Meet Ecotrust
We are an ambitious bunch. Scientists and storytellers, inventors and analysts, technologists, collaborators, pathfinders, and big thinkers. We make maps and software apps, manage forests and investment funds, connect local farmers and fishermen with local eaters. And we convene communities around ideas that matter. Learn more about our team here and find opportunities to work with us.
*Asterisks indicate a member of Ecotrust's Leadership Team.

Lily Abood
Vice President, Development & Engagement*
About Lily
Global and local adventurer. Strategic calendar and dinner-party planner. New mother on the steepest learning curve of life. Rookie fly caster, determined river wader. Flower child with an edge.

Jon Bonkoski
Knowledge Systems Program Director
About Jon
Map maker working to better understand the intersection of economy, environment, and equity. Committed bike commuter. Husband and father. Sports fan. I like good food, too.

Sabrina Cerquera
Food Equity Coordinator
About Sabrina
A dot collector and connector. First generation Colombian American by way of Miami, Fla. Tippy toeing at concerts and DJing out some salsa for the soul. Living with her cat, Salem (named after the Teenage Witch’s), in the Pacific Northwest. Can be found talking with her hands and reacting loudly with her eyebrows over the dinner table.

Emilie Chen
Communications Coordinator
About Emilie
Tea drinker and overthinker. Bird-noticer and casual naturalist. A child of immigrants, who were themselves children of immigrants.

Sarah Cline
Design Director
About Sarah
Mother, daughter, friend. Lover of screen printing, transparency, repetition, gift economies, rabbits, fluorescent ink, cooperative ownership, collectives, de-centering whiteness, foraging, sharing meals, in-between spaces, print publications, dementia rights, liberation, and healing. Valley girl. Power with not power over. Becoming.

Heldáy de la Cruz
Senior Designer*
About Heldáy
Illustrator and maker of things. Farm boy. Loves gift-giving, constellations, symmetry, sewing clothes, home-cooked meals, translating French poetry, Michel Gondry, hot tea, PNW weather, attempting difficult hikes, running and cycling, and making comic strips of things friends do. Often found at local music shows.

David Diaz
Director of Forestry Analytics and Technology
About David
Data nerd and ecosystem science translator. Sustainable forestry fortuneteller. Addicted to trail running, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and home-brewing beer.

Jessica Douglas
Indigenous Storytelling and Engagement Fellow
About Jessica
A storyteller passionate about Indigenous sovereignty and environmental justice. Professional eater. Enjoys both — the bustle of the city and camping among the cedars. Proud Siletz woman. Learning every day for my ancestors.
Blog Posts
- U.S. Department of Agriculture awards $25 million to accelerate the Climate-Smart Wood Economy
- Michelle Week, 2022 Indigenous Leadership Awardee
- Julie Kitka, 2022 Indigenous Leadership Awardee
- Paul Lumley, 2022 Indigenous Leadership Awardee
- Spring Alaska Schreiner, 2022 Indigenous Leadership Awardee

Noah Enelow
Director of Economic Research and Evaluation*
About Noah
Interdisciplinary economist, social justice advocate, big picture thinker, coffee drinker, sometimes blogger, music enthusiast; love to spend my time in and around mountains.

Laura Ford
Director of Special Projects
About Laura
Story producer, social justice activist, mother to two. Lover of dark beer, riverside hikes, vegan food, summertime in South Dakota, and Turkish tea.

Megan Foucht
Senior Communications Manager
About Megan
Writer and worker bee. Surfer, poet, singer, and salsa dancer. Loves wine-filled potlucks, being an auntie, mixing the perfect pie crust, and laughing up a storm.

Teresa Gaddy
Green Workforce Academy Program Manager
About Teresa
Lover of good black tea, exploring historic sites, deep conversations, and the summer harvest. Enjoys sharing culture through food. Mother of two. Voracious consumer of British crime dramas. Dreams of life in the countryside.

Stephanie Gutierrez
Forests and Community Program Director
About Stephanie
A storyteller at heart. A listener, interpreter, community facilitator and advocate. Happiest when greeting the sunrise in the backcountry or learning about nature. Ramen enthusiast. Proud parent of adopted fluffer pupper Lucy, lover of table scraps. Follow adventures on Instagram @luseatosky.

Raphael Guzman
Program Manager of Food Systems Equity
About Raphael
In my role at Ecotrust, I serve as a community connector and educator. It has been a gift to be able to explore my passions for regenerative agriculture, community development, and social justice for over 20 years. Growing up in California as a first-generation Black Latina provided a foundation of unconvention and innovation that catalyzes and informs my work in the world. In my quiet moments, I find joy in creating mix-media art, cultivating beautiful spaces, and long dinners in good company.

Akshay Hariprasad
Operations Associate
About Akshay
Movement omnivore, creature whisperer, land listener, seed scatterer, gender bender, belly filler, spirit of play, being tender. Still in diaspora. Using body magic to shape change for future generations.

Doe Hatfield
Senior Communications Director*
About Doe
Loves how much words matter. Eats all the vegetables. Amateur poet. Mother. Green Mountains born and raised. Shouts “Whoop!” when powder skiing.

Alisha Howard
Farm to School Fellow
About Alisha
My role as the Farm to School Fellow works to enrich the connection communities have with fresh, culturally relevant foods and local food producers by supporting gardening, agricultural education, and local food purchasing at schools and early care and education sites. I was a part of the inaugural cohort of the Viviane Barnett Fellowship for Food Systems Leaders. Outside of Ecotrust, I am the owner and operator of a vermicomposting practice called Deep Rootz Worms, LLC. I love being BLACK, the color blue, cheese, moss, cumulus clouds, worms, bourbon, baking, terrible indie movies, writing poetry, and spending time with my beloved community here in Portland and beyond.

Jamese Kwele
Vice President of Organizational and Food Systems Equity*
About Jamese
Conjurer of Black girl magic. Emergent strategy enthusiast. My ancestors’ wildest dreams. Soul rebel. Mama of two. Shaping change while being shaped by change. Afrofuturist reclaiming the right to radical imagination. Fueled by authentic connection, subversive humor and deep joy.

Maia Larson
Director of Community Food Systems & Capital
About Maia
Pollinator of people and ideas. Serial optimist—usually laughing. Forever amazed and in love with soil. Happiest on a lake (especially the Great ones), or on a bike.

Miakah Nix
Community Resource Strategist
About Miakah
Proud Haida-Tsimshian woman. Doesn’t believe in “wilderness”; believes in Indigenous homelands. Comes alive for traditional foods, wild mushrooms, and gardening. Dog-less dog lover. Bather in cold mountain streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Athlete and Auntie: athletic Auntie? Follow Instagram adventures @miakahnix.

Christopher Rachal
Community & Funding Partnerships Manager
About Christopher
Gumbo eater, systems thinker, first thought seeker. Believes reparations is the new normal. Moves through life with intuitive precision and rhythm. Just another note finding the beat.

Tyson Rasor
Fisheries & Food Systems Program Manager
About Tyson
Food enthusiast. Fish is food. Work hard, eat good. Eat good, feel good. Feel good, play good. Re-creator of self through experiential learning.

Olivia M. Rebanal
Interim Co-Executive Director and Chief Impact Officer*
About Olivia M.
Racial justice advocate with deep roots in social finance. Adventurist and extremist on foot or two-wheels. Breeder of four offspring. Partner to a professor of health equity. Mountain lover, yet beach tolerant. Oregon Pinot Noir aficionado. Filipina.

Kaitlyn Rich
Director of Community Asset Development (CAD)
About Kaitlyn
Seeker of hot springs and saunas. Plant nerd, mushroom forager, climber of rocks, and maker of clothes. Dog mom to one energetic blue heeler pup, Tepals. Wakes up for coffee, systems change, radical self compassion, and social justice.

Yolimar Rivera Vázquez
Food Equity Manager
About Yolimar
Passionate about food and working for a sustainable future. Habitual list maker, proud Puerto Rican and ocean lover. Happiest in or near water. Likes to travel to new places, meet new people and cultures, work in the garden, and advocate for equity and social justice.

Neal Sacon
Temporary Chief Financial Officer
About Neal
My Chief Financial Officer role at Ecotrust encompasses a broad range of activities that have financial impacts on the organization. Some are relatively mundane, while others can influence long-term strategic outcomes. I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to join the Ecotrust team. Both the role and the organization completely resonate with me professionally and personally as a law & finance professional with 40 years of socioeconomic development experience and as a long-time resident of a rural, timber-economy community with a professional wildland fire fighter son and social justice advocate daughter. This temporary assignment will allow me to manifest my core values daily for an organization that demonstrates solution pathways, both practical and profound, in everything it does.

Stacey Sobell
Director of People and Culture*
About Stacey
Local food fanatic, public health geek, school food advocate. Builder of networks and connector of people. Committed bike commuter and avid yogini. Canadian acro ninja!

Rachel Stolfe
Venue Coordinator
About Rachel
Amateur cheese maker and cookie connoisseur. The youngest of three children born of Italian and Irish descent from the South Side of Chicago. I was brought into this existence for one divine purpose: to attend and plan parties. Cooking and sharing food is my love language, and I think there is no better way to celebrate family and community than with a good meal. Please show me every picture you’ve ever taken of your pet(s).

Jocelyn Tutak
Senior GIS Analyst
About Jocelyn
Map maker, pattern finder, nerd-to-English translator. Believes that wool is the new kale. Travels by bike, hiking boots, or knife & fork.

Aaron Vargas
Program Director of Food Systems Equity
About Aaron
Intentional and adaptable capacity builder. Nourished by relationships. Driven by shifting power. Never a failure, always a lesson. Perpetually inspired by my bisabuela. Pacific NW rooted, raised in coastal Cali, Mexican heritage.

Lisa J. Watt
Director of the Indigenous Leadership Program
About Lisa J.
Museum geek supreme, art, dog, candy, dessert lover (all in equal measure), Portland Timbers season ticket holder and massive fan of the 5 am Saturday/Sunday Premier League matches on NBCSN. First office job in 18 years. Need new clothes.
Blog Posts
- Alan R. Parker (Chippewa Cree) – 1942 - 2022
- From acknowledgement to action
- Unequal distribution of climate impacts and how tribal management is adapting on the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
- Breaking the Chains: Transformative federal legislation and tribal peoples
- The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act: Impacts on Alaska Native communities

Ashley Weatherspoon
Program Partnerships Manager
About Ashley
I believe in the potential for people and nonprofits to bring forth the transformative changes and culture shifts we need to support those most impacted by systems of oppression. We have the power to do this not only externally with the communities we work with and local environments we aim to protect, but also internally as individuals, collaborating and collectively growing together in our efforts to bring forth those changes. I am originally from Los Angeles with roots in Arkansas. I have a certification in urban permaculture design and nonprofit fundraising and help organize around climate justice and mutual aid. I am passionate about co creating regenerative and symbiotic systems that are rooted in justice and equity.