Staff and Counsel
Staff
Gillian Grant brings more than 15 years of nonprofit leadership, fundraising, and strategic communications experience to her work as Executive Director with the 500-Year Forest Foundation.
A native of California, Gillian grew up in a family that deeply valued conservation, open space, and a connection to the land. Her family had a ranch outside Los Angeles, where time spent surrounded by the natural landscape instilled an early appreciation for the importance of preserving open spaces and protecting the places that shape communities. That perspective has remained a through-line throughout her personal and professional life.
Before building her career in the nonprofit sector, Gillian gained experience in the corporate and international arenas, including serving as Chief of Staff at Deloitte and building Deloitte’s businesses in India. Those experiences helped shape her approach to leadership, bringing together strategic thinking, relationship building, communications, and an ability to work effectively across diverse organizations and communities.
Over the past 15 years, Gillian has worked with nonprofit organizations to strengthen their fundraising, communications, programs, and organizational strategy. Her experience includes leading major fundraising initiatives, securing significant philanthropic and grant support, developing public-private partnerships, producing high-profile events, and helping organizations translate ambitious missions into sustainable programs and measurable results.
Gabriel Quintero is the foundation’s Forest Coordinator, working as boots-on-the-ground to connect with our forest owners and provide services including general inspections, inventories, carbon storage assessments, website resources, and more. He also coordinates and trains our student assistants for summer inventories and assessments. Gabe holds a B.S. in Environmental Science from Randolph College, and has worked to develop a carbon storage assessment methodology and guide, which he now implements in our forests. In his free time, Gabe enjoys hiking, driving scenic routes, and scuba diving.
Jeannie Plybon serves as the Operations Coordinator for the 500-Year Forest Foundation, supporting the Executive Director and Board of Directors while helping strengthen organizational operations. She brings more than 20 years of experience working in the nonprofit sector. Raised on a farm in rural Virginia, Jeannie’s appreciation for nature began while exploring the woods and playing in her favorite creek. In her free time, she enjoys creating art and spending time outdoors with her husband and their dogs. She is excited to support the Foundation’s mission.
Counsel
Kerry Hutcherson, an attorney with Rudy, Coyner in Richmond, serves as counsel for the foundation. He has a B.A. from Virginia Tech, a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a J.D. from the University of Richmond. Before joining Rudy Coyer, Kerry worked as Staff Counsel of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. Kerry has expanded his practice area beyond the field of land conservation to include commercial and residential real estate transactions, land use law, landlord-tenant law, and other land-related legal services. Kerry has continued working with prospective conservation easement donors, owners of properties that are currently protected by conservation easements, and private land trusts.
