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Our Staff
Our program would not be possible without the contributions of thousands of community leaders world-wide

BOARD OF DIRECTORS (volunteer)

Dr. John R. Moore, Chairman Mr. David E. Deppner, President Mr. Oscar V. Gruspe, Treasurer Ms. Grace G. Deppner, Recording Secretary (non-voting) Mr. Peter Falk Mrs. Mahlu Herman Mr. Bedru Sultan Mr. Franz N. Stuppard Mr. John Leary

ADVISORY COUNCIL (volunteer)

Dr. Mizani Kristos, West African Development Dr. James Brewbaker, University of Hawaii Mr. William Campbell, Seasoned Energy Mr. Steve McCrea, Global Climate Change, FL Dr. Malcolm Novins, George Mason University Dr. Pascal Woldemariam, Greener Ethiopia Dr. Noel Vietmeyer, The Vetiver Institute Mr. Sean Griffin, Forestry & GIS Specialist Mr. Mark Dafforn, National Academy of Science, Wash. DC Mr. John Kyle, Advisor on Business Management

Headquarters (Silver Spring)

	Dave and Grace Deppner, Founders, Executive Director For more than 30 years, Dave Deppner and his wife, Grace, have worked to develop a program that empowers local communities to restore tree cover and life to lands degraded by deforestation. In 1988, they started TREES FOR THE FUTURE to reach more communities in need. Since that time, TREES has helped more than 6,500 villages in Asia, Africa, and the Americas to develop environmentally beneficial projects.

	Gorav Seth, Head of International Programs Gorav developed a keen interest in agroecology, agroforestry, and permaculture while studying Plant Biology at UC Berkeley. He took this interest out into the world, working on projects in the USA, Honduras, India, Costa Rica, and the Bahamas. In 2004, he completed his MBA in International Business under the Millenium Fellowship from the George Washington University. At TREES, he is coordinating our country programs, developing our India country program, expanding our monitoring and evaluation systems, and maintaining the IT systems and our website.

	Leandro Monteiro - Business Partnerships Manager In October Leandro Monteiro joined our team at the main office in Silver Spring, Maryland. Leandro will be taking over Gabriel Buttram's position as Business Partnerships Coordinator, as Gabe was stationed in Ethiopia as of October. Leandro has a professional background in marketing and communications and looks forward to using these skills to coordinate current partnerships and to seek out new partnerships with businesses interested in helping to grow our program. As a native of Brazil and an International Studies major in college, he is excited to be working in an environment where he can put his experience to use for a great cause and work with great people around the world.

	Ethan Budiansky, West Africa and Haiti Ethan is working on our West African Program, along with Haiti and other french speaking countries. As an Agroforestry Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal for 2 and a half years, he worked on community based natural resource management. He has a dual masters degree in Natural Resource Management / Sustainable Development and International Affairs from American University and the University for Peace in Costa Rica.

	Francis Deppner, Southeast Asia Coordinator Francis is the son of TREES founder Dave Deppner, and has been around the organization since its inception in 1989. Fracis is developing our Southeast Program (Philippines, Indonesia and neighboring countries). He is currently majoring in International Business at the University of Maryland, College Park.

	Heather Muszynsky , Fundraising Heather Muszynsky graduated from St. Mary’s College in 2007 with a degree in Anthropology. While studying, she spent six months in the Gambia, West Africa, taking classes at the University of the Gambia and working with a women’s community garden project. She also taught English at a primary school and had the opportunity to travel throughout Senegal as well. Once she returned to the United States, Heather went to New Orleans to volunteer with the Common Ground Collective. She took part in multiple bioremediation of community gardens projects, built solar showers and assisted in collecting and removing debris from the lower 9th ward. She is excited to contribute as much as she can to an organization she believes in.

	Jeffrey G. Manuel, Member/Partnership Services Jeffrey brings 7 years of experience from the healthcare industry where he assisted thousands of hospitals and doctors, and 6 years of management and customer service experience. Jeffrey will assist our members and business partners to achieve our goals in planting millions of trees.

	Catherine Bukowski, Training Program Coordinator Catherine Bukowski graduated from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) in 2004 with a MS in Forest and Natural Resource Management. During 2005 she worked for SUNY-Research Foundation and the non-profit Tropical Forestry Initiative in Costa Rica on demonstration agroforestry projects and tree nursery management. From 2006 to 2009 she served with the U.S. Peace Corps in Honduras. The first two years she worked with women’s groups on agricultural and tree nursery trainings, helped maintain various tree nurseries with help from Trees for the Future as well as participated in other agricultural and watershed management activities. Her third year she served as a supporting staff member to the Lancetilla Botanical Garden and Research Center where she worked with environmental education in primary schools, organized environmental awareness events and participated in agroforestry training and community tree nurseries.

International Field Staff and Volunteers

	Jeff Follett, South America Program Officer, Australia Over the past 7 years Jeff has partnered with the Surinamese government and non-profit sector to address the lack of access to agricultural information, assessed the effectiveness of a payment for environmental services program in Costa Rica, researched food systems in the United States, and managed land use projects in South America. His work at TREES is as diverse as his skills. Although his focus is on our projects in South America, he also assists the team in developing our public presence, strengthening our training program, and refining our system of data collection and analysis.

	Joshua Bogart, Central America Regional Coordinator, Honduras Josh completed his 3rd year with the Peace Corps Honduras on Dec 31, 2007, and started working for TREES the next day. In the Peace Corps, he has been working on protected areas management, and has started reforestation, diversification of production, and bio-gas projects. He is completing his masters in Forest Entomology from the State University of New York, and he has a bachelors in Biology (honors) with a minor in Environmental Studies.

	David Tye, East Africa Regional Coordinator, Tanzania From 2001-2003, David served in the Peace Corps as an Environment Volunteer in Tanzania, where he focused on agriculture, agroforestry, and natural resources management. Following his time in Peace Corps, David worked as a program associate for an international development organization in Washington DC, and then studied at American University where he received his Masters in International Development. David is excited to work with Trees for the Future because of their commitment to working with local communities to improve the lives of rural farmers in countries throughout the world.

	Gabriel Buttram, Ethiopia Coordinator, Ethiopia Gabe received a Master's degree in International Relations from American University, and another one in Natural Resource Management/Sustainable Development from the UN University for Peace in Costa Rica. Before that, he spent two years in Lesotho, Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer working primarily with agro-forestry and livelihood development.

	Danilo Zabala, The Philippines Danny has been into development work for the past 18 years and has gained invaluable experiences in this matter. He is currently working with people’s organizations (POs) in developing sustainable farming systems on the uplands. Danny has a degree in Agriculture at the Gregorio Araneta University Foundation. He also has a background in mass communications. He accepts commissioned work, and is an occasional journalist.

	Stephanie Vidad, The Philippines Stephanie operates a home-based computer services business. Her clients include students, business persons and groups. Steph is a graduate of Computer Systems Design and Programming at the AMA Computer Learning Center. Being a nature lover and having a profound concern in the environment is the reason why she joined the group.

	Omar Ndao , Senegal Omar has been a farmer and tree planter in Senegal for 20 years. Inspired by his father who taught him the value of a tree, Omar followed his father's footsteps and continues to help people throughout Kaffrine, Senegal to reforest degraded lands and implement agroforestry technologies in crop fields. Since beginning with Trees for the Future, Omar has helped plant nearly a half million trees.

	Abdou Diane , Senegal Abdou is now helping Omar further develop our Agroforestry training site, and will be an active part of our Senegal program for many years to come.

	Subramanian Periswamy, India Subramanian's organization, the Rural Development and Afforestation Society, is one of TREES' oldest partners in India. Subramanian is leading tree planting efforts in and around the community of Tiruvannamalai, and is also helping distribute trees eed to other local NGOs.

	Sagapala Gangisetty, India Mr Gangisetty is a schoolteacher, and is also the founder and director of The Green Tree Foundation. He has been working with farmers and villagers in the drought-stricken state of Andhra Pradesh for over eight years, trying to promote a "Green Tree Rich Society" in this state that is experiencing catastrophic droughts and an epidemic of farmer suicides.

	Mohamed Traore, Mali Representative A graduate from the University of Bamako, Mohamed now works for the Malian Association for the Conservation of Fauna and the Environment. As an agroecolgist, Mohamed coordinated Trees for the Future's seed distribution and agroforestry trainings in Mali, and he delivers integrated pest management and market gardening training to rural communities.

	Timote Georges , Haiti Timote studied at the University of Peace in Costa Rica, where he met Ethan Budiansky and Gabe Buttram. A few months down the road, Timote returned to Haiti, where he has helped TREES to develop a much stronger program in an incredibly challenging situation.

	Fernanda Peixoto, Brazil Representative After spending 7 years in the United States, Fernanda decided in 2008 to go back to her home in Brazil. She craved the beautiful weather but also wanted to do something to help the farmers in her area. Her family has a history of Farming in Sao Paulo and Mato Grosso. Her connections and expertise have been crucial in developing our Brazil program.

	Gerardo Santos Matta, Honduras Gerardo is a resident of the Village of El Socorro, Siguatepeque, Honduras and is the TREES technician working in the area of Cerro Azul Meambar National park. He works in collaboration with the local NGO Aldea Global. As a trainer in the Centro de Enseñanza Aprendizaje de Agricultura Sostenible (CEASO) Gerardo trained a variety of groups in ferro cement structures, rammed earth building, rain water harvest, organic agriculture, integrated pest management, promulgation of forest, fruit and ornamental trees, animal husbandry, production of animal feeds, organic fertilizer production, and pisciculture. With over 10 years of experience, Gerardo brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our projects around Cerro Azul Meambar National Park.

	Jose Hilario, Honduras Over the past 15 years Jose Hilaro has proven his dedication to developing sustainable agriculture in Honduras. He was chosen in 1996 to receive training at the National School of forestry where he learned about the management of watersheds and piped water systems and about rural trail and road management. In 1998 he was chosen by other community members to receive training from the IHCAFE (Instituto Hondureño del Café) where he was recognized as an innovator of soil conservation measures. He was awarded a extensionist diploma from IHCAFE and further expanded his knowledge of sustainable agriculture and agroforestry with the organization Semilla del Progresso. He has since worked with Semilla del Progresso in the Intibuca and La Paz departments of Honduras. He now brings his dedication and hard work to TREES where he will work to establish nurseries and promote agroforestry.

	Merkabu Garedew, Ethiopia Merkebu has been working with TREES and their local partner Greener Ethiopia since 2003. He has a diploma in Business Salesmanship and Marketing, and a certificate in Natural Resource Management. Before becoming involved with TREES, he spent 30 years working on soil conservation, forestry and agroforestry with the Ministry of Agriculture.

	Derese Kochala Gedene, Ethiopia For ten years, Derese taught P.E., Environmental Science, English and Social Studies in his home town of Konso. Three years ago he became Head of the Tourism Office and Coordinator of the Konso Community Tourism Project. In 2009, he began working with TREES and Greener Ethiopia as our Konso Technician and Coordinator. He is also a great community leader and organizer, well respected for his involvement and leadership in local clubs, events and sports.

	Louis Nkembi, Cameroon Country Director Louis Nkembi, holds an undergraduate degree in Biology (University of Yaounde, Cameroon), MSc in agro-economics (University Center of Dschang, Cameroon), Post-Graduate Certificates in Participatory Forest Management Economics (Ghana Forestry Institute), Protected Area Management (University of Montana, USA), Forestry Administration and Management (Northern Arizona University, School of Forestry, USA), Community-based wildlife management (Wildlife Conservation Network, California, USA). Furthermore, Louis Nkembi spent about 8 years at the Wildlife Conservation Society/Banyang-Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary (as a Social Scientist) leading the development and implementation of the Banyang-Mbo Sanctuary community management model (the first of its kind for a protected area in Cameroon). Before joining Wildlife Conservation Society in 1998, he was the Coordinator of a rural development program for the Ministry of Agriculture from 1993 to 1997. For the last 17 years he has acquired extensive experiences working at the interface of rural development and conservation. Louis Nkembi founded the Cameroonian non-profit organization 'the Environment and Rural Development Foundation/ERuDeF' in 1999 and since 2005 he became the President/CEO of ERuDeF.


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	Trees for the Future \| P.O. Box 7027 \| Silver Spring, MD 20907 \| 1.800.643.0001 or 1.301.565.0630 \| Skype: treesftf