Episode 182 - Matthew Aghai currently serves the teams at Mast Reforestation and its subsidiaries.

Matthew Aghai is a climate tech executive with 20 years of professional experience spanning public, private, and academic ventures in reforestation and natural resource management across the globe. He currently serves the teams at Mast Reforestation and its subsidiaries but also enjoys a variety of extracurricular functions including advising and speaking on environmental and sustainability topics, nature-based and technological solutions for greenhouse gases (GHG) mitigation, and opportunities to develop durable economic pathways for stewards and skilled workers in the fight against climate change. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plantatrilliontrees/support

Jessica Turner-Skoff is Longwood Garden's first Associate Director of Science Communications. She champions Longwood’s leadership in plant science and interprets Longwood’s scientific resources for multiple communication channels and audiences. Jessica is an internationally recognized, award-winning science communicator who is professionally trained as a conservation biologist. She came to Longwood after making significant contributions in science communications at The Morton Arboretum, serving as a Botany in Action Fellow for three years at Phipps Conservatory, and teaching science communication at collegiate and professional levels. Jessica holds a Ph.D. in Biology from West Virginia University, an MS in Conservation Science and Sustainable Development from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a BS from Muskingum University. She is an Editorial Advisor for the Journal Plants, People, Planet. She was the 2020 Emerging Horticulture Professional from the American Horticultural Society, as well as a Chanticleer Scholar in 2022. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plantatrilliontrees/support

Annaliese Bischoff is a Western Massachusetts artist and landscape architect. For the past decade, she has been collecting drawings and etchings of trees by Frank A. Waugh, founder of the Landscape Gardening Program at what is today the University of Massachusetts Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. Annaliese received a bachelor’s degree in art from Brown University and a master’s degree in landscape architecture from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She began her academic career at Kansas State University, where Waugh had studied a century earlier. She taught for forty years at the University of Massachusetts department that Waugh founded. Annaliese has received numerous awards and honors for her design and research work, including a Fulbright senior research award. Before her academic career, she worked propagating trees at a nursery in Rhode Island and for the U.S.D.A. Forest Service in South Carolina. The author of The Man Who Loved Trees (2024), she currently serves on the Frank A. Waugh Arboretum Committee at UMass Amherst, home to 8000 trees on campus, and teaches an honors discovery seminar on trees.   --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plantatrilliontrees/support

Marshall Green is a fourth-generation owner and the dedicated nursery manager at Primex Garden Center in Glenside, Pennsylvania. After growing up around Primex, Marshall attended New England Culinary Institute and pursued a career as a chef in Philadelphia. In 2014 Marshall came home to Primex where he settled in as the woody plants buyer and nursery manager. As the woody plants buyer, Marshall is well attuned to current plant trends and is always looking for the next ‘it’ plant. You can easily spot him in the nursery, typically donning a wide-brimmed straw hat, eager to help and share his extensive knowledge. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plantatrilliontrees/support

Patricia Gallagher is Professor Emerita of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at Drexel University. She earned bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering and geological sciences from Rutgers University, a master’s in civil engineering from Ohio State University, and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from Virginia Tech. Her research expertise centers on geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering and sustainability. At Drexel, Trish taught courses in civil and environmental engineering, geology, and sustainability.  Her course in sustainability, titled “Incorporating Sustainability Principles in Design” was inspired by her desire to teach design from a holistic, regenerative perspective that restores ecological balance and health in communities and ecosystems. The course explores how the concept of sustainability is fundamental to the planning, design, construction, operation, and renewal of resilient and sustainable infrastructure. Trish believes we need to work in our own communities to restore functional ecosystems in urban and suburban areas. She began volunteering with the Abington Township Shade Tree Commission (STC) in 2019, became an acting commissioner in 2021 and was officially appointed to the STC in 2022. Currently, she co-chairs the STC. Trish is happiest in nature and spends her free time hiking and backpacking around the globe. Since 2011 John Kennedy has been volunteering with the Abington Township Shade Tree Commission (STC) as an appointed commissioner and currently serves as co-chair. He has been an active Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Tree Tender since 2008. John regularly takes on a leadership role in formulating and delivering STC programs.  His volunteer emphasis has been on park and public space tree planting with the Tree Vitalize - PHS Tree Tenders bare root tree program.  Leading community volunteers to plant over 300 trees in parks and other public spaces in Abington Township.  John’s commitment to the treescapes around us has inspired him to educate others on the importance of trees in our environment. Conducting hands-on training through demonstration and coaching on how to plant, prune, and care for trees.  While employed full-time in the food service profession, John returned to school in 2006 as a part-time student to study horticulture. In 2015, he completed his degree at Temple University’s School of Environmental Design in Ambler, Pennsylvania. He also holds a Certificate in Horticultural Therapy.   --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plantatrilliontrees/support

Khomchalat Thongting (Kom) is a visionary entrepreneur hailing from a working-class background, who has dedicated 29 years to building a thriving computer and IT consulting business with a team of 45 professionals. With a passion for sustainability and a drive for global impact, Kom has expanded his horizons by delving into the bamboo industry, cultivating 95 acres of bamboo and intercrops while conducting valuable seminars and workshops for local communities. KOM’s recognized expertise includes International Biochar Initiative (IBI) and carbon management skills, making him a true leader in both business and environmental stewardship. He is the co-founder of the Wongphai Company, Limited. Saranrat Tanthiptham (Nui) is a versatile entrepreneur with a profound commitment to sustainability. Nui started her journey by excelling academically, graduating in Business Administration and Marketing from Bangkok University. Climbing the corporate ladder, she achieved remarkable success at Aderans. Later, she co-founded a thriving computer hardware venture, serving prestigious clients like universities and embassies. Nui's recent endeavors reflect her dedication to sustainability, including the co-founding of Wongphai Company, Limited, focused on eco-friendly initiatives and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles for sustainable income generation. Nui’s expertise is well-recognized through certifications like the IBI (International Biochar Institute), C-sink Manager, and Measuring Sustainable Development. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plantatrilliontrees/support

Ben Shardlow is the Board Chair for the Creative Enterprise Zone, a place-based non-profit organization dedicated to attracting and supporting creative people and businesses in Saint Paul, Minnesota. As an urban planner and designer focused on complex public spaces, Ben has worked on developing innovative programs to grow the urban tree canopy in challenging sites for over a decade. In the largely-industrial Creative Enterprise Zone, Ben launched the 100 Trees Initiative, a slow and steady approach to planting and caring for trees that seeks a sweet spot between the scale of operation – a small non-profit can manage and the long-term impact. Ben's day job is the Chief of Staff for the Minneapolis Downtown Council & Downtown Improvement District, where he has worked since 2012 addressing the root causes of a variety of public space challenges, including urban forestry.   --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plantatrilliontrees/support

Basil Camu loves trees. And soil, wildflowers, insects, bats, fungi - basically everything to do with terrestrial ecosystems. He is fully committed to caring for this beautiful planet. He is a Treecologist, ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, Duke University graduate, and Wizard of Things at Leaf & Limb. Though trees are his passion and profession, he also loves tending to the native flowers in his garden, growing Piedmont Prairies, and propagating plants from seed. Some of Basil's favorite pastimes are hanging out with his wife and sons, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, powerlifting, hiking, and sprinting. His next favorite things in life are reading, garlic, traveling adventures, blazing hot peppers, pickles, and food from Lucettegrace in downtown Raleigh. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plantatrilliontrees/support

Sandy and Julia Shettler are a mother-daughter team with Tree Action Seattle, which advocates for Seattle's trees at the neighborhood level and at City Hall.     Sandy is a medical social worker with a background in public health. She focuses on the physical and mental health benefits of living near trees, and the need to bring these benefits to deforested and underserved urban communities. Julia is an electrical engineer by training and works in climate tech. She is deeply interested in preserving the natural environment as a common-sense solution to climate change.   Tree Action Seattle is a collective effort that was sparked by the City of Seattle’s July 2023 approval of the cutting of a large western red cedar. Nicknamed “Luma”, the Snoqualmie Tribe identified the tree as historic and culturally modified. This singular tree illuminated glaring flaws in Seattle’s tree code. Activists nicknamed “Droplet” sat in Luma’s branches and did not leave until the property owner chose to protect Luma. The community that coalesced around Luma’s protection catalyzed a movement focused on transparency, accountability, and sound urban forest policy.   --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plantatrilliontrees/support

Erica Kratofil is Co-Executive Director for The Giving Grove, where she helps lead a national network of urban community orchard and food forest programs. As a social worker, Erica is passionate about community vitality and the many ways that urban orchards benefit both people and the planet.   Erica is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and has a master’s in social work and nonprofit management from Washington University in St. Louis. She has worked previously in education, food security initiatives, and community-based housing programs. She also served as a social work field instructor for the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.   --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/plantatrilliontrees/support