STAFF
Andrea Hogan
Executive Director
A native to upstate New York, Andrea grew up hiking, mountain biking, skiing and sailing – basically living outdoors. After obtaining a BA from William Smith College, she and her husband, Jim, raised their children in the Adirondack Park, far from cities and sidewalks. She found a tremendous amount of satisfaction working as director of a small not for profit, work which ultimately led to positions in town, county and state government.
Vinalhaven became her refuge, and place to recharge. She visited frequently to see Jim, who had taken a job on the island. In 2022, she was delighted by the opportunity to join the VLT team and move to the island full-time.
Land trust work feels like the perfect marriage between the advocacy and public policy work she had been engaged in for decades. As Executive Director, she looks forward to continuing to strengthen partnerships and to work with other organizations with similar missions. She is grateful for chances to engage more deeply with Vinalhaven’s land and people, and to expand environmental educational opportunities for local kids and adults.
She still endeavors to spend as much time as possible out of doors, and you are likely to meet her walking her rescue dogs on one of the islands many beautiful trails.
Thomas Crisp
Stewardship Coordinator
Tom Crisp is a folk artist and Zen practitioner whose artwork revolves around the interrogation of semiotics, mysticism and primitivism. Their artwork can be found throughout the mid-coast area. Professionally, Tom serves as the director of the Maine Jung Center and as the stewardship coordinator for the Vinalhaven Land Trust. A graduate of Colby College, TC lives on Greens Island in Vinalhaven, Maine.
Tom is also a biographer of John Ignatius Salemi, one of Maine's most prolific outsider artists, and is deeply interested in deliberate living and traditional building techniques, spending much of their time immersed in nature.
Hope Steffens
Programs and Communications Coordinator
A native of Maryland, Hope comes to us from a history background. She has spent the last several years working for state historic sites in North Carolina, as well as a private youth history education company. With these organizations, she interpreted historic homes, and historic gardens and lifeways through educational programs and events.
Most recently, Hope worked on the design and installation of a large exhibit that explored the history of Bath, North Carolina from pre-contact through the 20th century. Through her work in history, Hope developed a fascination with the interaction of cultures and the lands they inhabited.
Recently moving to the island year-round with her husband in 2022, Hope spends her time exploring historical lifeways, sustainable living, and enjoying the woods, trails and rocky coastlines that Vinalhaven provides.
At VLT, Hope manages the website, administers program communications, organizes environmental education programs for Vinalhaven School, and coordinates the newsletter.
Sheri Romer Brock
Office Assistant
Sheri grew up in an island fishing family. Her father had little time, but made the effort to share with her his favorite fishing spots, hikes, coves and views whenever he could. They are among her favorite memories. Wandering the woods or floating on the ocean continue to be where she feels most at home.
It didn’t take a lot of convincing when asked by Grace Mullen to join she and Lee Morehouse on “a nice walk in the woods” one day in 2003. Before she knew it, she was hooked and volunteering to monitor several easements and preserves for VLT. The more she knew, the more she respected the work of the organization in preserving the nature of her community and agreed to join the board in 2005.
A private bookkeeper for several island businesses and individuals over the years, she was asked to fill in part-time for a VLT employee in 2007 and in 2008 was hired as the Accreditation Coordinator and later as the Office Assistant and Monitoring Oversight staff person. She stepped away for two years, but overall has been a part of VLT in one capacity or another for over 15 years. When not working, she enjoys her grown children, traveling both through books and beyond her own shores, and photographing the beauty she is privileged to live in.