Meet the Team

“As a young female professional, it is sometimes difficult to be taken seriously in the forestry industry. At the Guild, my knowledge is valued. I enjoy working with landowners, professionals, and community members who share the goal of improving forest health and the benefits to communities dependent on them.”

Dakota Wagner

Southeast Region Coordinator

"I work for the Guild because no other organization I know of so seamlessly blends lofty aspirations with the ability to get good work done on the ground. The Guild’s principles provide a vision for improving our world one stand at a time.”

Zander Evans

Executive Director

“I enjoy helping people connect with their environment in a personal way. The Guild community and projects help a wide diversity of people find their way toward those connections.”

Colleen Robinson

Communications Coordinator

“A Guild strength is meaningful partnerships. Part of my job is coordinating field trips, workshops, and webinars on relevant topics that help put science into practice. Our partnerships make that possible.”

Amanda Mahaffey

Deputy Director

Zander Evans

Executive Director

zander@forestguild.org

505-983-8992 ext 705

Southwest office, New Mexico

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Zander was the Guild’s research director for 11 years prior to his current role. His research supports on-the-ground implementation of ecological forestry. He has a PhD from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and worked as a cartographer and spatial analyst with the US Geological Survey.

“In college, I became obsessed with environmental threats and thought the only way to make a difference was through international policy. In contrast, I learned there were opportunities to make a positive impact in forests right where I grew up in southern New England. With just a Master of Forestry and some blue paint, I could change the course of a woodlot for a generation. As the Guild’s executive director, it is incredibly rewarding to see the positive impact Guild members have in the forests they manage and how, collectively, we can tackle the environmental challenges that first motivated me."

Eytan Krasilovsky

Deputy Director

eytan@forestguild.org

505-470-0185 (mobile)

505-983-8992 ext 707

Southwest office, New Mexico

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The Southwest program continues the legacy started by the Forest Trust in 1984 to practice and promote excellence in stewardship by building a sustainable forest-based economy, developing future forestry leaders, practicing ecological forest restoration, and training and educating fire and forest workers and landowners. Eytan develops, funds, and implements projects to support these goals. The Southwest program currently works on landscape-scale restoration, youth education and training, wildland firefighter training, and effectiveness monitoring. Eytan is involved in several local collaborative efforts to improve forest management and serves on a wildland-urban interface risk reduction grant review panel. He received his master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania after working as a field archaeologist in the Northeast and a fire effects monitor and wildland firefighter with the National Park Service.

Amanda Mahaffey

Deputy Director

amanda@forestguild.org

207-432-3701

Northeast office, Maine

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Amanda’s role as Deputy Director builds on seven years serving as the Forest Stewards Guild’s Northeast Region Director. From her base in Maine, Amanda supports the national Women Owning Woodlands network, expands the Foresters for the Birds program begun in Vermont, organizes learning events for the North Atlantic Fire Science Exchange, grows New England’s forest climate adaptation community of practice, and supports Guild members in advancing ecological forestry. Amanda is a licensed forester and holds degrees from Yale University and the University of Southern Maine. She has been an active member of the Forest Stewards Guild and the Society of American Foresters since her student days, and is passionate about supporting succeeding generations of forest stewards.

Sam Berry

Southwest Fire & Fuels Program Manager

sam@forestguild.org

541-816-6371

Southwest office, New Mexico

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Sam facilitates the return of good fire to the landscapes of New Mexico and beyond by supporting Fire Adapted Communities, prescribed fire training exchanges, collaborative burning, and treatment implementation to improve fire resiliency. Sam also designs written and web materials to increase understanding of the relation of wildland fire to the natural world and communities. Sam has worked on various wildland and prescribed fire crews, engines and wildfire use modules in several states. He worked in the Klamath region of Northern California promoting fire adapted communities, running chainsaws on thinning crews, managing noxious weeds, and on fisheries crew. In Montana Sam developed and completed two oral history projects documenting lives rural communities. In his free time, he enjoys being with his favorite people and dogs, crafting things, cooking, and being outdoors.

Esmé Cadiente

Southwest Region Assistant Director

esme@forestguild.org

505-470-0032 (mobile)

Southwest office, New Mexico

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Esmé manages Collaborative Forest Restoration Program (CFRP) projects. Her work addresses wildfire on a fireshed scale, with a pro-active and collaborative approach to improve the health and long-term resilience of our forests and communities. Esmé also communicates science to the public through project outreach materials, website design, verbal communication and photography, helping a range of audiences understand and engage in their natural world. Esmé holds an M.S. in Ecohydrological Science and Management from the University of Idaho in Moscow, and a B.S. in Environmental Biology from Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. Her work has emphasized the mixed use of watershed and fireshed landscapes and the coupling between human and natural systems to manage forest and water resources at the landscape to regional scale. Esmé’s past research examines the interface between hydrologic and riparian systems and the ecological role of fire in forested watersheds for maintaining forest health and ecological resilience in a changing world.

Jennifer "Jen" Chandler

Southeast Region Manager

jen.chandler@forestguild.org

828-772-7992 (mobile)

Southeast office, North Carolina

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Mirroring the Guild’s vision, Jen approaches forest management holistically, focusing not only on the economic impacts of management activities, but also on ecological and social impacts. Jen’s background is in field ecology and conservation, and she is particularly interested in forest farming and community-based ecological forestry throughout the southeast region. Jen holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Transylvania University, a B.S. in Biology from Northern Kentucky University, and a Ph.D. in Biology from West Virginia University. Before joining the Guild, Jen was an Assistant Professor of Biology whose research focused on two main projects: exploring the response American ginseng to both anthropogenic and natural canopy disturbances, and investigating the impact of spotted lanternfly, an invasive planthopper, on forest species in the mid-Atlantic area. In her free time Jen likes to be with family, get outside with her dog, and collect houseplants.

Fred Clark

Senior Forester

fred@forestguild.org

Lake States office, Wisconsin

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Fred has been a Guild professional member since 1998 and served as the Guild's Executive Director from November 2014 - October 2017. He currently serves on the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board, and as the Executive Director of Wisconsin's Green Fire. Fred has a B.S. in Horticulture and Forestry from Michigan State University, and an M.S. in Forest Science from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. In over 30 years in natural resources he has worked as a forest ecologist, a WDNR Service Forester, and the owner of a forestry consulting and contracting business. Fred served on the Wisconsin Council on Forestry from 2004 - 2014 and served three terms as a Wisconsin State Representative from 2009 – 2014. Fred and his wife Kerry live in Madison, Wisconsin.

Gabriel Donaldson

Assistant Director of Fire Management

gabriel@forestguild.org

970-690-2105

Intermountain West office, Colorado

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Gabe assists in managing many prescribed fire partnerships, collaborations and projects throughout Colorado and Northeastern New Mexico. His primary task is to increase the pace and scale of prescribed fire treatments while also helping to build a diverse and robust prescribed fire workforce. Gabe spent the last four years managing The Nature Conservancy’s Colorado and Arizona fire programs, and prior to that he worked for the Bureau of Land Management for 16 years as a Hotshot Superintendent and Smokejumper. During his time with the Bureau of Land Management he earned a credential in Ecosystem Management for Wildland Fire Professionals from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has served and serves on many committees including the Fire Advisory Team, the Fire Equipment Group, the Northern Colorado Fireshed Collaborative Working Group and Operations Team, and the Interagency Hotshot Crew sub-committee.

Tyler Gilbert

Logistics Technician
Gravitas Peak Wildland Fire Module

tyler@forestguild.org

Intermountain West office, Colorado

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Tyler is responsible for any logistical needs the module has to support its many operational functions. This includes the maintenance of module apparatus, equipment, tools, and personal protective equipment. She is also responsible for the food program of the module, and works closely with the module’s fire apprentices. After receiving her undergraduate degree in Natural Resource Conservation from the University of Florida, Tyler went on to receive a Master of Science degree from the University of Idaho in Fire Ecology. While there, Tyler worked with many other researchers from across the country to investigate the effects of soil heating from prescribed fire to soil carbon respiration in sandhill and flatwoods ecosystems in Florida. Growing up in the swamplands of northern Florida, Tyler developed a passion for conservation early in life. Sher has worked in a myriad of ecosystems in the Southeastern United States and looks forward to her work in the West. Her professional interests include ecophysiology, habitat restoration, applied ecology, forestry, and botany. She is also incredibly passionate about tolerance, respect, the empowerment of others, and bicycles.

Daniel Godwin

Assistant Director of Fire Management and Assistant Lead on Gravitas Peak Fire Module

daniel@forestguild.org

850-980-1153

Intermountain West office, Colorado

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Daniel is originally from north Florida, where fire is about as ubiquitous as fried mullet and sweet tea.
He started his fire career with The Nature Conservancy after graduating from the University of Florida, working on an engine module supporting inter-agency prescribed fire. He completed his PhD at the University of Missouri – Columbia. Daniel has helped put good fire on the ground across the US and consulted for DoD on wildfire issues. He lives in Fort Collins with his wife and robot vacuum.

Gabe Kohler

Program Coordinator

gabe@forestguild.org

509-844-3048

Southwest office, New Mexico

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Gabe has a strong interest in the human dimensions of natural resource management and wants to develop forest and fire management that strengthens the connection between rural communities and the forestland that surrounds them. He holds a B.A in Environmental Studies from Lewis and Clark College and a M.S in Forest Ecosystems and Society from the Oregon State University College of Forestry. During his graduate studies, Gabe learned to approach natural resource challenges from an interdisciplinary perspective, merging the social sciences with fire science and management. In his work as a social scientist contractor and research associate, Gabe talked with hundreds of natural resource professionals throughout the western US about their experiences, and hopes to bring these diverse perspectives to his work with the Guild. Gabe’s weekends are spent camping, biking, listening to live music, and road-tripping around the states with his girlfriend and their dog Magoo.

Dave Lasky

Director of Fire Management and Lead on the Gravitas Peak Wildland Fire Module

dave@forestguild.org

303-588-3440

Intermountain West office, Colorado

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Dave has spent 20 years in Fire Management. He has worked as a suppression firefighter with extensive experience in Colorado’s Front Range and its recent history of catastrophic fires. He has had a diverse career, from running Daylight Again Restoration Forestry, which used draft horses as the motive power source to serving on Type 2 and 3 Incident Management Teams. A qualified Burn Boss and Incident Commander, Dave now focuses on workforce development and social justice issues to increase the pace and scale of prescribed fire implementation.

Michael Lynch

Great Lakes Region Manager

mike@forestguild.org

608-449-0647

Lake States office, Minnesota

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Michael focuses on regional research needs, collaboration opportunities, and natural resource planning at a landscape-scale. Michael has specialized experience developing integrated solutions to balance the multifaceted ecological, economic, and social needs of the Lake State’s forest resources. Michael holds a BA from Gustavus Adolphus College with majors in Biology and Environmental Studies and an MS in Biological Integration from the University of Minnesota. Prior to working for the Forest Stewards Guild, Michael worked with the Wisconsin DNR, Minnesota Forest Resources Council/Minnesota DNR, Sugarloaf: The North Shore Stewardship Association, and USDA Forest Service. Michael also operates a southern Minnesota corn and soybean farm that pairs land and water conservation practices with production agriculture. He spends his time away from Guild and farming activities engaging in a variety of outdoor adventures with his wife and kids. Michael's office is located in Mankato, MN.

Corrina Marshall

Intermountain West Region Manager

corrina@forestguild.org

734-239-1223

Intermountain West office, Colorado

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Corrina’s current responsibilities include fundraising, document generation, and community engagement on projects focused on wildfire mitigation and prescribed fire. Working previously in the East and Midwest, she has a strong background in land stewardship, partnership development and support, and private landowner collaboration. While working for the Aldo Leopold Foundation, she served on their prescribed fire crew which sparked her interest in its use as a tool for landscape scale conservation and restoration work. Corrina is interested in supporting diversity in the field of conservation through the community partners that we work with. The next generation of conservation work, in the face of climate change, needs to be more inclusive and on a scale larger than ever before.

Kendal Martel

Pacific Northwest Region Coordinator

kendal@forestguild.org

541-219-1907

Pacific Northwest office, Oregon

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Kendal works to coordinate outreach, engagement, and peer learning around forest restoration, wildfire mitigation, and Fire Adapted Communities. She is a trained facilitator focusing on natural resources and is passionate about facilitating science-based dialogue among agencies and the public to inform sound management decisions and strengthen community governance. Before joining the Guild, Kendal was the Forest Program Associate at Sustainable Northwest where she provided technical assistance, network-based peer learning, and facilitation to several forest collaboratives in Oregon. Kendal also served as a Forestry Extension Agent with the US Peace Corps where she focused on agroforestry and sustainable agriculture in rural Zambia. Kendal has degrees in Sociology and Geography from Stephen F. Austin State University and a Graduate Certificate in Collaborative Governance from Portland State University.

Meg Matonis

Intermountain West Region Manager

megan@forestguild.org

970-217-6473

Intermountain West office, Colorado

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Meg supports efforts to increase the pace and scale of prescribed burning, create fire adapted communities, and increase diversity and inclusion on the fireline. She earned a PhD in forest ecology from Colorado State University in 2015, and she has professional experience with science communication, outreach, and collaboration. Meg has been an on-call wildland firefighter with the Larimer County Sherriff's Office since 2013. Before joining the Guild, Meg worked for the Colorado State Forest Service as the experiential learning coordinator and university liaison, and she served as a science communication specialist for the Rocky Mountain Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service. She looks forward to interacting with Guild employees and partners to advance our common interests in holistic forest management.

Jennifer Mueller

Training Specialist
Gravitas Peak Wildland Fire Module

jennifer@forestguild.org

303-378-4096

Intermountain West office, Colorado

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Jennifer contributes to the team by supporting training efforts, both within the Guild and for partners. She is pioneering teaching materials for the evolving wildland fire community under the umbrella of risk management and leadership. She creates inclusive, safe-spaces where students from underserved populations can get hands-on to develop their firefighting skills. She also assists in leadership roles on the Module, and is an RXB2 trainee. Before joining the Guild, Jennifer worked with The Nature Conservancy for a decade, leading prescribed fire crews in ecological restoration throughout the Southeast. She often participates as cadre for the Fire Learning Network Training Exchanges (TREX) and is a part-time lead instructor at Aerie Backcountry Medicine. She holds B.A. degrees from the University of Colorado in Environmental Biology and Anthropology.

Leonora Pepper

Program Manager

leonora@forestguild.org

505-490-5567

Northeast office, Massachusetts

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Leonora works to empower women woodland owners across the U.S. through the Guild’s Women Owning Woodlands (WOW) Program. In the Northeast, Leonora’s work focuses on forest adaptation in a changing climate and on promoting oak resiliency in southern New England. Her earlier work at the Guild’s southwest office spanned community-based forest stewardship, wildfire risk mitigation, forest health and restoration, and environmental education. On the tropical side, Leonora has worked at the intersection of forestry and sustainable agriculture, with projects including a study of traditional açaí cultivation in the Amazon estuary and, most recently, a supply chain analysis of yerba mate agroforestry in southern Brazil. Leonora holds a B.A. in Economics from Smith College and a Master of Forestry degree from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

Matt Piccarello

Southwest Region Director

matt@forestguild.org

505-470-9725 (mobile)

505-983-8992 ext. 708

Southwest office, New Mexico

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Matt manages monitoring efforts for the Guild’s various forest restoration projects, engages local partners through the Fire Adapted New Mexico Learning Network (www.facnm.org), and supports community forestry in New Mexico. Matt has a background in environmental education and helps to manage the Forest Stewards Youth Corps Program. Before moving to New Mexico, Matt lived in Oregon where he was a trail crew leader for Northwest Youth Corps. In 2012, Matt received a fellowship to travel to Nepal and study their system of community forestry, bringing lessons learned back to New Mexico. Matt earned master’s degrees in Community and Regional Planning and Water Resources from the University of New Mexico. When not working for the Guild, Matt enjoys running and road biking in New Mexico’s mountains and spending time with his wife Carly and their two dogs Gila Monster and Dexter.

Colleen Robinson

Communications Manager

colleen@forestguild.org

505-983-8992 ext. 700

Lake States office, Wisconsin

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Colleen describes her perfect work as helping people recognize and acknowledge their own connections to their environment. She has a Bachelor's Degree in environmental education and a broad background in communications. After 10 years with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' Forest Health Program and 14 years with the non-profit, Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy, her knowledge directly relates to our communication needs. She understands our work with forests and the people who own, manage and recreate within them. Colleen maintains our website, member and donor communications, event registrations, e-news, magazine, and Annual Review. At home, she enjoys time in the woods and on the water, with her standard poodle, friends and family. She puts high value on locally sourced, healthy food. You'll often hear her say "I belong outside."

Dakota Wagner

Southeast Region Coordinator

dakota@forestguild.org

541-977-7720

Southeast office, North Carolina

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Dakota is passionate about bringing ecological forestry to all types of communities. She has lived and worked in a number of forest ecosystems such as high desert, sub-alpine, maritime, and Appalachian hardwood...and has taken her houseplants with her to all of them. She is originally from Oregon, but has fallen in love with what the Southern Appalachians have to offer. Currently, her responsibilities include community engagement, event facilitation, and project management for projects focused on forest restoration in the Southeast. Dakota holds a B.S. in Ecological Forestry with a concentration in plant sciences from Warren Wilson College.

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