Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Land Trust Alliance Present Hudson Valley’s Steve Rosenberg with Kingsbury Browne Distinguished Practitioner Award

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the Land Trust Alliance are pleased to announce that Steve Rosenberg has been presented with the 2025 Kingsbury Browne Distinguished Practitioner Award at the Alliance’s annual national land conservation conference, held this year in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Kingsbury Browne Distinguished Practitioner award—named for Kingsbury Browne, a lawyer and conservationist who was a Lincoln Institute Fellow in 1980 and inspired the Alliance’s founding in 1982—is presented annually and honors those who have enriched the conservation community through their outstanding leadership, innovation, and creativity in land conservation. Rosenberg will serve as the Kingsbury Browne distinguished practitioner for the Lincoln Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for 2025–2026.

Rosenberg is currently the co-convener of the Hudson Valley Alliance for Housing and Conservation, which brings together organizations to strengthen biodiversity and climate resilience in New York’s Hudson Valley while creating affordable places where people can live. His work there follows more than three decades as the senior vice president of Scenic Hudson and the executive director of the Scenic Hudson Land Trust, where he led many efforts bringing land, equity, and conservation together at the regional scale, including authoring the NYC/Hudson Valley Foodshed Conservation Plan, launching Scenic Hudson’s River Cities Program, and transforming postindustrial Hudson River waterfronts into inviting public places. Rosenberg served on the board of the Land Trust Alliance for nine years.

“Steve has been a driving force in putting conservation to work for communities—safeguarding local food systems, expanding land access, and advancing economic opportunity,” said Chandni Navalkha, director of conservation and stewardship at the Lincoln Institute. “His leadership in uniting the land conservation and affordable housing sectors in the Hudson Valley sets a powerful example for collaborative solutions that benefit people and places, nationwide and beyond.”

“I have witnessed firsthand Steve’s passion and tireless dedication to land conservation and the mutually reinforcing benefits to people and communities,” said Ashley Demosthenes, CEO of the Land Trust Alliance. “The acreage protected and parks that were created during his tenure at Scenic Hudson are tremendous assets for communities and the entire Hudson Valley. And his bringing together of the affordable housing community and the land preservation community has made it possible to address critical community issues in new and collaborative ways. It is my honor to recognize Steve Rosenberg as the recipient of the 2025 Kingsbury Brown Distinguished Practitioner award.”

About the Land Trust Alliance

Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization working to save the places people need and love by empowering and mobilizing land trusts in communities across America to conserve land for the benefit of all. The Alliance represents approximately 1,000 member land trusts and affiliates supported by more than 250,000 volunteers and 6.3 million members nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington DC, with staff in communities across the United States.

About the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy 

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy seeks to improve quality of life through the effective use, taxation, and stewardship of land. A nonprofit private operating foundation whose origins date to 1946, the Lincoln Institute researches and recommends creative approaches to land as a solution to economic, social, and environmental challenges. Through education, training, publications and events, we integrate theory and practice to inform public policy decisions worldwide.

Lead image: Steve Rosenberg (center) accepts the Kingsbury Browne award alongside Land Trust Alliance CEO Ashley Demosthenes (right) and board chair David Calle (left). Credit: DJ Glisson II/Firefly Imageworks.