. Because of is efforts, Sean received the Outstanding Achievement Award in 2010 from the Cecil Soil Conservation District where he served as an Associate Supervisor on the Board of Supervisors for seven years.

Since a very young age, Sean has been interested in and very passionate about the health of water resources, wildlife, especially birds. He has served several terms a President of the Cecil Bird Club where he continues to serve as a very active field trip leader. He has also become an avid nature photographer. Sean focuses a lot of his free time on education and conservation of birds and bird habitat. For the past few years, Sean has been the Cecil County Breeding Bird Atlas Coordinator which is a cooperative project between the Maryland Ornithological Society and Department of Natural Resources. What started out as personal interests throughout his life, have developed into a desire and a career to educate others about the importance of environmental stewardship.

From improving water quality to the better management of wildlife habitats, Sean encourages the importance of environmental awareness. Sean and his wife, Colleen reside in the Town of North East. They enjoy spending time with Sean’s two children, Kylie & Drew, Colleen’s children, Landon, Virginia Jordan and Abbey and their three grandchildren, Mason, Ellie and Flynn.

Rob is the District Conservationist for Cecil and Harford Counties since June of 2018. He grew up on his family’s beef farm near the Antietam Battlefield in Washington County. Rob graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture specialized in Agronomy (soils). He worked for 5 years as a planner with Maryland Dept of Agriculture in Harford county from 1995 to 2000 and did work in Cecil county in 1996.

Rob has been with NRCS since 2004 and has worked in Washington and Carroll counties in MD and Dauphin and Lancaster counties in PA prior to coming to Cecil. Rob is married with two daughters and lives in York, PA. In Rob’s spare time he plays baseball in York PA in the over 35 league

Elizabeth is an NRCS affiliate employed by Western Maryland RC&D. She works in the Cecil, Harford, and Kent County USDA offices handling administrative functions relating to federal conservation programs like EQIP, CSP, and AMA. Elizabeth holds her Bachelor’s in Environmental Management from the University of Maryland.