Kahlil is the co-founder and CEO of Taking Root. He leads the organization to accelerate the restoration of the world’s forests. He has spent over 15 years dedicated to tropical reforestation with smallholder farmers, and has served as an advisor for leading forest carbon standards including Plan Vivo and the Gold Standard. A featured CBC changemaker and a recipient of Canada’s Meritorious Service Cross, Kahlil holds a Masters in Forest Statistics and a PhD in smallholder economics from the University of British Columbia.

Jean-Benoit is the COO of Taking Root. He oversees the organization’s structure, coordinating execution activities across different departments and ensuring a cohesive working environment. Jean-Benoit has 13 years of experience as a Management Consultant and Partner at McKinsey & Company, working across a variety of sectors developing corporate strategy, operations transformations, and lean management. In addition to having served as the President of Taking Root’s board of directors for 10 years, Jean-Benoit has a PhD of Economics from the University of Michigan, and a M.Sc., in Economics from the University of Montreal.

Meredith leads the growth of our impact by identifying key areas to increase value that Taking Root provides to partners. They have worked extensively in Executive Leadership as President, COO, and Co-Founder at multiple international companies focused on technology and international development. With over 15 years of experience building organizations, Meredith brings strengths working with cross-functional teams on strategy, expansion, and growth.

Will leads the growth of Taking Root’s impact, working with our carbon buyers, and funding partners to unlock financing to grow more trees and remove more carbon with farmers. He has a background in scaling technology and environmental solutions. Will led the marketing function at Concentra Analytics, worked as a sustainability consultant with Systemiq, and has supported the growth of some of the largest smallholder forest carbon projects in the world. He holds a Degree in Social Sciences from Cambridge University and is a member of the On Purpose leadership program.

Rachel manages tree planting and plantation maintenance for Taking Root’s CommuniTree program in Nicaragua. She has experience working in carbon footprinting, emissions reductions, international biodiversity, and non-profit affordable housing. Rachel holds an MSc in Environment and Development from the London School of Economics and a BA in Hispanic Studies from McGill University.

Vanessa develops the value chains in our CommuniTree program so that farmers can improve their livelihoods from their trees in the medium and long term. Previously, she worked as a project manager and business analyst in the tech sector. Vanessa holds an MA in International Studies from Simon Fraser University, and a BA in Economics and International Studies from Bryn Mawr College.

Laura oversees Taking Root’s work supporting our reforestation partners to manage and grow their smallholder carbon projects. A biologist by training, she has a PhD in eco-hydrology, and more than a decade of experience working in natural agricultural ecosystems. Most recently, Laura acted as Research Manager at the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC. Laura has a PhD in Environmental & Applied Sciences from the University of Almeria and has 20 scientific papers published in international peer-reviewed journals.

Penelope supports Taking Root’s reforestation partners in the field by working with their field technicians to deliver reforestation programs through Taking Root’s technology platform. Her previous work for a travel-based SaaS company focused on customer success and satisfaction, and will carry over to her role at Taking Root. Penelope is currently pursuing a Bachelors of Business Administration at the Acsenda School of Management and will graduate late 2022.

Katharine oversees the process of vetting, developing, and launching new forest carbon projects at Taking Root. She brings a background in promoting resilient agroforestry practices with smallholder farmers and fostering impactful, community-based environmental initiatives. Katharine holds a Master’s in International Development and Economics, along with a certification in Food Sustainability from the European Institute of Innovation and Sustainability.

Meike leads the project design process for our forest carbon removal projects. She has a background in sustainable natural resource policy and governance, and extensive experience working in community-based forestry with the FACT Lab at UBC and the BC Provincial Government, and consulting for UNDP and smallholder reforestation programs in South America and the Philippines. Meike holds a PhD in Natural Resources and Sustainability from the University of British Columbia, and a Master’s in Socioeconomics from WU Business School.

Sydney is responsible for overseeing project deliverables and carbon credit sales by collaborating with Taking Root’s buyers and funding partners. She has a background in international business development in the agriculture technology industry, and in environmental consultancy with a focus on assessing and remediating contaminated land. Sydney holds a BSc in Environmental Science with a major in Agrology from Mount Royal University.

Anna is responsible for developing Taking Root’s web application, including building new features, and improving the frontend infrastructure and codebase. She has a background in web development, having previously worked as a software developer at both BC Cancer and Bitly. Anna has contributed to three published bioinformatics papers and holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Victoria.

Graeme oversees product development at Taking Root, shaping our product vision and strategy while aligning efforts across the Product, Engineering, and Data teams. With a career dedicated to software development, he brings extensive experience in leading engineering, data, and testing teams. Graeme has spoken at numerous software conferences and served on nonprofit boards. He holds an Electrical Engineering Technician Diploma from Conestoga College.

Kaio helps the Taking Root mobile and web application team implement new features, maintain process flow, and increase the quality of the codebase. He has a decade of experience working as a developer, focusing on the creation of mobile apps for start-ups and scale-ups. Kaio has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the Federal University of Alagoas.

Kieran is responsible for supporting the backend development, cloud infrastructure, and architecture of our technology platform. In addition, he implements developer best practices to streamline the development cycle. Kieran previously worked as a React-Native developer for an international start-up and helped build a social platform for sports clubs.

Malcolm is responsible for managing Taking Root’s data strategy by establishing, maintaining, and improving our data infrastructure and tooling. Before joining Taking Root, he worked at Whale Seeker, where he applied his programming expertise to help with the detection of whales and other marine life. Malcolm holds a BA in Linguistics from Cambridge University, and an MSc in Neurobiology & Behaviour from McGill University.

Vijay leads our carbon modelling efforts alongside Taking Root’s Product & Engineering and Methodologies & Standards teams. Previously, he helped build data products to improve software incident response and identify fraud. Vijay has a PhD in Physics from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Technology in Engineering Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

Alex works with the accounting team to oversee Taking Root’s finances, working closely on reporting and auditing. Previously, he worked as a controller for a lumber company that focused on mass timber, as well as working for Grant Thornton. Alex has a CPA Designation and a Bachelor of Management from the University of British Columbia.

Analee takes care of the financial and business health of the organization so that Taking Root can continue to sustain and grow our impact. She combines her experience of working with both impact-driven organizations and large corporates. Analee has spent the last 10 years in leadership positions in public and private accounting, including Deloitte and LiveCA, Canada’s first and largest online accounting firm. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta School of Business.

Luis supports CommuniTree’s financial decision-making, leading the processes of budgeting, forecasting, and quantitative measurements to guide project operations. He has a background in economics and finance, having worked in financial planning and analysis across a diverse range of industries such as banking, construction, and oil. Luis holds an MBA from the University of British Columbia’s Saunder School of Business.