agosto 25, 2022
Posted in: Personas y lugares
En Staff Spotlight de este mes, nos sintonizamos con Pierre Ratte, uno de nuestros especialistas en adquisiciones y el miembro más nuevo del equipo Ag + Open Space. Antes de unirse a nosotros, Pierre obtuvo una Maestría en Planificación Ambiental y Regional de la Universidad de Pensilvania y una Maestría en Administración de Empresas de la Escuela de Negocios Stern de la Universidad de Nueva York. Durante casi dos décadas fue propietario y director ejecutivo de Institutional Ag Services Ltd., donde realizó transacciones inmobiliarias, modelos financieros y gestión de proyectos complejos en los EE. UU., y también se desempeñó como comisionado electo para la ciudad de Weston, CT. Pierre participa activamente en organizaciones locales de recolección y bancos de alimentos que ayudan a quienes experimentan inseguridad alimentaria, y cree firmemente que el condado de Sonoma es uno de los mejores lugares del planeta.
What’s your favorite Sonoma County place to get outside and why?
My backyard. Rustic living alongside a creek, in the shade of towering Doug firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in the company of 2 horses, 1 donkey, 1 llama, 3 pigs, 3 goats, 1 sheep, visiting deer, wild turkeys, and my companion of almost 15 years, Sydney.
What’s one fact, statistic, or interesting tidbit about land conservation that you enjoy sharing with others?
Early in the pandemic we were told to ‘shelter-in-place.’ We’ve been telling animals to shelter-in-place for decades. It was gratifying to share our planet more equitably with nature through those months.
What’s your proudest moment working in land conservation and why?
I was part of an effort to rescue a 34,000 acre sugar plantation on the Big Island of Hawaii. Cooperatively working between public and private sectors to create better outcomes has been a long-time passion.
What compelled you to pick a career in land conservation?
I got a Masters degree in Environmental Planning because it was a compellingly integrative field of study – natural sciences’ intersection with cultural, political, and business realities. I have never been disappointed by its complexities.
What’s your favorite ice cream flavor and why?
Any. Sometimes I tell people that places in Sonoma County – Healdsburg, Cloverdale, Calistoga, Geyserville, Graton, Santa Rosa, Guerneville, Petaluma, Sebastopol, Bodega, Monte Rio – are like ice cream in an ice cream store. You might like rocky road over vanilla, cherry pistachio over maple walnut, salted caramel over mint chocolate chip, but basically they are all good – just like the variety of places in Sonoma. I feel privileged to be able to work towards their conservation for the betterment of residents in this county.