Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Carolynn Heller, Executive Director / CEO ($156,583) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 103 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 97th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended
Benchmarked executive: Carolynn Heller — reported title “CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to MD cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Get Inspired | CA | $403,267 | President | $110,000 | $101,599 | 2024 |
| The Outdoor Circle | HI | $402,928 | Executive Director | $122,049 | $116,879 | 2024 |
| Torrey House Press | UT | $405,952 | Executive Director | $69,650 | $78,500 | 2023 |
| 30 Mile River Watershed Association | ME | $408,868 | Executive Director | $100,722 | $107,879 | 2024 |
| Wesselman Nature Society Inc | IN | $396,745 | Executive Director | $63,785 | $71,948 | 2024 |
| Earthroots Field School Inc | CA | $391,713 | Executive Director | $27,335 | $25,247 | 2024 |
| Bees In The D | MI | $390,684 | Vice-president/treasurer | $69,735 | $79,264 | 2023 |
| Ecologik Institute | CA | $421,600 | President | $18,270 | $16,875 | 2024 |
| Cloud City Conservation Center | CO | $424,000 | Executive Di | $77,650 | $81,994 | 2023 |
| Blessed Earth Inc | KY | $382,900 | President | $191,959 | $220,594 | 2024 |
| Greater Arkansas River Nature Assoc | CO | $427,717 | Executive Di | $85,000 | $87,179 | 2024 |
| Strawberry Hill Foundation Inc | PA | $380,658 | Executive Di | $71,500 | $76,267 | 2024 |
| Wsbz Farms | AR | $429,747 | Executive Dir. | $53,550 | $66,286 | 2023 |
| Pando Populus Inc | CA | $377,928 | President | $112,500 | $103,908 | 2024 |
| Rep Environmental Education Foundation | VA | $377,331 | President | $129,446 | $133,688 | 2024 |
| Seaworthy Foundation Inc | FL | $431,973 | Founder Ceo | $80,000 | $80,386 | 2024 |
| Ecology In Classrooms And Outdoors | OR | $432,173 | Executive Director | $93,836 | $95,962 | 2023 |
| Earth Day New York Inc | NY | $433,796 | Executive Di | $109,419 | $108,882 | 2023 |
| Georgia Arborist Association Inc | GA | $374,382 | Executive Di | $74,282 | $79,890 | 2024 |
| Vermont Wilderness School | VT | $372,886 | Executive Director | $70,673 | $76,087 | 2024 |
| Eco-justice Center Inc | WI | $436,056 | Executive Director | $58,700 | $65,573 | 2024 |
| Cool The Earth Inc | CA | $436,919 | Exec Dir/boa | $55,000 | $50,799 | 2024 |
| Habitatmap Incorporated | NY | $370,978 | Executive Di | $23,000 | $22,230 | 2024 |
| Green Beverly 107q Inc | MA | $369,863 | President | $48,000 | $46,137 | 2024 |
| California Clean Energy Committee | CA | $438,983 | President | $66,000 | $62,759 | 2023 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MD cost of living and 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to MD cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 97th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 97th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 98th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 96th |
If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.
Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:
Draft board minutes — executive compensation
Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.