Michele M. Clark
Transaction Director
California Rangeland Trust

Michele is the Transaction Director for the California Rangeland Trust, a California nonprofit corporation, whose mission is to preserve the habitat, open space and stewardship of California ranches. Michele is responsible for negotiating, documenting and implementing conservation easement agreements with ranchers who desire to conserve their land forever as ag land. Michele joined the Rangeland Trust in 2004 and since then, the Rangeland Trust doubled its conserved rangeland to over 176,000 acres throughout California.

Prior to the Rangeland Trust, Michele was a practicing attorney. She worked as regional counsel with the Trust for Public Land in San Francisco ("TPL") from August 2000 to March 2003. While at TPL, Michele negotiated a conservation easement agreement with the Varian family preserving the 17,000-acre V-6 Ranch. She also completed a conservation easement over the Fenwood Ranch in Shasta County and was help draft legislation and guidelines for the California Rangeland, Grazing Land and Grassland Protection Act of 2002.

Michele practiced real estate law with the Sacramento law firm of McDonough, Holland & Allen from 1988 to 2000. She was a partner and served on the board of directors of the firm for 3 years. She represented the City of Davis in one of the first conservation easements funded by the California Department of Conservation, co-authored the City's Right to Farm and Farmland Preservation ordinance and drafted the City's first agricultural buffer easement. She also represented the Merced Farmland Trust and the Natomas Basin Conservancy. She is a member of the State Bar of California. Previously, she was a member of the Pennsylvania and Florida Bars.

Michele actively participates in the land trust community in California and on a national basis. She has taught numerous courses on ag land conservation to agricultural groups and land trust organizations for many years.

Michele is married to Paul Simmons, a water attorney who represents agricultural interests in California and Oregon. They live in Davis.