lizThe Valleys Planning Council is pleased to announce Elizabeth Buxton as its next executive director. “Liz” assumed the position on March 2 and replaces Teresa Moore who has served in that position for the past ten years. Teresa will continue to assist VPC during the transition before officially stepping down at the end of March to pursue other opportunities in the public or private sector.

Liz previously served as director of the Maryland Environmental Trust (MET), the only statewide land trust. She has over 20 years of experience in historic, cultural and scenic resource preservation with non-profits and state and local governments. During her tenure at MET, the organization accepted more than 100 conservation easements and permanently protected over 12,800 acres of scenic open space in Maryland.  She also led efforts to develop a Long Range Plan and Accreditation Work Plan for MET and expanded its annual conference and roundtable meetings for land trusts. Prior to working for MET, Liz was development and communications director for Preservation Maryland and also served as executive director of Scenic Maryland. Earlier in her career, Liz served as executive director of Historic Wilmington Foundation in NC. Liz is a graduate of the College of Charleston and a native of Tidewater, Virginia.