New to the Team: Meet Rin & Max!
We’re excited to welcome two new AmeriCorps members to the Lower Shore Land Trust team! Rin Hendricks and Max Makovitch bring unique experiences in environmental education, conservation, research, and community engagement, along with plenty of enthusiasm for getting to know the Lower Shore. We’re looking forward to having them on the team and seeing all they’ll contribute during their time with LSLT. Get to know Rin and Max below!
Rin Hendericks
Rin Hendricks is a recent graduate of Salisbury University (SU), where she earned a B.A. in Environmental Studies with minors in Biology and Marine Science. As an undergraduate, she worked part-time with the SU Arboretum, gaining hands-on experience with sustainable horticultural practices and developing a deeper interest in plants and their role within ecosystems.
In the spring of 2025, Rin had the opportunity to spend a semester abroad in Costa Rica through the School for Field Studies. There, she explored topics in tropical ecology, natural resource management, environmental justice, and the ways culture and society intersect with environmental conservation.
Upon returning to SU, Rin continued to build her research experience as a co-investigator studying soil microbiota associated with poplar trees in the Popup Poplar Gardens. By comparing microbial associations across a geographic gradient, the research sought to better understand how geography and climate influence relationships between plants and their associated soil communities.
In the spring of 2026, Rin began an internship with the Nanticoke Watershed Alliance (NWA), where she installed and maintained native pollinator habitats on residential and municipal properties throughout the Nanticoke watershed. She quickly fell in love with the work and continued her internship through the summer. Helping transform homeowners landscapes into diverse, thriving habitats buzzing with bees, birds, and butterflies became one of the most rewarding experiences of her early conservation career
Now, as an AmeriCorps member with the Lower Shore Land Trust (LSLT), Rin is excited to continue her stewardship efforts while working alongside the unique ecosystems and communities of Maryland’s Lower Shore. From the distinct mosaic of tidal salt marshes and riparian wetlands to cypress swamps and loblolly pine forests, she looks forward to helping conserve and restore the region’s unique beauty and diverse natural resources.
Through her work with LSLT, Rin hopes to expand her knowledge of native plants and ecosystem interactions, develop her skills in mapping and GIS, and build connections with local communities. She looks forward to applying these skills to contribute to the health of the greater Chesapeake Bay watershed by supporting the Land Trust’s work of providing long-term care to protected lands across the Lower Shore. Outside of the office, Rin enjoys drawing, baking sweet treats, and spending time outdoors!
Max Makovitch
Max Makovitch is a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Environmental Science Program. While studying at UNCW, Max received a B.S. in Environmental Science, with a concentration in conservation focusing on georeferencing spatial analysis (GIS) techniques and conservation biology as well as minoring in Spanish. While studying Environmental Science Max gained experience in environmental education in Maryland working as a Summer Camp Intern at the Annapolis Maritime Museum in 2023. From 2024 to 2026, he worked for Carolina Ocean Studies in Carolina Beach, NC, a family-run company leading educational school field trips. He also worked with Masonboro.org to provide grant-funded 5th-grade science trips for public school students throughout New Hanover, Pender, and Brunswick counties.
During the summer of 2025, Max worked as a Wildlife Biologist Intern at the Patuxent Environmental and Aquatic Research Lab as part of their annual Blue Crab Pot relative abundance survey. During the summer of 2026, Max served as an AmeriCorps member through Conservation Legacy at the National Park Service Chesapeake Gateways. There he served as part of the Roving Ranger team traveling around the Chesapeake Bay watershed providing outreach and education to community members at Chesapeake Gateways places. This interpretation focused on the natural history, cultural heritage, and economic and industrial heritage of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Now working with Lower Shore Land Trust as a Conservation and Stewardship Assistant, Max hopes to leverage and improve his skills with GIS techniques and working with community partners to aid in land and water conservation and restoration efforts in the Lower Shore region and create impacts that benefit the greater Chesapeake Bay. In the long term Max hopes to attend Graduate School to study natural resource policy or conservation biology in the Chesapeake region and work with government, NGO, or academic partners to aid in the Chesapeake Bay stewardship effort.
In his free time, he enjoys fishing, kayaking, surfing, traveling to coastal areas, and live music.
