Full Name
Ian McSweeney
Job Title
Co-Executive Director
Company
The Farmers Land Trust
Speaker Bio
Ian McSweeney's life's work is centered on the human connection to land and each other, framed through the understanding that food is a universal point of connection and agriculture is one of the greatest polluters of land and water, and a primary activity that separates people from the land.
Ian has been a social worker focused on developing and operationalizing outdoor experience-based education, a real estate broker and consultant focused on prioritizing conservation, agriculture, and community within land development, and a director of a private foundation focused on assisting landowners and farmers through customized approaches to farmland ownership, conservation, management, and stewardship. Ian has also been an active volunteer board member on conservation, agriculture, planning, and zoning commissions and boards at the local and regional levels.
Throughout his career, Ian has worked in his yard, community, and across the country with well over 100 land trust groups, almost 100 communities, and regional, state, and federal partners. This work has assisted over 100 farms, protecting over 12,000 acres, and raising over $24 million all aimed toward providing benefit to farmland, farmers, communities, and the local agrarian economy. Ian participates in many local, regional, and national farmland, food systems, and finance initiatives and has been recognized as a "40 under 40" leader in New Hampshire, selected to the Food Solutions New England Network Leadership Institute, and is an Ashoka Fellow.
Ian is a husband to Liz, father to Dylan and Bridger, and part of a family living on and stewarding their small New Hampshire farm for perennial food systems and a healthy ecosystem. He comes from generations of immigrants, refugees, activists, abolitionists, and colonists from southeastern Massachusetts. Ian is deeply committed to bringing about innovations to holistically evolve farmland conservation, equity, secure and affordable access and tenure to build community resilience ensuring regenerative, diversified food production that benefits soil, human, and community health.
Ian has been a social worker focused on developing and operationalizing outdoor experience-based education, a real estate broker and consultant focused on prioritizing conservation, agriculture, and community within land development, and a director of a private foundation focused on assisting landowners and farmers through customized approaches to farmland ownership, conservation, management, and stewardship. Ian has also been an active volunteer board member on conservation, agriculture, planning, and zoning commissions and boards at the local and regional levels.
Throughout his career, Ian has worked in his yard, community, and across the country with well over 100 land trust groups, almost 100 communities, and regional, state, and federal partners. This work has assisted over 100 farms, protecting over 12,000 acres, and raising over $24 million all aimed toward providing benefit to farmland, farmers, communities, and the local agrarian economy. Ian participates in many local, regional, and national farmland, food systems, and finance initiatives and has been recognized as a "40 under 40" leader in New Hampshire, selected to the Food Solutions New England Network Leadership Institute, and is an Ashoka Fellow.
Ian is a husband to Liz, father to Dylan and Bridger, and part of a family living on and stewarding their small New Hampshire farm for perennial food systems and a healthy ecosystem. He comes from generations of immigrants, refugees, activists, abolitionists, and colonists from southeastern Massachusetts. Ian is deeply committed to bringing about innovations to holistically evolve farmland conservation, equity, secure and affordable access and tenure to build community resilience ensuring regenerative, diversified food production that benefits soil, human, and community health.
Speaking At
