New England director

Cris Coffin leads American Farmland Trust’s efforts in the New England region to promote farmland protection, farm viability and farm conservation practices through research, outreach, advocacy and policy development at the municipal, state and federal level.

Coffin has a strong background in federal agricultural and environmental policy. Before joining AFT in 2001, she worked for many years in Washington, D.C., starting as a lobbyist with the Wilderness Society and leaving as Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Herb Kohl. She served on the staff of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry under the chairmanship of Senator Patrick Leahy, specializing in conservation and forestry issues, and is a veteran of several federal farm bill reauthorizations.

Coffin holds a law degree from Georgetown University and a B.A. in Geography from University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She has been a consultant to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and toured county fairs with the Vermont Department of Agriculture’s Seal of Quality exhibit. Raised on a horse farm on Long Island, New York, Coffin has also run a family cider operation. She sits on the board of the Franklin Land Trust, and is a member of the Franklin Regional Planning Board and her local school committee.