Founded by Kathleen Williams, TennGreen Land Conservancy was established as the result of a merger between the Tennessee Greenways Program of The Conservation Fund and The Tennessee State Parks Foundation.

Inspired by the book Greenways for America by Charles Little, Kathleen started TennGreen with a vision to create an interconnected greenway system (large corridors of conserved land) to protect our natural treasures, waters, and wildlife. State parks would be destinations in this network: to get Tennesseans and tourists outside to explore nature and appreciate its beauty.

In 2015, Steve Law came on as TennGreen’s Executive Director, ushering in a new era of leadership and growth for the organization. Under his leadership, TennGreen more than doubled its average number of acres conserved per year, protecting natural areas across the state, and achieved many significant milestones, including fulfilling a visionary five-year Strategic Plan that led to the successful rebranding of the organization; the movement of its Nashville headquarters to a new, highly functional space; and the adoption of its first Strategic Land Conservation Plan.

Today, under the leadership of Alice Hudson Pell, TennGreen continues to work strategically and collaboratively to conserve land where people and nature can thrive. The proof of our success lies in our accomplishments, listed below.