Chris Boget, Executive Director
Chris has a passion for protecting natural areas, with a particular interest in helping landowners conserve their family land. He traces the roots of his conservation ethic to childhood summers spent at a lakefront camp in Northern Michigan kayaking, fishing, hiking, and exploring the shoreline of the lake.
Chris holds a B.S. in Biology from the College of William and Mary and received his Master of Science degree in Natural Resource Planning from the University of Vermont. He has more than twenty years of land conservation experience, including positions with the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Chris has been the Executive Director since 2007, after seven years as Director of Land Protection and Assistant Director.
He has extensive experience with conservation project management, ecological assessment, and landowner outreach and is considered a leading expert in shoreline conservation in New York and Vermont. You can contact Chris at 802-862-4150 x 1 or by email at .
Jeff O’Donnell, Communications and Community Engagement Manager
Born and raised in Upstate New York, Jeff grew up hiking and canoeing in the Hudson Valley and Adirondack regions. He brings a passion for land conservation and environmental communication to the Lake Champlain Land Trust. He received his Master of Science degree in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont. Jeff’s thesis research examined collaboration and public discourse regarding major land conservation projects in the Adirondacks.
Prior to moving to Vermont, he worked for ten years as a policy analyst with the New York State Assembly. Jeff spends much of his free time hiking, fishing, paddling, and skiing in the Champlain Valley and Green Mountains. He holds a degree in Biology and Environmental Studies from St. Lawrence University. You can contact Jeff at 802-862-4150 x 2 or by email at
Matt Fidler, Restoration and Stewardship Coordinator
Matt and his passion for the environment were born and raised in rural New Hampshire. An avid angler and outdoorsman, Matt lives the belief that we must protect the environment we live and play in. He holds a degree in English Writing from St. Lawrence University and a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from the University of Vermont. While earning his second degree, he was a restoration intern for the Lake Champlain Land Trust and monitored storm water retention ponds’ nutrient runoff for a PhD candidate as an intern with Lake Champlain Sea Grant.
Before settling back in Vermont, Matt worked in England for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. He aided in conservation projects ranging from the Gola Rainforest to Scotland, sadly only from a desk. In his free time, Matt enjoys bringing his children outdoors to instill them with his same love of the natural world. You can contact Matt at 802-862-4150 x 3 or by email at
