Kara Heckert

Resilient Agriculture West Advisor, American Farmland Trust

Kara works across regional and national programs to help develop and execute AFT’s strategy for increasing resilience for agriculture.Throughout a long career working on agricultural sustainability and natural resource conservation in California, Kara has led the strategy and development of programs and policies that provide greater opportunities for farmers and ranchers to engage in sustainable environmental stewardship practices and protect agricultural land. Kara was formerly AFT’s California Regional Director where she developed and expanded AFT’s programs and policy work. Before joining AFT, she was the executive director of the Sonoma Resource Conservation District where she worked with a diverse cross-section of the community on landscape-scale conservation planning, agricultural sustainability, and education. Kara is also a former soil conservationist for NRCS where she worked throughout the Russian River Watershed in California. Kara is a native Californian and the grand-daughter of a Nebraskan dairy and corn farmer. She is an alumna of Sonoma State University where she studied both biology and environmental studies and planning.