Board of Trustees
Rob Beach, Mansfield
Marie Cantino, Mansfield
Jim Cole, Andover
John Hankins, Mansfield
Erin King, Mansfield
Chris Kueffner, Mansfield
Scott Matthies, Chaplin
Chris McKleroy, Hampton
Debbie Pallatto, Mansfield
Bill Penn, Andover
Mike Willenborg, Mansfield
Terry Wollen, Mansfield
Board Leadership
John Hankins
President
John is a life-long Mansfield resident and grew up romping with his neighborhood crew at JT’s Wolf Rock Preserve, a role that would be formalized decades later when he became the Wolf Rock steward for JT. He follows in his father Dave’s footsteps, who was JT President for three terms in the 1980s and instilled in his children a deep passion for the outdoors and outdoor recreation. John’s background is in geology and until his retirement in 2018 he specialized in environmental assessments and remediation of environmentally-distressed properties, serving as President of the 300-member Environmental Professional Organization of Connecticut from 2014-2016.
Jim Cole
Vice President
Jim retired in 2023 after serving on the faculty of the UCONN department of Molecular and Cell Biology for 22 years. Previously, he worked in industry at Merck Research Laboratories doing antiviral drug discovery. Jim fell in love with nature as a kid backpacking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Later, Jim took time off from college to work for the park service at Canyonlands National Park, Utah. While in graduate school in California, Jim snuck away from the lab to cycle around the bay area and hike in the Sierras. Jim still loves hiking and cycling and is the president of the Thread City Cyclers cycling club. At Joshua’s Trust, Jim is a steward at Utley Hill Preserve and chairs the land protection committee.
Mike Willenborg
Treasurer
Mike is the Richard F. Kochanek Professor of Accounting at the University of Connecticut, where he has taught since 1996. Prior to UConn, Mike earned a Ph.D. in Business and Economics from Penn State University. Prior to Penn State, he worked for over a dozen years in both industry and as a CPA for KPMG; where he was a Senior Audit Manager before leaving to go to graduate school. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife Anne and their three children: Emma, Joseph and Peter. He loves to root for Penn State football and hike the trails of Joshua’s Trust (often with his dogs–but always on leash!), whose mission he strongly supports.
Marie Cantino
Secretary
Marie is retired from UConn after 27 years as a faculty member in the Department of Physiology and Neurobiology and Director of the Biosciences Electron Microscopy Facility at UConn. During her childhood in Michigan and her graduate studies in Wisconsin and Washington state, she spent many hours hiking, bicycling, skiing and gardening. These activities, along with her career in science, have given her an appreciation of the incredible beauty and complexity of biological organisms, and how much we have to lose if we don’t protect the land and waters that they inhabit.