Preserving the lands and waters you love!
Our Staff
Annie Knight
Executive Director
Annie started work with Northern Waters Land Trust in 2020. She enjoys working with landowners to identify the best method for them to conserve their land, conducts outreach to partners and lake associations, and works directly with NWLT's volunteers.
Annie is a graduate of the College of Saint Benedict with a degree in Environmental Studies and Psychology. She has many fond memories of coming “up north to the cabin” to spend time on the lake and explore the woods. She is grateful to live in the Walker community with her husband and son. Annie is passionate about conserving and protecting the many lakes, rivers, and waterways that continue to bring her joy.
Kathy DonCarlos
Land Conservation Coordinator
Kathy DonCarlos has worked for NWLT since 2016. Kathy began working on communications and membership, transferring to the Land Conservation Program in late 2017. Her current focus is on fee title acquisitions for conveyance to public agencies and recruiting and working with landowners interested in selling or donating their land for permanent protection.
Kathy worked for the state of Minnesota for 28 years, retiring from the Department of Natural Resources in 2015. Through her 40 years working as a biologist for government agencies, Kathy focuses on the huge contributions that land and water protection provides for healthy fish and wildlife populations and resilient natural plant and animal communities. How we care for land and water today is a gift for generations to come.
Elizabeth Mboutchom
Development & Education Director
Elizabeth has a Masters in Environmental Management with a focus on the sustainability of freshwater resources. She was an educator and worked on forest conservation while serving in the Peace Corps in Madagascar. After Peace Corps, Elizabeth worked on diplomacy and cross-cultural programs in Washington, D.C. She returned to her home state of Minnesota to work in civic engagement at The Nature Conservancy before joining the team at Northern Waters Land Trust.
Elizabeth enjoys living in a quiet neighborhood along the Mississippi with her rambunctious kids. She is focused on preserving the amazing lakes and rivers in northern Minnesota which are still swimmable and fishable; a luxury she didn’t fully appreciate until her travels and work took her to other parts of the country and the world.
Lynn Kramer
Organization Administrator
Lynn joined Northern Waters Land Trust in 2023. Lynn was born and raised in Northern Minnesota and continues to reside in the Akeley area with her two children. She has taken an active role in a local ATV Club as their Grant-in-Aid Administrator, along with being a certified volunteer ATV Safety Training Instructor and a Trail Ambassador for the Minnesota DNR. Lynn and her children enjoy spending time in the outdoors, at the lake, on the ATV trails, and just spending time on the family farm.
Ally Mazurek
Grants Manager & Water Conservation Specialist
Ally joined Northern Waters Land Trust in 2023. Previously, she worked as a program manager for various environmental nonprofits along the Front Range of Colorado, focused on advancing sustainable water and land use practices through educational programs, landscape conversion, and policy change. Ally obtained a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and a master’s degree in teaching from Colorado College. Originally from Minnesota, she’s thrilled to be back in the Northland and excited to implement her passion for water conservation in her home-state watersheds. Ally lives on a small lake in rural Itasca County with her husband, three young boys, and four dogs.