Sam Hodder

Sam Hodder joined the League as its President and CEO in September of 2013. Sam brings more than 25 years of conservation experience in California, Oregon, Washington, New Hampshire and Maine to guide the League into its second century of protecting redwood forestland.

Sam has spent his career managing and overseeing land conservation programs from the remote wilderness to the inner city, conserving forests, waterways, green spaces, working farms, urban trails, and all manner of wild places for people to enjoy. Inspired by the social and environmental benefits that open spaces provide, his passion for protecting and connecting people with the outdoors has guided his career and ultimately brought him to the League after nearly 20 years with The Trust for Public Land.

Since joining the League in 2013, Sam has guided the development of its Centennial Vision, a bold 100-year plan to accelerate the pace and scale of the League’s mission to Protect and Restore the redwood forest and Connect people to its peace and beauty. As the League’s Centennial year of 2018 approaches, Sam has overseen: the protection of over 8,800 acres of redwood forestland from the Prairie Creek Corridor in Redwood National and State Parks to the Case Mountain Reserve in the southern Sierra; the stewardship and restoration of thousands of acres of young redwood forest; the advancement of pioneering discoveries in the canopy of the old-growth forest through the League’s Redwoods and Climate Change Initiative; and the inspiration of millions of moments of awe and transformation through investments in redwood trails, education programs, and park improvements.

A graduate of Princeton University and an enthusiastic explorer of California’s parks and trails, Sam lives in the East Bay, where they enjoy the great redwoods of the East Bay Regional Park system.