The Forests Dialogue : About : Staff

Staff

The Forest Dialogue (TFD) comprises a group of individuals from diverse interests committed to conservation and sustainable uses of the earth's forests. TFD's Secretariat is located at the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Gary W. Dunning
Executive Director

Gary is the Executive Director of The Forests Dialogue and is responsible for the overall operations of TFD and its activities. Prior to coming to The Forests Dialogue, Gary was the Executive Director of the Yale's Global Institute of Sustainable of Forestry, and the Director of the Yale Forest Forum. Before that he was the National Roundtable Coordinator for the Seventh American Forest Congress. Gary has taught Agroforestry and Forest Extension techniques at the Kenya Forestry College in Londiani, Kenya, and worked briefly as a Community Forestry Research Assistant in Papua New Guinea. He holds a Master of Forestry degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a bachelors degree from Humboldt State University in California. He and his wife, Colleen, have two children.

Xiaoting Hou
Program Manager

Xiaoting Hou received her B.A. in Environment Science and Accounting from Fudan University, China; and her M.A in Environment Management from Yale University. She has broad interests and research background in a variety of sustainable development issues ranging from industrial ecology and wetland conservation to the impact of climate change on developing countries. In between her studies, Xiaoting has held various positions with local EPAs, NGOs and business consulting companies in China which built the foundation for her strong program management skills. She has been leading TFD’s Forests and Climate Change Initiative since 2009 and currently she is managing all TFD’s initiatives as well as its finance.

Lisa O'Brien

Program Coordinator

Program Assistants

Taís Pinheiro

Taís is a student in the Masters of Environmental Management Program at Yale. She is interested in assisting companies toimprove their performance as well as reducing social and environmental impact, on the perspective of industrial symbioses. Prior to coming to Yale, she worked with Corporate Environmental Management Planning and Solid Waste Management. She also has diverse experience on the semi-arid region of Brazil with small communities that live below the poverty line. Taís is an Agricultural and Environmental Engineer from the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), Brazil.

Jaimini Parekh

Jaimini is a student in the Masters of Environmental Management Program at Yale. She is interested in how human rights can be used as a policy instrument for promoting greater human dignity and sustainability. Prior to coming to Yale, she worked as an AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer with the Program for Torture Victims in Los Angeles where she focused on resource development. She has also worked on urban poverty issues in Oakland, CA and human rights issues in New Delhi, India. She holds a B.S. in Society and Environment from the University of California, Berkeley.

Pablo Peña

Pablo is a student in the Masters of Environmental Management Program at Yale. He is interested in the relationship between policy and tropical forest management and conservation in developing countries. Prior to coming to Yale, Pablo worked as an environmental lawyer at the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law for more than four years. His work there focused on implementing conservation policy projects mainly related to protected areas governance, land conservation and forestry in the Peruvian Amazon region. He has ample experience moving forward policy and legislation for conservation with stakeholders at different scales, from local communities to government officials. Pablo is a Lawyer from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú.

Denise Soesilo

Denise Soesilo is a master’s degree student at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies where she focuses her studies on forest management and agriculture. Denise has experience working both in the non-profit as well as in the for-profit sectors where she has dedicated part of her time organizing community seminars on mangrove restoration. Prior to enrolling in the master’s program, Denise received her BA in Environmental Studies from Yale University where she studied industrial systems.

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