ORLT Staff
Edward "Ted"
Heisel, Executive Director
Ted grew up in Labadie, Missouri, on a corn and soybean farm along the
Missouri River. He spent much of his youth hiking, hunting and fishing
in the Ozark foothills of Franklin County. More recently, he has taken
up kayaking on many Ozark rivers and some day would like to float a few
major rivers for their entire length. Prior to joining ORLT, Ted
was staff attorney at the Washington University Interdisciplinary
Environmental Clinic in St. Louis. He has a B.S. in Biology from Kansas
State University and J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Abigail Lambert, River Stewardship Project Coordinator
Abigail was born and raised in St. Louis. Her family
initially settled in the area in the 1700s and were trappers on the
Mississippi. She has a bachelor's degree in Political
Science/Spanish/Ecology from University of Arizona and a master's degree
in Environmental Management from Duke University. Before returning to
St. Louis she served as a solid waste consultant in Virginia and as the
sole staff person with Lower Shore Land Trust for four years in
Maryland. She raised $5 million for protection of 9,000 acres through
Rural Legacy, Maryland's land and conservation easement program.
Mark Patrick, Program and Development Coordinator
Mark joined ORLT in 2009. He has previously spent
fifteen years in the non-profit sector, including nearly three years at
the Legacy Land Conservancy in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He lives in
St. Louis County with his wife and their eight-year old son.
Blake Stephens, Karst Conservation Consultant
John Cutler, Mapping Consultant
John brings many important interests and skills to his role with ORLT.
He holds a Ph.D. in Geology/Paleontology from Columbia University in New
York, and was a college professor for 8 years in that field.
Following that, he founded and operated a typesetting and graphics arts
business for 14 years. In 1985, he turned his 25-year interest in
computer programming and custom software development into a full-time
job. John served for nine years on the ORLT Board of Directors and now
is a consultant on mapping work. He is the principal founder,
manager and secretary/treasurer of the 480-acre Sweetwater Community
Land Trust.