North Florida Land Trust Names Allison DeFoor as its New President

North Florida Land Trust has named Allison DeFoor as its new president. DeFoor had been serving as interim president since August of 2022 after the former president stepped down from the position.

“We are delighted to see Allison take over as NFLT president,” said Matt Rapp, NFLT board chair. “In his brief but extremely active tenure as interim President, he has more than earned the Board’s full trust and proven to be the perfect person for this role at this critical inflection point for NFLT which is poised for unprecedented growth.”

DeFoor joined the board of directors of NFLT in 2018 and was asked by his fellow board members to serve as interim president when Jim McCarthy stepped down from the role. In the last six months, DeFoor has had some big achievements. Under his leadership, the nonprofit land conservation organization has been able to exceed its year-end fundraising goals. He has built the team by hiring a top-notch CFO and COO while lowering the nonprofit’s internal costs. DeFoor also helped to pass a referendum in Nassau County with 68 percent of the vote to provide up to $30 million in general obligation bonds to help fund land conservation.

“For 23 years those who proceeded in this work, culminating in the current chair and board, have built a grand enterprise,” said DeFoor. “We are making sure our grandchildren will be able to see what the real Florida looked like. It is an honor to follow Jim and to be the next person at bat, and I will do my very best.”

DeFoor is a seventh-generation Floridian and an Episcopal priest who served for the last seven years as the Canon to the Ordinary in the Episcopal Diocese of Florida. He holds degrees in theology, law and criminology and served as both a county and circuit judge. He has also been active in conservation throughout Florida for most of his career. In 2014, he chaired the passage of the Florida Water and Land Conservation Initiative, also known as Amendment 1, which was designed to fund the state’s conservation programs. He served as Everglades Czar to Gov. Jeb Bush and was a trustee of the Florida Audubon Society, Florida Land Trust Association and 1000 Friends of Florida. He was also on the boards of Florida TaxWatch, Associated Industries and the Florida Chamber Foundation.

DeFoor added, “I have always believed that the environment and economy are not at odds in Florida, but rather are partners for all our way of life and our true economic engine.”