Behind the forest

We're a unique mix of foresters, technology experts, and creative communicators. We're brought together by a shared commitment to help solve climate change and leave behind a living planet for the next generation.

Leadership

Our leaders are experts and veterans from a diversity of fields.

Yishan Wong

Founder and CEO

Engineer and climate activist. Specializes in rapid growth tech impact. Ex-engineer at PayPal, Facebook. Ex-CEO of Reddit.

Ethan Cary

VP of Product Development

Leads construction and deployment of on-site forest tech. Ex-engineer at Matterport, PayPal, eBay.

Yee Lee

VP of Growth

Engineer and product designer. Ex-Facebook, Google, TaskRabbit, Skype, and PayPal. Loves trees.

Damien Kuhn

VP of Forestry Partnerships & Development

Working for a better world for both nature and human beings. Former UN forest/climate expert and COO of Kinomé.

Jonathan Kim

VP of Climate Impact

Helps people achieve their climate goals. Tech entrepreneur, storyteller, and Hawaiʻi kamaʻāina.

Margaret Morales

VP of Communications and Marketing

Writer, reader, learner, maker. Working to inspire a positive climate future.

Aubrey Vella

Head of People

Focused on attracting, growing, and retaining amazing talent. Building and scaling a great working environment so employees can do their best work.

Ricky Fong

General Counsel

Manages legal risks as we build and scale. Aligns legal and business strategic objectives. Ex-fintech lawyer, startup builder, and investor.

Huey Lin

Special Projects

Gap filler, executive liaison, and ad hoc Swiss army knife, always ensuring we can tackle our toughest problems. Ex-PayPal, Affirm, and Flexport.

Johannes Seidel

Head of Forestry

Plants resilient and beautiful forests that cool the planet and feed its communities. Planet Earth lover.

Marian Chau

Head of Seed Banking

Seed banker, ecologist, and biodiversity protector. Founder/Co-Chair of IUCN Seed Conservation Specialist Group. Ph.D. in Botany. He haumana mau loa o ka ʻāina.

Sophie Beaurpere-Wood

Head of Talent

Makes candidate and employee connections across the board. Finds the right people and keeps them engaged and happy through their careers.

Shobha Maharaj

Science Director

Translates critical, nuanced scientific knowledge and makes it available to people and organizations working to effect positive change. Focused on evaluating climate impacts on forest biodiversity across the globe and developing applicable solutions.

Prem Lalvani

Chief Financial Officer

Focused on carbonomics, the economics of scaling forests, and the future of finance. Ex-equity analyst and investment banker at Advest, William Blair, and SFG.

Jeff Wright

Senior Forester

Leads development of financially successful, sustainably managed planted forests. DPhil in tropical forestry. Has worked in over 50 countries.

Forestry

Terraformation's forestry team: our on-the-ground heroes that know just how restoration happens. From forestry experts to soil scientists and seed bankers, these are the people that keep us moving forward.

Jill Wagner

Head of Forestry

Forester, horticulturist, and land use specialist. Director of the Hawaiʻi Island Seed Bank. Founder of Future Forests Nursery.

Marian Chau

Head of Seed Banking

Seed banker, ecologist, and biodiversity protector. Botany PhD. Founder/Co-Chair of IUCN Seed Conservation Specialist Group. He haumana mau loa o ka ʻāina.

Lehua Todero

Nursery Manager

Native plant steward, seed collector, and banker. Passionate about Hawaiian native plants and conservation. Surfer. Named for the Hawaiian ʻOhiʻa flower.

Johannes Seidel

Restoration Manager

Landscape planning engineer. Tree planter. Carbon counter. Founder of CarbonBuddy.

Thomas Bolton

Nursery Operations Lead

Jack-of-all-trades. Builder. Seed collector. Soil grower. Former apple farmer.

Ruth Bone

Forestry Partnerships

Passionate about community collaboration to restore Mother Earth. Botany PhD. Countryside wanderer. Former Pacific Regional Coordinator for the Millennium Seed Bank.

Christian Torres

Forestry Partnerships

Botanist, arborist, and conservationist. Passionate about rare plants. Former International Institute of Tropical Forestry botanist, Director of Puerto Rico's Doña Inés Park.

Victoria Meyer

Carbon Scientist

Forest biomass expert, combining field data and remote sensing. Environmental science PhD. Passionate about art and science interactions. Former Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) researcher. Lecturer at Caltech.

David Clausnitzer

Soil Scientist

Site restoration assessor. Ensures the right plants land in the right place. Soil science PhD. Trumpeter and pianist. Former US Geological Survey and Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Hilary Flaming

Nursery Assistant

Forest steward restoring Hawaiʻi's last lowland forest. Former midwife. Subsistence farmer. Passionate about restoring human connection with nature, running and ocean swimming.

Lopaka Dela Cruz

Restoration Technician

Resident animal control specialist. Weed tamer. Rock wall and fencing expert. Grew up on a Kona, Hōnaunau coffee farm.

Nyree Hulme

Restoration Technician

Tree planter and weed slayer. Tackles new challenges daily. Biology program graduate from University of Hawaiʻi. World traveler.

Timon Skinner

Restoration Technician

Prepares nursery seedlings for out-planting. Ecology and biology program graduate from University of Hawaiʻi. Studied Hawaiian native birds. Hiker and swimmer.

Kimberly De Souza-Anderson

Supply Chain Specialist

Environmental activist. Former energy efficiency business development and project manager. Subsistence farmer. Ceramic artist inspired by native Hawaiian flora and fauna.

Meet our team

Read about our team members' experiences and reasons for joining Terraformation!

Meet Dr. Shobha Maharaj — Science Director

Meet Andrea Snavely — Finance Manager

After a career in banking, Terraformation's Finance Manager Andrea Snavely is helping solve a key bottleneck to forest restoration: funding.

Grow with us

Join our growing family!

See open positions