Board Chair Spotlight: Louise Beasley
For six years, Louise Beasley has been a dedicated member of The Land Trust for Tennessee’s Board of Directors. In May, she stepped into the role of Board Chair, continuing a family legacy of conservation first inspired by her father-in-law, who protects his family’s land in Dixon Springs. Louise lives in Nashville with her husband, Matt, and their three children. Her love for Tennessee’s landscapes and the stories they hold inspires her commitment to ensuring that future generations can experience the same sense of connection and belonging that the land gives us today.
If the land in Tennessee could talk, Louise believes it would tell stories of hard work and hope, of harvests and heartbreak, of families growing and seasons changing.
“Every acre holds a memory. Every tree holds a chapter of someone’s life,” she says. “Our land is full of stories if you’re willing to listen.”
Louise’s connection to Tennessee’s landscapes runs deep. Her father instilled in her a love for history and the idea that the past never truly fades. One of his favorite William Faulkner quotes has stayed with her: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
“When I walk this land, I can feel that truth,” Louise says. “You can feel the people who came before us in the soil beneath your feet. Their stories are alive, and I think it’s our job to make sure they keep going.”
Her father-in-law, longtime Land Trust supporter and Board Member Emeritus, often says that land is his legacy. That simple idea has shaped Louise’s outlook.
“I want my children to feel that same connection and pride in caring for the land,” she says. “That pride should lead to a sense of responsibility. Because caring for the land means honoring the people and stories that came before us and protecting them for the ones who will follow.”
Louise believes that every corner of Tennessee holds its own story. Family farms that have stood for generations, public parks where children play, caves tucked into the hills, forests where wildlife thrives, and special places like Lost Cove on the Cumberland Plateau all carry their own meaning. “Every one of those places has something to teach us,” she says. “Every one of them deserves to be protected.”
As she leads The Land Trust for Tennessee’s Board of Directors, Louise feels both urgency and gratitude. “Right now, we’re at a real turning point,” she says. “So much land is changing hands and being passed to the next generation. We have both a responsibility and a privilege to make sure those places endure. We have to teach our kids why the land matters, how to care for it, and how to leave it better than we found it.”
Serving as Board Chair has given Louise the chance to meet people all across the state who share her passion for conservation. “When people hear what we do, they want to be part of it,” she says. “People are thinking more intentionally about conservation and about what they want Tennessee to look like in the future.”
That sense of purpose motivates her every day. “This work is about forever,” Louise says. “Protecting land in perpetuity can feel like an overwhelming idea, but that’s what we’re here to do. It’s the heart of our mission.”
Louise believes that everyone has a role in shaping that future. “This work belongs to all of us who care about Tennessee,” she says. “We need people from every corner of the state and every generation to join us. Because when we conserve land, we are also keeping alive the stories, memories, and legacies that make this place home.”
She smiles, thinking about the years to come.
“And if this land could talk,” she says, “I hope it would say we listened, we cared, and we left it better than we found it.”
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