Max Winebrenner
conservation projects manager
Max was born in raised in Lewisburg, West Virginia where he spent time biking, swimming, running and hiking through the Appalachian Mountains with family and friends. His love for the outdoors was nurtured through participation in Scouting where he learned rock climbing, backpacking, mountain biking, canoeing, and good old fashioned car camping.
Max attended Georgetown University on an Army ROTC Scholarship and majored in Mandarin Chinese, which he can still speak with decreasing fluency each year. His adventures in college also took him across the US for ROTC training, to China where he spent five months in a language immersion program based out of Beijing, and to Mongolia where he spent a month working with the Mongolian Armed Forces and hiking in different parts of the country.
Max was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Defense Artillery branch of the Army in 2019 and shortly thereafter reported to Fort Sill, Oklahoma where he was a student at the Basic Officer Leadership Course. Throughout that course he learned key aspect of leadership and management that still guide his process today, and was trained to operate the Patriot Weapons System, a skill he hopes is less relevant in this role. Following graduation, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Max’s time in the Army featured leadership positions at the company and battalion level and culminated as the battalion’s Fires Direction Center Officer in Charge, the officer placed in tactical command of the battalion while deployed. He deployed twice to the Middle East in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, working with US and Allied partners to defend personnel and facilities from ballistic missile and drone attacks. After a good amount of desert time, he decided make a change and pursue a career in the outdoors that began in September of 2023. He has since learned how to cross country ski, snowshoe, gotten into backcountry skiing, and hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (while getting some work done along the way) and is equally excited to join the Land Trust team in protecting important lands in the area, and to spend time exploring all the adventures the Palouse has to offer.
When not working or adventuring outdoors Max likes to explore new recipes to cook, cheer on the Baltimore Ravens and the Washington Capitals, keep up with friends and family who are scattered across the US, and fix things around the house.