Elisabeth Moore, Executive Director
Elisabeth (she/her) has more than twenty years of experience working with landowners, towns, and community groups to preserve farmland and significant natural and community resources. Since joining the Trust in 2004, CFT has preserved 75 family farms. Prior to coming to the Trust, Elisabeth was a project manager with the Trust for Public Land’s Connecticut Field Office and worked to preserve family farms in the Catskills of New York as part of the City of New York’s landmark $50 million watershed protection program.
She also managed the Maryland Environmental Trust’s Rural Historic Village Protection Program. Elisabeth has an AB from Bowdoin College and a Master’s degree in Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She serves on the Steering Committee of the Working Lands Alliance and Board of Directors of CitySeed and is Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Watershed Fund.
Kimball Cartwright, Development Director
Kimball (he, him) joined CT Farmland Trust (CFT) in October, 2021, devoted to connecting with donors, farmers, partners and other supporters of CFT, to shape a healthy future for farmers, farming and food systems in CT. Immediately prior to CFT, Kimball worked as Director of Development at the New Haven Ecology Project (AKA “Common Ground”), in New Haven, CT.
Kimball’s background includes an MBA in Organizational and Environmental Sustainability from Antioch University New England and has served on the Boards of Junta for Progressive Action in New Haven, and the CT Chapter of the Northeast Organic Farmer’s Association. Growing food has been among his interests since he first pulled a carrot from the earth and a tomato off a sprawling vine climbing up the side of his father’s compost pile.
Kip Kolesinskas, Consulting Conservation Scientist
Kip (he, him) has many clients include the American Farmland Trust (AFT), the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, Connecticut Farmland Trust, North Central Conservation District, and the University of Connecticut Extension. Much of the focus of his recent work has involved efforts to improve land access and affordability, and provide technical services to new and beginning farmers. He served on the UConn Extension Solid Ground Farmer Training cadre, where Kip provided training and site assessments on land access, soil health, and climate change adaptation strategies. In addition, he works on AFT’s recent National initiatives Farms Under Threat, Farmland For The Next Generation, and Climate Change initiatives. Kip also assists the CT Department of Agriculture with the Farmland Restoration Program to sustainably bring additional lands back into production, and the CT Farmlink Program, a farm access listing-linking service. Formerly USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service State Soil Scientist for Connecticut and Rhode Island, where he worked extensively with farmers, educators, government and nonprofits to help them protect farmland and wetlands, and use soils information to make better-informed land-use decisions. He is a recognized regional and national speaker on soils and land use planning, farmland protection, climate change adaptation, and farmland access. Kip is the Co-Chair of the Working Lands Alliance and a member of the Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality. In addition to this wealth of professional experience, Kolesinskas is an avid fisherman, cook, gardener and local foods advocate.
Upon receiving an A.A.S. in Plant Science from SUNY Cobleskill, Kolesinskas received a B.S. in Soil Science from Cornell University and completed additional coursework at Texas A&M and Lancaster University and Schumacher College in the United Kingdom.
Linda Veronesi, Accountant
Linda joined CFT in February, 2025 with a passion for CFT’s mission inspired by her daughter, who is a flower farmer. Formerly the Controller for Queen Consulting Group, an IT staffing company, Linda moved into an accounting career early in her professional life when her aptitude for critical thinking and data analysis was noticed and encouraged.
When she isn’t crunching numbers or buying locally grown food, you may find her walking the “Fruit Loop” in Glastonbury, an informal walking loop near multiple fruit farms.
AND…
Matilda, Director of Greeting
Connecticut Farmland Trust’s D.O.G., Matilda Moore, is an eight-year-old Beagle mix. Matilda was a rescue from rural Tennessee. She loves Connecticut-grown carrots as well as going to visit farms with CFT fellow staff. She is mildly afraid of livestock. Besides doing her full-time duty of greeting visitors to the Connecticut Farmland Trust, she also fills the roles of Security Officer and Chief Leisure Consultant. At the end of a busy day, she returns to her home with the Executive Director.