Staff Bios

Laurie A. Wayburn is the President and co-founder of Pacific Forest Trust. Her passion is creating, facilitating, and implementing a new vision for valuing, conserving, and managing forests as forests in all their varied, complex splendor—the whole system—transforming our reliance on timber products to pay the bills to one where we value and pay for all their essential gifts to us: water, climate, wildlife and renewal. When not up to good trouble, she loves to hike (with family, friends, and dog!) garden (especially for tomatoes), read, ski, and cook. And pun. A graduate of Harvard College, she worked with the United Nations Environment Program, as well as the Ecological Sciences Division of UNESCO (Man and Biosphere Program) in sustainable development for over a decade.

Connie Best is co-founder of PFT and is currently serving as Senior Strategic Advisor. Prior to PFT, Connie transformed what we drink by creating and marketing America’s first all-natural soda, leading to an explosion in healthy beverage choices. That same entrepreneurial vision and grit has helped PFT make major impacts for forests by marrying conservation and commerce to bring added value for stewardship for climate, biodiversity and water security. When she isn’t working with forest owners and rural communities, she’s “forest bathing” in the old growth red fir stands of Mt. Shasta with her vizsla and family.

Shay Brown is a Stewardship Associate at PFT and is passionate about the intersection of responsible natural resource management and community development. Shay has a diverse professional background in environmental stewardship, having worked for the U.S. Forest Service and several non-profit land conservation organizations, including an agricultural land trust. Additionally, Shay holds an MA in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, and an MA in International Environmental Policy. When not in the woods for work, Shay is usually in the woods for fun, and likes to spend most weekends backpacking, camping, and hiking in the Sierras and around the Bay Area.

Michael Comstock is a Conservation Transaction Manager at PFT.  He has deep experience leading outreach to recruit landowners and managing land acquisitions to develop conservation projects and ecological credits. He is passionate about protecting the West Coast’s beautiful natural resources and developing win-win solutions with landowners. When he isn’t working business development in the indoors or outdoors, you can find Michael surfing, playing music with band, or going on international adventures with his family.

Kevin Connelly is Development Director and works in PFT’s San Francisco office. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Kevin has BS degrees in Industrial Management and Economics from Carnegie-Mellon. Initially, he worked for an international strategy planning management consultancy in the steel industry. Since 1989, Kevin aligned his career with his deep personal core values of protection of our environment and compassion for animals. He has a wide range of experience in development, marketing, and non-profit management with Bay Area-based national and international environmental and animal advocacy organizations. Enjoying live music and hiking the many great Bay Area parks are among his passions.

Jennesa Datema serves as PFT’s Gifts Officer, based in Portland. Jennesa brings over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, including Oregon Community Foundation. Originally from Calaveras County in the Sierra Nevada foothills, Jennesa spent her childhood building forts in the woods and swimming in rivers and lakes—experiences that ignited her lifelong passion for the outdoors. For the past 18 years, she has made Oregon her home. Jennesa is excited to apply her expertise in donor stewardship to conserve forests and protect wildlife habitats and watersheds. In her spare time, you can find her in a forest, on a beach, or in a garden.

Emma Hager is Content and Communications Manager at Pacific Forest Trust. After graduating from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in English literature and Creative Writing, she worked in book publishing for four years, and still writes freelance on a range of topics, including water issues in the American West. Emma is passionate about synthesizing information on complex issues for popular audiences. If it were up to her, Emma would spend all her days reading on the warm boulders that line the Yuba River.

 Lyndia Hammer serves as PFT’s Stewardship and Outreach Associate, working primarily on the Mt Ashland Demonstration Forest. Lyndia is fascinated by forest and disturbance ecology, passionate about improvement of forest management to benefit all beings, and delighted to share nature observation with people of all ages. She comes to PFT from a diverse background in forestry, wildlife, and restoration with a variety of agencies, non-profits, educational institutions, and most recently, the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy. When not at work you might find Lyndia listening to birds, watching youth baseball, or working out at the local cross fit gym.

Ursula Harwood is a Forestry Technician at PFT. She has a B.S. in Environmental Sciences from UC Berkeley, and is passionate about resilient forest ecosystems. She has worked in outdoor spaces in many capacities, from forest research and management implementation, to outdoor education and wilderness guiding. In her free time, she enjoys backpacking, playing guitar, and riding her bike.

Paul Mason is Vice President for Policy and Incentives at Pacific Forest Trust. With 20 years of forest policy and legislative experience in Sacramento, he is a regular fixture in the State Capitol and state agencies. Driven by the urgency to restore and conserve forest structure and function at landscape scale, Paul is thrilled to be putting his Resource Policy degree to good use. A lover of rural California and wild places, when away from Sacramento Paul often visits the spectacular north coast and Klamath mountain region.

Edith Lee is an Administrative Associate with PFT. Edith has a long, solid background in Human Resources, Finance and Administration in the non-profit sector. She is a long-term transplant from Georgetown in our nation’s capital.  When she is not at work or at home quilting, she thrives on being outdoors.  She has enjoyed hiking in John Muir Woods, Yosemite and Phantom Falls and looks forward to new hiking paths and other outdoor activities.  She is an avid quilter, dog rescuer and lover, loves crime tv and spending time with her four children.

 Brynn Lowry is a Program Associate at PFT and works in the San Francisco office. Brynn has a BS in plant sciences from UC Santa Cruz and recently graduated with an MA in Primate Conservation from the City University of New York. She is passionate about conserving plant and animal populations across the world, but especially in her home state of California. In her free time, you can find her hiking in the Marin Headlands or spending time at home with her partner Zach and her cat Binx.

Mollie Moscony is PFT’s Engagement Associate, based in Portland. She holds an MA in Museum Studies from George Washington University, and her background includes experience in communications and public engagement at the National Aquarium in Baltimore and the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. Mollie enjoys exploring the outdoors and brings a passion for conservation education. As a new Oregon resident, she looks forward to hiking, trail running, and kayaking her way across the Pacific Northwest.

Todd Pond works in the accounting and administration department in the San Francisco office where he ensures PFT has rock-solid accounting records and the staff has the tools needed to do their good work. Todd has associate degrees in accounting, Spanish and liberal arts from Berkeley City College, and he’s fluent in Spanish. His family introduced him to the outdoors when he was young, and he spends his free time fly fishing, hiking, and exploring the mountains. Todd appreciates working for an organization where everyone shares the same personal and professional values.

Jack Singer is a Stewardship Associate at Pacific Forest Trust. He is deeply passionate about the human communities and the forests that he works to conserve and restore. In a given week at PFT, he could be designing a habitat enhancement plan, working with landowners to permanently protect forested landscapes in the Klamath Cascade, and/or developing high-quality silvicultural treatments on PFT’s demonstration forests. When indoors, he enjoys cooking with his partner, Nina, learning jazz standards on his acoustic guitar, and spending quality time with his cat, Luna.