Thomas C. Bailey

Thomas C. Bailey, now retired, served as Executive Director of the Little Traverse Conservancy from 1984 through 2018. Before joining the Conservancy, he spent six years with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and several seasons as a Ranger with the US National Park Service. He previously served on Governor Rick Snyder’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Michigan State Parks and Outdoor Recreation; the National Land Trust Council; the Michigan Water Resources Commission; the Michigan Great Lakes Protection Fund Technical Advisory Board, and boards of several other non-profit organizations. He was co-founder of the Top of Michigan Trails Council and also co-founder of Heart of the Lakes Center for Land Conservation Policy, Michigan’s state association of land conservancies. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Park and Recreation Resources from Michigan State University, where he also pursued graduate studies in land use, resource economics and environmental law. In the 1970s, he worked as a citizen representative and lobbyist for several local, state and national conservation groups. He resides in Petoskey, Michigan with his wife, artist Heidi Marshall. He was appointed to the Board of Trustees of Lake Superior State University by Governor Snyder in 2016.