Matt is inspired by Sustainable Harvest International’s commitment to improving lives in rural communities and the evolving outlook and independence he sees in families who partner with us. He first witnessed the positive impact of community-based outreach when he worked on forestry and agriculture issues as a Peace Corps volunteer in Panama. Matt has extensive experience in marketing and management, and contributed to global initiatives to address the HIV epidemic. An avid traveler and White Sox fan, Matt and his wife live in Chicago with their three daughters and return annually to his wife’s village in the mountains of Central Panama.

Extra Credit:  At Matt’s wedding reception, guests polished off over seventy-five gallons of chicha fuerte, a traditional Panamanian corn beer!

Edith has always been a nature-lover which makes her very passionate about protecting the environment. When she learned about the work of SHI and the positive impact it is having on farmers’ lives and on preventing more carbon from going into the atmosphere, she was thrilled to become a part of the SHI family.

Much of Edith’s 17-year career has focused on what have become the Sustainable Development Goals. After working in the private sector for 7 years, she then spent 10 years in non-profits that are focused on global issues, such as livelihoods, health, energy, economic empowerment, and diversity and inclusion. Her work has taken her across Asia, from Turkey to China and from Japan to India, as well as to South America, Europe, and throughout North America. In early 2019, Edith began to focus more of her time on environmental sustainability efforts, which led her to join the Board of SHI.

She has an MA in International Education from SIT Graduate School and a BA from Georgetown University.

Extra Credit: Edith has met a variety of celebrities including: Will Smith and wife Jada, Robert DeNiro, Robert Duvall (she attended a dance at his barn in Virginia), Katie Couric, Colin Powell, and Richard Dreyfuss.

Vernon is inspired by SHI’s commitment to fighting poverty and hunger by improving the lives of people, especially in rural communities with sustainable farming methods. Vernon has over 15 years of professional experience in accounting, finance, internal controls, risk, and business management. Vernon is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and currently is an Inspection Specialist with the PCAOB in Washington, DC. Vernon spent most of his career in public accounting as a financial auditor and worked for the World Bank internal controls and risk management office. His interests include improving and developing the lives of people and communities in need around the world, financial accounting, risk management, traveling, and outdoor grilling.

Extra credit: Vernon and his wife were born in Sierra Leone and they have three children.

Judith enthusiastically joined the board with a trip to Belize, after supporting SHI through donations for some years. She has worked, supported, and volunteered with many local nonprofits, and helped people outside of her community through Medical Missions. Now, Judith is retired and was diagnosed with osteo arthritis, but that does not stop her from going “off the beaten path.” She has a teaching degree from UC Berkeley, and her 44 years as a Registered Nurse (R.N.) included diverse experiences in medicine. After nursing, Judith decided to focus on agricultural, environmental, and humanitarian volunteer work, which is her passion. She volunteers for her local homeless shelter, farm, and the Red Cross. She also mentors youth and is part of her local garden club.

Extra Credit: Judith loves fashion, design, art, dancing, and adventures.

Dave Cushing has spent his professional career of almost 35 years in financial services, specializing in the provision of innovative electronic trading technologies, financial market structure & design services, and trading analysis tools. In the next chapter of his life, Dave is looking forward to applying his technical and scientific background to helping solve urgent challenges facing society and the ecosystem, particularly climate change. Dave enjoys a variety of outdoor activities, including gardening, cycling, hiking, skiing, as well as international travel.

Extra Credit: David is conversant in French, Mandarin, and Spanish, and enjoys talking with others in these languages.

Ivor has been involved in charitable matters since the age of 11 and is not hesitant to encourage others to give as generously as he does. Having traveled the world extensively, he is keenly aware of the importance of environmental conservation. A Chartered Accountant, Ivor specializes in handling international investments for a few select clients. Born in London, England, Ivor now lives with his wife Barbara in Newbury, NH. He enjoys traveling and working.

Extra credit: Ivor cooks quite well.

Sustainable Harvest International’s careful, evidenced-based methods of developing regenerative and sustainable organic farms strongly appeals to Katherine, who is a long-term faculty physician at the University of California, San Francisco. The clear effects of climate change on public health motivated her to participate in the UC Carbon Neutrality Initiative and join the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health. Katherine and her family have notable experience in stewardship of the environment in northern California, including participation in and leadership of nonprofit and civic organizations. Katherine is “all in” to help Sustainable Harvest International scale up its work and thereby improve the health of all people and the planet.

Extra credit: Katherine loves adventure – she used to be a skydiver, backpacked frequently in the Sierra Nevada, and has a black belt in karate.

Brian joins the board with an enthusiasm to scale SHI’s achievements. He currently leads the integration of agroecological, net-negative practices at ACDI/VOCA in Washington, DC. Previously as program director of the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation (INBAR) in Beijing, Brian headed its largest department and managed a portfolio of green growth initiatives across the global South. An expert in environmental governance, his career spans two dozen countries, and the same number of years, working for USAID, FAO, and the Nature Conservancy, among others, to stamp out commodity-driven deforestation. He got his international development start with the Peace Corps in Benin, where he helped women’s groups to launch a mango-drying microenterprise.

Extra credit: Brian’s several years growing up in Kenya sparked passions in conservation, development, and cultural diversity. He’s also a big lover of art, doing some of his own when he can.

Mike’s passion for SHI’s work was inspired by a service trip to Panama. He is a life-long nature lover and outdoor enthusiast.  When he witnessed the impact of SHI on families, communities, and the environment, he was hooked and committed to finding ways to continue supporting SHI’s mission. Now retired, his professional life included 25 years of management consulting, focusing on organizational effectiveness and IT strategy, as well as 10 years of banking operations, specializing in building new operations and turning around poorly functioning ones.

Mike is married to his true inspiration and has two children and one granddaughter.  His interests include mountaineering, ice climbing, hiking, cycling, skiing, motorcycling, and flying radio control airplanes.

Extra credit:  Mike rode a motorcycle 22,000 miles in 50 days, including traveling to the northernmost point of Alaska on the Arctic Ocean, to raise awareness and funds for suicide prevention.

Rhett returned to Sustainable Harvest International’s Board in June 2020 and has been a supporter of SHI since its founding. She has always been inspired by how SHI’s work reverses global warming and supports environmental and social justice. Reducing rainforest destruction, supporting better nutrition, keeping families together, and creating economic opportunity for small-scale farmers are some of the many outcomes of SHI’s work that resonate with Rhett. She is honored to bring her skills as a Fortune 100 corporate lawyer to support SHI’s scaling process to bring transformative regenerative agriculture to more and more farming families around the world. Rhett lives in San Francisco, and loves critters, yoga, tennis, swimming, scuba diving, gardening, dancing and art.

Extra Credit: On an SHI board trip, Rhett learned to make biochar by burning organic matter in a controlled way without oxygen called pyrolysis. Biochar sequesters carbon, keeping carbon in the soil for hundreds of years, holding water, and supporting plant growth as a natural fertilizer. Rhett then used biochar to restore her family’s large White Ash tree on their island home, saving it after it was badly damaged in the second so-called 100-year storms that had rocked the area within just two years. The tree is stronger and greener than it has ever been.

Tim Scott has over 25 years of experience advancing sustainable development with the United Nations and partner organizations. As Senior Policy Advisor on Environmental Governance with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), he oversees a range of forest, agriculture and broader green economy initiatives under the UNDP Nature Pledge designed to accelerate progress on the 2030 Agenda, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Paris Agreement, UNCCD LDN targets, and linked environmental agreements. This work includes close collaboration with sister UN agencies, governments, funding partners, the private sector and civil society groups as part of efforts to catalyze a just green economic transition.

José Zaglul is the founding president (1987–2016) of EARTH University in Costa Rica. Dr. Zaglul holds a PhD in Animal Science from the University of Florida. In addition, he obtained an M.S. in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University of Florida and an M.S. in Animal Science from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. Very dedicated to his family, Dr. Zaglul especially admires his Lebanese ancestors and his parents, who migrated to San Ramón, Costa Rica, with Zaglul and his siblings when they were very young. Dr. Zaglul is married to Rosario Ruiz. Together, they have three children and two grandchildren.

Jaime is a lover of the great outdoors and a conservationist. Originally inspired by the breadth of SHI's impact, he has been working with the organization on and off over the last 10 years. He seeks to chart a path towards sustainable growth and help scale the organization's impact.

Jaime is a principal with BCE Consulting based in Falmouth, Maine. He leads BCE’s Social Sector practice area. He has 10 years of experience in strategy, business operations, non-profit management, and corporate development. Additionally, he brings 10 years of management consulting experience, working with clients in healthcare, technology, and public sectors. Jaime supports social sector clients with key strategic and operational issues, including philanthropic/impact strategy design, execution, and implementation, development and earned income strategy. His work has covered a wide range of mission areas, including sustainability, environmental stewardship, agriculture, community development, and corporate social responsibility.

Walter Vergara is a climate specialist with long-standing interests in a variety of climate adaptation and mitigation topics. He is vice-president for Latin America for the Climate Institute. Prior to joining the Institute, Walter organized and directed the 20x20 initiative at the World Resources Institute (WRI), an ambitious, country-led land restoration effort aimed at substantially contributing to a reduction in the carbon footprint of land use and land use change activities in the Latin America and Caribbean region.

During his career Walter has authored or coauthored 14 books and numerous technical articles. His last publication was: “The Economic Argument for Land Restoration in Latin America,” published as a discussion paper by WRI. He was also a review editor in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report.

Mr. Vergara is a Chemical Engineer by training with degrees from Universidad Nacional de Colombia and Cornell University. He serves on the Board of the American Bird Conservancy, Sustainable Harvest International and of the Fundación Natura.

Extra Credit: Isabel, Walter’s wife of 48 years, is an emeritus professor at George Washington University.