Staff

• Executive Director: Deb Balliet
  
• Land Manager, Jim Daus
• Communications and Development Associate: Vacant see employment for more information.
• Stewardship Coordinator: Vacant Seasonal Part Time - looking to fill late winter 2023

Deb Balliet, Burnt HIlls
Executive Director

Deb joined RLT as its executive director in September 2022. An enthusiastic outdoors woman andpassionate conservationist, Deb Balliet has enjoyed adventures in the great outdoors since early childhood. Her love of nature and comfort in the woods and on the water was nurtured by her father, who was an avid outdoorsman. One of her most cherished memories from childhood in Pennsylvania includes being in the woods and meadows, tagging along with her Dad and older brother on habitat restoration projects, creating cover for ruffed grouse and ring-necked pheasants.

Deb has 25+ years of nonprofit leadership experience. She served as Executive Director of the Equine Land Conservation Resource (Lexington, KY) from 2007 to 2012. Deb maintains a consulting and coaching practice, providing strategic counsel to rising nonprofit leaders and developing organizations.

Deb is a former member of the Coalition for Recreational Trails, a nationwide committee of the American Recreation Coalition. In 2017, she served on the planning committee for the American Trails’ International Trail Summit. Deb founded the Saratoga Back Country Horsemen in 2013, a trail stewardship and advocacy organization. She currently volunteers as a monitor for the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation.

Deb holds a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Vermont. A long-time Capital Region resident, Deb hikes, kayaks, snowshoes, and photographs nature at our many, wonderful natural areas.

Jim Daus, Delmar
Land Protection Manager

Jim Daus was hired by RLT in August 2022 to manage RLT's Source Water Land Protection Program for lands in the Tomhannock Watershed. Jim is the president of Environmental Real Estate Solutions LLC, a special projects consulting company that provides additional capacity for nonprofit conservation organizations, communities, and public agencies to navigate the complex conservation transaction landscape. With over 25 years of experience, Jim crafts and executes diverse land protection programs, strategies, and transactions including fee acquisitions, conservation easements, dispositions, and related project management.  Jim has served as the Executive Director of the Eagle Valley Land Trust and as a project manager at Boulder County Parks and Open Space in its Real Estate Division. Jim got his start in real estate as a commercial real estate broker, consultant, and developer at Trammell Crow Company and Ernst & Young’s Real Estate Group and received an MBA in real estate development and finance from the University of Colorado.