Kate Rumbaugh | Photo Courtesy of Eastern Shore Land Conservancy
Easton, MD — Eastern Shore Land Conservancy is pleased to welcome Kate Rumbaugh to the organization’s board of directors. Rumbaugh’s 30+ years of experience in public policy and government affairs on the federal, state, and local levels will support ESLC’s growing portfolio of policy work. “Kate’s deep expertise in policy, advocacy, and communications is an important addition to the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy Board of Directors,” commented ESLC President and CEO Steven Kline. “As we seek to increase our engagement with decision makers, Kate’s voice, expertise, and bipartisan approach to problem solving will be invaluable.”
“ESLC’s work in the policy arena can really complement and grow our conservation efforts overall,” commented Rumbaugh. “Sharing information with public policy makers so that they know our concerns is like having a neighbor understand you, understand what’s important to you, and understand how we can all work together in the same community serving the same people.”
Jim Mullin, chair of the ESLC board of directors added, “We are thrilled to have Kate join us on the board, where she has jumped right in to the work. Building a board with expertise that reflects the full scope of our work is essential. Kate’s policy and communications skills will improve the effectiveness of Eastern Shore Land Conservancy.”
Currently the Head of Government Affairs for Doordash, Rumbaugh is an alum of the University of Maryland, and has also studied at the Prince of Wales’s Business & Sustainability Programme at The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, and the Conflict Resolution workshop at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. Rumbaugh first became familiar with the Chesapeake Bay as a child—boating, fishing, waterskiing, and crabbing with her father when he was stationed in the area. “Coming over here to be closer to the Bay and away from a busy city is something that I’ve wanted to do for some time,” Rumbaugh commented, “I finally found the right place to do it.”
Now happily settled in St. Michaels, she is “tremendously honored to have been appointed to the board,” where she can learn more about local land conservation on both an organizational and personal level. “I see the fragility of the Eastern Shore. If left to our own devices I’m not sure everybody would share the need or understanding for preserving it. It’s good to be able to help advance that notion and create better understanding for the need to preserve. There are always competing pressures—the growth of communities versus preserving communities. We’re in an area of growth that makes those competing priorities difficult. Focus and attention in this space is increasingly more important than ever.”
