Our Staff

Alex Czayka

Chief Conservation Officer

Alex oversees the Land Conservancy’s conservation work throughout its 29-county service area. Some of his responsibilities include managing teams responsible for generating, funding, and completing unique and complex conservation projects including conservation easements, property acquisitions, property dispositions, carbon credits, mitigation, and habitat restoration. In addition, Alex oversees the Land Conservancy’s stewardship, public funding, public policy, GIS, and IT programs.

Alex’s interest in conservation and protecting important natural resources began at a young age, as he witnessed residential development breaking up large family farms in the area. His rural upbringing led to his passion for protecting both working lands and natural places, which is one of the reasons he appreciates the Land Conservancy’s work as it embodies a holistic approach to conservation and community. Alex enjoys and admires the conservation partners, both public and private, he gets to interact with to help make NE Ohio a better place.

Alex started his tenure with the Land Conservancy in 2013 as an Associate Eastern Field Director, in this role he worked primarily on conservation easements in a select geography in northeast Ohio. He then became an Eastern Field Director, a role that involved more experience with complex acquisitions and dispositions. In 2018, Alex became Sr. VP for Conservation Transactions overseeing the front-end transactional team. In 2022, he became the Chief Conservation Officer supervising the Land Conservancy’s conservation team. Alex is a member of the Land Conservancy’s management team and is the staff lead for the transaction review committee of the board of trustees. Alex is an active public speaker and has presented at several recent Land Trust Alliance National Conferences (Rally). He also serves on the board of Chagrin River Watershed Partners.

Alex graduated from Kent State University with a bachelor’s degree in Biology. Afterward, he continued on to SUNY Brockport and obtained a master’s degree in Wetland Ecology. Alex completed his master’s thesis on invasive cattail control on a Lake Ontario wetland. After graduate school, he went on to work for the U.S. Geological Survey, the Nature Conservancy, and ultimately landed at the Land Conservancy in 2013.

Alex grew up in Ashtabula County and enjoys everything outdoors, including hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, land management, gardening, and visiting new wild places. Alex resides in Chagrin Falls, Ohio with his wife, son, two dogs, and their flock of chickens.

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