Melissa Spear

Prior to joining Common Ground, Melissa served as Connecticut State Director for the Trust for Public Land, a national non-profit dedicated to conserving land as parks, farms, and natural places for people to enjoy. In addition to providing strategic oversight and managing the operation of the state office, Melissa oversaw conservation transactions that permanently protected over 1000 acres of farmland and open space. Prior to TPL, Melissa spent 8 years working as an Environmental Management Consultant, Senior Program Manager and Operations Manager for The RETEC Group, an environmental engineering firm where she led the national Environmental Management and Sustainability consulting practice. Melissa has served on the Executive Committee of the Connecticut Land Conservation Coalition (Chair - Finance and Administration Committee) and is a member of the Steering Committee of the Working Lands Alliance. Melissa has a Masters in Business Administration from IESE, an international business school based in Barcelona, Spain, and a Masters in Forest Science from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She is also a Planning and Zoning Commissioner in her hometown of Bethany, where she lives with her husband Roger, their four children and her mother.