Trees, Water & People Staff

Richard Fox, Executive Director
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Sebastian Africano, International Director
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Lacey Gaechter, National Director
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Heather Herrell, Development Director
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Diane Vella, Finance Director
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Claire Burnett, National Program Assistant
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Jean Gabriel, Haiti Program Manager
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Amanda Haggerty, Data and IT Manager
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Ferlin Hopkins, Garden Coordinator
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Megan Maiolo-Heath, Marketing Manager
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Benjamin Osorto, Regional Coordinator
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Richard Fox, Executive Director and Founder

Prior to cofounding Trees, Water & People, Executive Director Richard Fox was the Executive Director of the Potomac Conservancy, a Washington-based river protection land trust. Throughout his career, he has built environmental partnerships between the public, business, and conservation sectors. He has also supervised hundreds of environmental projects including the planting of over 27 million trees in 17 states. He is past Board President and Treasurer of the Colorado Watershed Assembly.

Sebastian Africano, International Director

Sebastian Africano, Trees, Water & People's International Director, first joined TWP in 2005 as a marketing intern for our clean cookstove program in Honduras. After developing his own rural development consulting practice in Central America in 2006, he went on to provide support to organizations in 14 countries before coming to TWP in 2009 as Deputy International Director. Sebastian currently manages TWP's clean cookstove, cleantech and reforestation programs in Central America, Haiti, and Uganda. He has a BS in International Business and Marketing from Penn State University, and was selected as a fellow of Santa Clara University's Global Social Benefit Incubator in 2011, and of Colorado State University's Center for Collaborative Conservation in 2012.

Lacey Gaechter, National Director

As Trees, Water & People’s National Director, Lacey Gaechter oversees all the organization’s National Programs. These include the Tribal Renewable Energy Program, through which she coordinates the distribution of renewable energy systems to tribal families, organizes renewable energy trainings for Native Americans, and facilitates sustainable business development, the High Park Restoration Coalition, a group of Northern Colorado nonprofits, agencies, individuals, and local businesses combining resources to restore and stabilize high priority ecological areas affected by the High Park and Hewlett Gulch fires, the SunMobile, our Fort Collins Outdoor Classrooms, and Renewables on Schools projects. Before beginning her life with TWP in 2009, Lacey graduated with a BA in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado, then went to work for the Roaring Fork Conservancy, the City of Aspen Environmental Health Department, the Aspen Global Change Institute, and interned with the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective and New York State’s Farm Sanctuary. In her free time, Lacey is a certified Pilates and GYROTONIC© instructor, and a community volunteer.

Heather Herrell, Development Director

Director of Development Heather Herrell joined Trees, Water & People in 2007. She grew up in Fort Collins and earned her degree in Biological Science from Colorado State University. Heather has enjoyed working in the nonprofit sector for the past decade, raising critical funds for worthy causes. She brings to TWP her extensive development background, fundraising talents, and enthusiasm for making a difference in the world.

Diane Vella, Finance Director

Director of Finance since 2007, Diane Vella has worked for 25 years as an accountant for environmentally-conscious businesses in California and Colorado. She has supported the city of Fort Collins bike-to-work activities for seven years and commutes to Trees, Water & People by biking, running, or riding the bus. Diane has co-led bicycle tours in Spain, France, Italy, Sicily, Greece, and Croatia. She is deeply committed to social responsibility for ethical business and community sustainability programs.

Claire Burnett, National Program Assistant

Claire Burnett, National Program Assistant for Trees, Water & People, helps manage partnerships with Lakota Solar Enterprises and TWP’s other Tribal partners, including handling all communications, media requests, and research on their behalf. Claire also uses photography to bring further awareness to our reservation projects, as well as to share stories of Native American individuals and families. Claire graduated in 2011 from Colorado State University in Fort Collins with a BA in International Studies, focusing on Development, Spanish, and History.

Jean Gabriel, Haiti Program Manager

Jean Gabriel, Haiti Program Manager for Trees, Water & People, has earned a BBA with a major in International Business and Trade from Florida Atlantic University, a degree in Economics from State University of Haiti in Port-au-Prince, and a Masters degree in Public Administration from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Jean's expertise in microfinance, banking, community outreach, and community leadership are invaluable as he leads TWP’s Zanmi Pye Bwa clean cookstove program in Haiti. In his free time, Jean enjoys discussing global issues and is a dear fan of the National Football League.

Amanda Haggerty, Data and IT Manager

Amanda Haggerty joined Trees, Water & People in 2009 as the Data Manager and Designer. She has a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Management and Geographic Information Systems from Colorado State University and has worked in the public and private sectors as a forestry and plant biology researcher. She has a passion for science and technology and enjoys having an opportunity to use her skills for good and not evil. When Amanda isn't querying the database or staring at this website, she likes to work with her hands: sewing, knitting, or building something.

Ferlin Hopkins, Garden Coordinator

As the newest Garden Coordinator for the Solar Warrior Farm, Ferlin Hopkins grew up throughout the United States and Guam. He is responsible for the horticultural success of Solar Warrior Farm, as well as serving as the volunteer and outreach coordinator for the Food Security Program. Ferlin has a rich knowledge of organic and sustainable farming from several years of working on an organic farm. Before joining TWP, Ferlin was working with the Guam Plant Extinction Prevention Program to identify, locate, and propagate rare and endangered plant species with less than fifty individuals in the wild. He is almost finished with a Bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Guam. In his free time, Ferlin loves to go running, swimming, and hiking.

Megan Maiolo-Heath, Marketing and Communications Manager

Megan Maiolo-Heath, Trees, Water & People's Marketing and Communications Manager, has been with TWP since 2009. She has a Bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Colorado at Denver, with concentrations in nonprofit management and environmental policy, management, and law. Megan enjoys finding new ways to use technology for social good and she is the voice of all of TWP's online communications. On her free time, you can find her exploring the outdoors of Colorado by foot, raft, kayak, or snowboard.

Benjamin Osorto, Regional Coordinator

Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) Regional Coordinator Benjamin Osorto has eight years of training in the design, construction, and implementation of clean cookstoves from both Aprovecho Research Center and Trees, Water & People. He has worked with research teams from both Colorado State University, on a comparative study of traditional cookstoves versus the fuel-efficient Justa stove, as well as the University of Illinois, on a study to measure air pollution in wood cookstoves made in Tegucigalpa. Benjamin has also worked as a technical consultant in photovoltaic systems, solar grain dryers, and biodigestors with Energy for Development Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Project in Honduras. Currently, Benjamin oversees all ECPA activities in Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador.