Meet the Staff
Cindy Baysden
Executive Director
Cindy has returned to the Trust as Executive Director. She opened the first office for the Open Land Trust in 1992 and served as Director until 2008. During that time she worked on critical vista projects in Beaufort, started a conservation easement program for the Trust, and began conservation initiatives in Southern Beaufort County. Cindy also worked with volunteers on fund-raising events, most notably, establishing tours every other year of the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Auldbrass Plantation.
Barbara Holmes
Director of Land Protection
Attorney Barbara Holmes joined the Open Land Trust as Director of Land Protection in July 2017. She administers Beaufort County’s Rural and Critical Land Preservation Program and works with landowners, partners and stakeholders to identify easement or fee acquisition priorities and opportunities for the Trust. She gained a passion for land conservation while serving as staff attorney for Lowcountry Land Trust in Charleston from 2008 to 2017. In her spare time she is a dedicated volunteer at the Avian Conservation Center in Awendaw, SC.
Debbie Quirin
Administrative Assistant
Debbie Quirin was raised in Beaufort and has lived here for over 50 years. Before coming to the Trust, she took an early retirement from Wachovia Bank as a Business Customer Representative. She has been married for almost 40 years and has two sons. Her husband, Dennis, is self-employed in the Residential/Commercial Heating/Air & Electrical Service industry. "I love my community and the Trust and have been with them since May 2003."
Kristin Williams
Director of Stewardship
Kristin Williams recently joined the Open Land Trust as the Director of Stewardship. Kristin came to us from Marsh Harbour, Abaco in the Bahamas where she was the Executive Director of a conservation organization, Friends of the Environment for the past 10 years. As Director of Stewardship, Kristin is responsible for all management activities pertaining to the Land Trust’s fee properties and conservation easements. In her spare time, Kristin can often be found on the water with her two young children, Gray and Ford and her husband, Lloyd.
