Who's
Involved
Meet the team that’s thinking green.
The Institute for Engagement and Negotiation at the University of Virginia (IEN), in partnership with the USFS Urban and Community Forestry Program, received the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC) Challenge Cost-Share Grant to fund two years of nationwide research about the importance of urban and community forestry. The IEN convened a Research Advisory Committee and Engagement and Outreach Advisory Committee to help guide the design, outreach, and content for this initiative. We also engaged over 50 participants from across the U.S. and its territories, including Puerto Rico and Guam.
Spotlight on Our Workshop Participants
Participants in the urban forestry workshops came from diverse backgrounds. They represent a rich tapestry of communities, including Latine, African American, Indigenous, rural, low-income, and more. From healthcare workers to tribal leaders, their collective experiences and perspectives will contribute to a holistic toolkit, one where their input is the guidepost for best practices and strategies that will resonate within each community. We’ll highlight different participants periodically, so be sure to check back to see who’s making a tree-mendous impact on the path toward a national movement.
Nelda Liliana Ruiz Calles
Co-Director at Regeneración
Nelda is a fronteriza community organizer and cultural worker from the Sonoran borderlands. As a Barrio Campesinx (urban farmer), she supports people in reconnecting to the Earth through traditional ways of knowing and respect. Nelda has been organizing in the south side of Tucson for 15 years, connecting communities with the resources they may need to create safe, healthy, and regenerative communities; she currently organizes with the community-based organization Regeneración, facilitating the Armando Barrios program.
Iasia Cheers
Director of Community Engagement, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful
Iasia is a dedicated community engagement specialist in Indianapolis, IN, who works with local and neighborhood organizations on community placemaking initiatives. Her passion lies in empowering underserved communities and mitigating social inequalities through grassroots, community-led, intercultural communication.
Victoria Flores
Founder of The Giving Garden
Victoria is an Indigenous urban gardener and grassroots organizer who is focused on the principles of community nourishment. She aims to build networks of care and reconnection to the land through stewardship, culture, and food.
Kimberly Dyke-Harsley
Certified Community Health Worker
Kimberly assesses and addresses social determinants of health, which include housing, transportation, food, education, literacy, civic engagement, legal advocacy, health equity, and other areas in life where people need assistance from others.
Suneeta Eisenberg
Executive Director/Founder
Suneeta is a women’s empowerment community organizer that seeks climate, racial, and social justice through SPORTS! She is a green builder (hemp homes), educator, activist, and regenerative agriculture practitioner in Washington.
Lashawn Farmer
Director of Expansion & Design, River District Association
Lashawn manages the transformation and revitalization of Danville, Virginia’s Downtown and North Main Business District. She works to enhance the areas’ physical and visual elements while capitalizing on their unique assets.
Chad Martin
Environmental Justice Policy Strategist
Chad works for the North Carolina Black Alliance as their environmental justice policy strategist. Together, they work to make sure North Carolina communities’ air, land, and water are safe to create healthy outcomes for fence-line communities and BIPOC populations.
Research Advisory Team
Tim Beatley
University of Virginia
Founder & Executive Director of Biophilic Cities
JD Brown
University of Virginia
Program Director, Biophilic Cities
Howard Frumkin
The Trust for Public Land
Senior Vice President & Director of the Land & People Lab
Lara Johnson
Virginia Department of Forestry
Urban & Community Forestry Program Manager
Jenny Roe, Ph.D
University of Virginia
Urban & Environmental Planning Director, Center for Design & Health
Kathleen Wolf, Ph.D
University of Washington, College of the Environmental (Retired, Affiliated)
Research Social Scientist
Grassroots & Outreach Engagement Advisory Team
Kelsey Delaney
Western Forestry Leadership Coalition
Director of Partnerships & Program Implementation
Eugenia Gusev
International Rescue Committee
Senior Technical Advisor for Food Security & Agriculture
Abel Olivo
Defensores de la Cuenca
Executive Director & Co-Founder
Roxanne Ramirez
Groundwork USA
Development & Communications Manager
UVA Institute for Engagement & Negotiation Project Team
Tanya Denkla Cobb
Director
Mary Davis Hamlin
Project Lead
Ian Baxter
Project Lead
Julia Moore
Student Research Assistant
Max Klavon
Student Research Assistant
Aleen Carey
Workshop Consultant, Cultivate Charlottesville
Selena Cozart, Ph.D
Workshop Consultant, Cozart Consulting
Beth Roach
Workshop Consultant, Nottoway Tribe of Virginia
Yaz Tovar
Workshop Consultant, DEI Specialist