What Landforce does

Landforce (legally Pittsburgh Conservation Corps) is a 501(c)(3) employment and environmental social enterprise founded in November 2015 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, spun off from Mount Washington Community Development Corporation's Emerald Trail Corps program. The organization deploys professionally trained six-person crews, each led by a crew leader, to deliver four core land stewardship service lines: trail construction and upgrades, vacant land management and stabilization, habitat restoration, and stormwater and green infrastructure management. Crews operate seasonally (May through November) using traditional hand tools to perform environmental work for paying institutional clients.

The organization's workforce development program hires individuals who have faced barriers to employment—including formerly incarcerated individuals, people experiencing homelessness, those in recovery from addiction, and individuals with mental health diagnoses—and provides hard-skills training (including green infrastructure and National Green Infrastructure Certification), soft-skills coaching, individualized career counseling (over 2,787 hours of career coaching reported), and pathways into permanent employment. Reported outcomes include an 83% training completion rate, 86–91% job placement into next job, and 90% retention at 12 months post-program.

Landforce's revenue model combines fee-for-service contracts with municipalities, nonprofits, land trusts, and developers; grants from government agencies (notably a $200K EPA Brownfields Job Training Grant in 2021) and foundations (notably a $100K Google.org Impact Challenge award in 2018); and tax-deductible donations under its 501(c)(3) status. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and led by Executive Director Ilyssa Manspeizer, with a 25-person staff supporting an active crew pipeline. Recent expansion includes The Mill, a responsible wood production facility in Wilkinsburg opened in November 2025 that reclaims urban timber and creates an additional workforce pathway.

Name

Landforce

Legal name

Pittsburgh Conservation Corps

Website

https://landforcepgh.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Landforce is a Pittsburgh-based 501(c)(3) social enterprise that trains and employs underserved individuals as professional land stewardship crews, delivering trail construction, vacant land management, habitat restoration, and green infrastructure services to municipalities, nonprofits, and developers in the Allegheny County region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Land Stewardship and Workforce Development Services

NAICS

Farm Labor Contractors and Crew Leaders (115115), Support Activities for Crop Production (11511), Support Activities for Forestry (1153), Landscaping Services (561730)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Erosion Control & Land Stabilization (BPABADAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mine Land & Brownfield Reclamation Planting (AFAMACAM), Tree Planting & Establishment Services (Manual/Mechanized) (AFAMACAE), Lot Clearing, Land Clearing & Brush Removal (HSAIADAH), Conservation Easements & Land Trust Services (AFAMAMAH)

Keywords

• Land stewardship services
• Trail construction crews
• Habitat restoration services
• Green infrastructure maintenance
• Workforce development program

Headquarters

HQ city

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Environmental Services Contracts: Landforce generates revenue by providing fee-for-service environmental stewardship to municipalities, nonprofits, and developers. Organizations hire Landforce Crews for trail construction, vacant land management, habitat restoration, and green infrastructure maintenance services.
2. Grants and Government Funding: Landforce receives grant funding from government agencies (EPA brownfields grants, state conservation grants) and foundations to support operations and workforce training programs.
3. Donations: Landforce accepts tax-deductible donations as a registered 501(c)(3) organization under the name Pittsburgh Conservation Corps. They offer one-time and recurring donation options at various levels.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Landforce provides fee-for-service land stewardship through professionally skilled 6-person crews that conduct trail construction and upgrades, vacant land management and stabilization, habitat restoration, and stormwater/green infrastructure maintenance. These field services are delivered alongside a Workforce Development Program that recruits individuals facing barriers to employment (formerly incarcerated, those with addiction or mental health challenges, homeless individuals) and provides paid transitional employment, hard and soft skills training, and career coaching to transition participants into life-sustaining jobs.

Product overview

Landforce is an employment and environmental social enterprise offering two integrated core offerings: (1) Professionally skilled Landforce Crews providing land stewardship services including Trail Construction & Upgrades, Vacant Land Management & Stabilization, Habitat Restoration, and Stormwater & Green Infrastructure Management; and (2) a Workforce Development Program that provides employment, training, and support services for people who have been systematically excluded from career opportunities. The organization uses environmental stewardship work as a platform to help individuals gain skills, overcome barriers to employment, and transition into permanent positions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Landforce Crew Services Professionally skilled 6-person Landforce Crews plus a dedicated crew leader that deliver environmental stewardship services for institutional clients (municipalities, nonprofits, land trusts, developers) in the Pittsburgh region. Available May through November with limited off-season availability.
• Workforce Development Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 83% training completion rate for crew members
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and foundational.

• Lots to LovecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner on vacant land stabilization and management projects throughout Pittsburgh. Lots to Love works to transform vacant lots into community assets, and Landforce crews provide the labor for lot improvements and ongoing maintenance.
• GTECH StrategiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner on vacant land projects including the Allegheny Mountains Lot initiative in Brighton Heights. GTECH's Northside Ambassador program works with Landforce crews on vacant lot transformation.
• Trail PittsburghsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrail advocacy organization recommended for sustained volunteering to enhance the local trail system. Landforce works on trail projects that align with Trail Pittsburgh's mission.
• Hollow Oak Land TrustsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal land trust organization working to preserve and protect green spaces. Partner for trail and conservation projects in the Pittsburgh region.
• Allegheny Land TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partner for trail maintenance and habitat restoration at properties including Dead Man's Hollow and Crouse Run Nature Reserve. The first Landforce contracts were with Allegheny Land Trust, and the organization continues to be a key project partner.
• Mount Washington Community Development CorporationfoundationalStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded the Emerald Trail Corps program that gave birth to Landforce. The first Landforce contracts were with MWCDC for maintaining and expanding trail systems in Emerald View Park. MWCDC spun off the trail corps program to create Landforce in 2015.
• Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPWSA partners with Landforce for green infrastructure maintenance including rain gardens and bioswales. Landforce crews maintain PWSA projects so they can fulfill water retention, cleaning, and beautification functions. PWSA also provides educational tours to help crews understand urban water systems.
• Work PittsburghsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerShared office space partner located at 201 North Braddock Avenue. Work Pittsburgh provides second chance employment to formerly-incarcerated Pittsburghers through building affordable housing.
• Allegheny CleanwayssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental organization focused on dump cleanup through the Dumpbusters program. Landforce crew leaders trained with Allegheny Cleanways on dump site remediation and removal, including setting a record of 4 tons of trash removed in one day.
• StormWorkssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for green infrastructure training including bioswale and rain garden installation and maintenance. StormWorks provides technical training to Landforce crew leaders on measuring soil and understanding green infrastructure importance.
• A. Phillip Randolph InstitutesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorkforce development referral partner that connects job seekers to Landforce programs. Recruits individuals who have faced barriers to employment and matches them with Landforce crew opportunities.
• Partner4WorksupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorkforce development organization that is both a referral source and employer destination for Landforce graduates. Former Landforce crew leader Nate Broadus joined Partner4Work as Youth Projects Coordinator.
• Venture OutdoorssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerOutdoor recreation and education organization that provides leadership training workshops for Landforce crew leaders. Supports development of outdoor skills and leadership competencies.
• 55 Partner OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEcosystem of 55 partner organizations throughout the region including nonprofits, municipalities, land trusts, and workforce development agencies that support Landforce projects and referrals.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Civicorps: Civicorps is a California-based youth and adult workforce development social enterprise that combines paid service projects (land conservation, urban forestry, habitat restoration) with career training for opportunity youth. Closest comparable peer to Landforce in mission, crew-based model, and integration of environmental stewardship with transitional employment.
• Greening of Detroit / Detroit Conservation Corps: Detroit-based nonprofit that uses workforce development for tree planting, vacant lot greening, and urban forestry. Highly analogous to Landforce in a Midwestern Rust Belt context with similar vacant-land, equity, and tree-care focus.
• Sacramento Regional Conservation Corps: California conservation corps providing paid work crews for trail building, habitat restoration, and fuel reduction while delivering job training to young adults. Closely matches Landforce's crew-based service delivery and outcomes-driven model.
• St. Louis Urban Conservation Corps / Metropolitan Forestry Corps: Workforce-development corps in St. Louis providing paid crews for urban forestry, trails, and environmental restoration. Operates a near-identical social enterprise model for hard-to-employ populations in a legacy industrial city.
• GreenCityForce: GreenCityForce runs a service and conservation corps in NYC that prepares young adults from low-income communities for careers in green infrastructure and urban forestry. Directly comparable to Landforce in pairing green-jobs training with environmental project delivery for municipal clients.

Broad incumbents

• The Corps Network: National association of service and conservation corps across the U.S. Provides funding, advocacy, and standards for member corps running workforce + environmental stewardship programs at scale.
• Asplundh Tree Expert Company: National, for-profit vegetation management and land-clearing contractor serving utilities and municipalities. Represents the scaled commercial counterpart to Landforce's tree-care and brush-removal services.
• Davey Tree Expert Company: Large commercial provider of tree care, landscape, and environmental utility services across North America. Operates in a broader commercial capacity than Landforce but competes for similar municipal tree-care and right-of-way work.
• Groundwork USA (national network): National federation of local Groundwork trusts that run youth environmental corps, brownfield remediation, and green-space revitalization. Operates as a broader umbrella to many local corps models similar to Landforce with more geographic reach and longer operating history.

Others

• Allegheny Land Trust: Long-standing core partner and client of Landforce managing conserved lands including Dead Man's Hollow and Crouse Run Nature Reserve. An adjacent nonprofit buyer/partner rather than a direct competitor, but very relevant for understanding the local steward-customer relationship.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/landforcepgh
• Facebookfacebook.com/landforcepgh
• Instagraminstagram.com/landforcepgh
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/landforce

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Landforce