Barbara J. Erickson, âcatalyst for the conservation movement,â dies at 42
By Bryan Marquard Globe Staff,Updated January 23, 2021, 4:55 p.m.
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Barbara Erickson, at a pond at Francis William Bird Park in Walpole.Handout
While leading one of the stateâs most important environmental organizations, Barbara J. Erickson looked back with reverence and ahead with anticipation.
âWe are always passing the baton to the next generation,â she said at the Trustees of Reservations annual meeting in 2019.
Ms. Erickson, who was 42 when she died of cancer on Jan. 15, played a key role statewide among those who preserve the open space jewels of the past and unearth new gems for the future.
Barbara Erickson, CEO of The Trustees of Reservations, dies at 42
Updated Jan 23, 2021;
This article first appeared on the Boston Business Journal’s
.
Barbara Erickson, president and CEO of Boston-based land trust The Trustees of Reservations, has died at age 42 after a four-year battle of a rare form of appendix cancer.
Erickson was the fourth leader, and the first woman, to helm the historic land conservation nonprofit, which landscape architect Charles Eliot founded in 1891. Since becoming CEO in 2012, Erickson oversaw a $10 million growth of the organization’s budget, a doubling of visitors to 2 million and nine new locations to The Trustees’ portfolio of 120 properties, including deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Naumkeag in Stockbridge and Crane Estate in Ipswich.
Barbara Erickson, The Trustees President and CEO, died on the afternoon of January 15, 2021. After a valiant struggle with cancer, Barbara passed peacefully surrounded by family at her home. The Trustees of Reservations is America s oldest conservation nonprofit and the organization cares for more than 100 places historic and natural landmarks, across nearly 27,000 acres all around Massachusetts. Under Erickson s leadership, visitor attendance at Trustees properties doubled to 2 million .