Cliff Lane, as the Northeast NACD Executive Board Member, presents Sandy Thompson, McKean County Conservation District Manager with the NACDE President’s Award

Thompson Recognized by Northeast Association of Conservation District Employees The Northeast Association of Conservation District Employees (NACDE) recently announced their 2025 award recipients. Sandy Thompson, Manager of McKean County Conservation District and former Vice President of the Northeast Association of Conservation District Employees (NACDE), received the NACDE President’s Award. President Michael Kent, from Cape Atlantic Conservation District in New Jersey, selected Sandy for the award.

The NACDE President’s Award is given in recognition of outstanding service to NACDE and the Conservation Partnership in the Northeast Region. Sandy is a long-time member of NACDE, serving as Secretary from 2011 to 2016 and as Vice-President from 2017 to 2023. She has served both her District and NACDE with professionalism, dedication, and service to the cause of conservation and of District employees in the northeast. She began her conservation career in a small, rural district with limited resources and big challenges.

Over nearly two decades, she built something remarkable, not just through programs and partnerships, but through people. Her success didn’t go unnoticed. Another County, eager to recreate that same level of impact, sought her expertise. For the past 19 years, she’s been doing what she does best, building teams, mentoring talent, and creating space for others to thrive. Over the years, Sandy has helped launch multi-county initiatives and expanded conservation services. Her work spans watershed management, invasive species control, streambank stabilization, nutrient management, and more.

But her legacy isn’t just in the programs—it’s in the people she’s trusted to carry them forward.She reminds us that leadership isn’t about being in the spotlight, it’s about making sure others have the space to shine.