The Trustees of Reservations named Katie Theoharides the nonprofit's new president and CEO on Wednesday.

Ms. Theoharides, the former secretary of energy and environmental affairs under Gov. Charlie Baker, will oversee management of the Trustees’ 120-plus properties across Massachusetts, including the organization’s seven on the Vineyard.

She will replace John Judge, who stepped down in October after eight months on the job.

Ms. Theoharides, who also worked as the head of offshore wind on the east coast for multinational energy corporation RWE, has a background in ecology and climate science, pillars of the Trustees’ mission, the Trustees said in a statement.

“At her core she is an environmentalist who cares for land conservation and for mobilizing people through a shared reverence for nature,” said Peter B. Coffin, Chair of The Trustees’ Board of Directors in the statement.

Originally from Western Massachusetts, Ms. Theoharides said the Trustees have long understood that connecting people to nature can build a longstanding passion for stewardship.

“The decades ahead will require a deep sense of urgency and dedicated work to bring people together to protect our environment and implement solutions for a changing climate,” she said in the statement.

Ms. Theoharides had previously worked for the Trustees, working as the executive director of the Hilltown Land Trust in Western Massachusetts.

On the Vineyard, the Trustees own the Cape Pogue Wildlife Refuge, Mytoi Garden, Wasque, Long Point Wildlife Refuge, the FARM Institute, the Brickyard and Menemsha Hills.

The nonprofit land conservation group has been under scrutiny on the Vineyard in recent months for its handling of oversand vehicle access in Edgartown and Chappaquiddick. The group faced pushback from Chappaquiddick residents who were concerned that the Trustees were showing a pattern of neglect and mismanagement.

In response the Trustees ended up pulling trails and beaches on Cape Pogue from its application for oversand vehicle access, leaving the northern tip without vehicle access this summer.

One Chappaquiddick couple sued the Trustees to try and stop the sale of oversand permits. Without the northernmost trails on the table, a hearing to temporarily stay the case is scheduled to begin in state Land Court Thursday.