Kat Imhoff

An accomplished change agent for over 30 years, Kat Imhoff is a leader in the fields of both land conservation and historic preservation. Trained as an environmental planner at the University of Virginia (B.S., M.S.), she is adept at high-level negotiations, management, institutional design and major donor development.  Kat is also effective and nuanced in her approach to public-private partnership strengthening and in strategic planning in political and culturally sensitive arenas. 

In conservation, Kat worked most recently on local and regional climate policy as Senior Fellow for the Piedmont Environmental Council. Previously, serving as the President and CEO of James Madison's Montpelier, Kat led the transformation of a nationally recognized, historic site by bringing to the forefront of the visitor experience the accomplishments of the enslaved African American community and the impact of the legacy of the institution of enslavement on our struggles with democracy today.  In the vanguard of the difficult historymovement, Kat successfully raised over $16M  both for capital projects and for the national award winning "A Mere Distinction of Color" exhibit. 

 As the State Director for The Nature Conservancy in Montana, Kat spear-headed the largest project in the history of TNC to conserve an ecologically intact unit of 310,000 acres of land in the Northern Rockies that serves as an environmentally-protected migratory corridor extending from Wyoming across Montana to Canada.  No state chapter has before or since raised over half a billion dollars for a conservation project.

Kat served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation (TJF) which owns and operates Monticello, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  She led the 2003 anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition, collaborating with over 350 tribal representatives and helping to re-frame the impact of this historic journey on both the history of colonial America and on the Native peoples who were encountered during the expedition.

Kat's many accomplishments and successful leadership has been recognized by the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Virginia Wildlife Federation,  and the Piedmont Environmental Council. Kat also received gubernatorial appointments to chair of the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, the largest holder of private easements in the United States, and also to the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation.  She has also served on the National Land Trust Accreditation Commission. 

Kat's volunteer work has been extensive and currently includes seats on the Park Foundation for Albemarle County and the Eastern Advisory Council for American Rivers. She resides in Charlottesville Virginia with her husband and one very spoiled black lab.  An excellent day for Kat is a hike in the morning, fishing in the afternoon, and an evening in conversation with dear friends about doing good in the world.