Sonoma Land Trust taps venture capitalist as new board chair
(SANTA ROSA, CALIF., April 6, 2009) — Mark P. Jacobsen has been named chair of the Sonoma Land Trust board of directors. Jacobsen is the managing director and co-founder of O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures (OATV), a seed-stage venture fund affiliated with O'Reilly Media in Sebastopol.
“I am motivated by the urgency of the Sonoma Land Trust’s mission “to protect the land forever," said Jacobsen. “The natural beauty of Sonoma County is unsurpassed — and is threatened by development pressures that give us only a 10–20 year window to fulfill this goal.”
Jacobsen’s priority for 2009 is for the Land Trust to close escrow on the 5,630-acre coastal ranch known as the Jenner Headlands. “Protecting this endangered landscape is vital and will go down in history as one of the most significant land conservation deals in California,” he said.
Jacobsen joined the Sonoma Land Trust board in 2006 and has chaired the organization’s finance and marketing committees. He has also chaired other local nonprofit boards, including West County Community Services and Lutheran Social Services of Northern California, and has served on the Harmony Union school board in Occidental. Jacobsen holds a JD degree from Georgetown University Law Center and a BA from St. Olaf College.
“Mark Jacobsen brings a strategic entrepreneurial spirit, a conservation ethic and great people skills to the task of chairing our board,” said Ralph Benson, executive director of the Sonoma Land Trust.
Jacobsen lives in Occidental with his wife, Pamela Laird.
About the Sonoma Land Trust
The Sonoma Land Trust preserves scenic, natural, agricultural and open land for future generations. Since 1976, the Sonoma Land Trust has protected nearly 20,000 acres of beautiful, productive and environmentally significant land. For more information about the Sonoma Land Trust, please visit www.sonomalandtrust.org.
