Mary Anne Piacentini

Phone: 713-523-6135 ext. 4003

Email: maryanne@coastalprairieconservancy.org

Mary Anne Piacentini is President and CEO of the Coastal Prairie Conservancy and a leading voice for land conservation in Texas and across the nation. Since joining the organization in 1999, she has transformed CPC from a small, locally focused land trust protecting approximately 1,300 acres into one of the region’s leading conservation organizations, now protecting more than 36,600 acres of coastal prairie, wetlands, farms, and ranches across Southeast Texas.

Under Mary Anne’s leadership, CPC has built the nearly 20,000-acre Katy Prairie Preserve west of Houston and expanded its work across the Texas Coastal Prairie. She has championed an ambitious approach to conserving large, connected landscapes by bringing together private landowners, farmers and ranchers, government agencies, scientists, businesses, funders, and communities.

Mary Anne has also been a longtime advocate for integrating land conservation into the Houston region’s approach to flood resilience, infrastructure, and long-term planning. Following Hurricane Harvey, she organized the Conservation Flood Mitigation Group, now the Houston Conservation Action Network (HouCAN), and she founded the Headwaters to Baywaters Initiative to advance conservation of riparian corridors in the San Jacinto River watershed. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Harris County Community Flood Resilience Task Force and participates in the Buffalo Bayou Community Plan.

Her conservation leadership extends across Texas, the Gulf Coast, and nationally. Mary Anne serves on the Land Trust Alliance Leadership Council and its Energy and Climate Working Group and on the steering committee of the Texas State Conservation Funding Initiative. She has also served as chair of the Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation, on the board of the Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience, and as a former chair of the Texas Land Trust Council. 

Before joining CPC, Mary Anne built a career spanning urban planning, parks, arts, and civic leadership. As Executive Director of Friends of Hermann Park, she helped lead a comprehensive master planning effort for the 500-acre park and secured significant public and private investment in its future. Earlier, she led the Massachusetts Cultural Council and Cultural Arts Council of Houston and began her career as a planner with the City of Houston. 

Mary Anne’s leadership has been recognized with the Wild Partner Award from Houston Wilderness, Flo Hannah Prairie Career Achievement Excellence Award, Terry Hershey Bayou Stewardship Award, AIA Houston Civic Vision Award, Terry Hershey Texas Women in Conservation Award, and Army and Sarah Emmott Conservation Award. 

Mary Anne holds a Master of City Planning from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of New Hampshire.