Shaping Solutions for Climate, Communities, and Biodiversity
What does durable, biodiverse reforestation entail when you're building it from the ground up, and where is the science still evolving? Drawing on lessons from projects including Terraformation’s Hawaii site, this session explores what community-scale restoration reveals about seed systems, species selection, and monitoring in practice. The panel surfaces the open questions the field is still working through.
‘Iole
Todd Apo brings a multi-sector lens to climate and resilience work, rooted in extensive community engagement across the public, private, and philanthropic sectors. As CEO of ‘Iole—a Global Resilience Hub in Kohala, Hawai’i—he leads efforts to develop scalable, shareable models that integrate Indigenous Hawaiian knowledge with modern resilience practices. Grounded in this community-focused foundation, Todd works to translate complex regional challenges into practical, culturally integrated solutions that deliver lasting impact locally and globally.
CEO, American Forests
Hilary Franz is the President and CEO of American Forests, the nation's oldest nonprofit dedicated to forest stewardship and conservation, where she leads bold initiatives across 45 states to restore forests, end the wildfire crisis and ensure tree canopy for every community. Before joining American Forests, she served two terms as Washington State's Commissioner of Public Lands where she developed the state's first Wildfire Strategic Plan and Forest Health Plan and restored over one million acres of forest. With nearly three decades of experience spanning natural resources conservation, public service and nonprofit leadership, Franz is a nationally recognized champion for climate resilience.
Chief Science Officer, Rubicon Carbon
Dr. Jennifer Jenkins is the Chief Science Officer at Rubicon Carbon, responsible for ensuring the quality and integrity of the projects and products offered by the firm. In 2007, she was part of the IPCC team of scientists that won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work on climate, along with former Vice President Al Gore. Dr. Jenkins led the work that culminated in the “Jenkins Equations,” the widely accepted method for estimating tree biomass from diameter in the US. She has a technical background in carbon cycling and ecosystem science and over 25 years of experience across government, academia, and the private sector. She holds degrees from the University of New Hampshire, the University of Maryland, Yale University, and Dartmouth College.
MODERATOR
Chief Forestry Officer, VP of Partnerships Development, Terraformation
Leading Terraformation’s Forestry, Science, and Partnerships teams, Damien Kuhn develops projects with global partners and organizations that will generate environmental, social, and economic benefits to reach reforestation goals. An agronomist and forestry engineer by trade, Damien specializes in environmental economics and ethical leadership and has advised governments, international agencies, and companies on forestry, climate, and sustainable best practices.
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