Cristen Cottrell

Cristen serves as Vice President of the New Canaan Land Trust. A graduate of Cornell University with a degree in Biometry and Statistics, Cristen worked for several years as a manager at PwC. A change in career led Cristen to become a trained chef, after which she held various positions in restaurants and catering throughout New York City. After a break in her career to raise her two young children, in 2020, Cristen became a Master Gardener through the University of Connecticut.

In addition to her work with the NCLT, Cristen actively volunteers at the Bartlett Arboretum, and she serves as Chair of the Nominations Committee on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. Cristen was a co-founder of the South School Garden in New Canaan and has served on the board of New Canaan Community Preschool.

Cristen became familiar with NCLT when her children were toddlers, and they began exploring various properties. She has always had a love of hiking and believes that there is immeasurable value in maintaining open spaces, both for our community and natural resources.