​David Klemp

Executive Director
Born and raised in the Triangle, Dave obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Management from North Carolina State University. Before starting Trees for the Triangle, he worked in the City of Raleigh's Urban Forestry Division. He is a Certified Arborist recognized by the International Society of Arboriculture, as well as an Eagle Scout.

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​Board Of Directors

​Megan Pendell

Chair
Megan presently serves as the Sustainability Specialist for Durham County, a role she assumed after successfully establishing a pioneering sustainability program as the first Sustainability Coordinator for the Town of Apex. Megan is an alumna of NC State University, where she achieved a bachelor's degree in Environmental Sciences, minor in Applied Ecology, and Global Perspectives Certificate with a primary focus on climate change & water resources. She brings her diverse skill set, derived from scientific research experiences in South Africa and NC Museum of Natural Sciences to leadership roles in grassroots organizing on college campuses and local communities. Megan is an ardent advocate for numerous community organizations, with a particular passion for supporting Trees for the Triangle.

Jeff Benavides

​Vice Chair
Jeff leads real estate portfolio programs at the U.S. Green Building Council and previously served as Orange County FL first Chief Sustainability & Resilience Officer. Jeff brings Trees for the Triangle dynamic skills in comprehensive plans, environmentally sensitive land acquisition, green infrastructure design, urban agriculture, and reducing urban heat with tree planting programs. Jeff is also the board president for the U.N. accredited NGO, IDEAS for Us that has planted over 60,000 trees and school gardens in 12 countries. Sustainability is truly a 'family business' with his wife, Michelle Benavides-Executive Director of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals. Jeff is based in Cary, North Carolina with their future change maker 6 year old!

Jacqlyn H.

Secretary

Adam Daland

Treasurer
Adam graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a BA in Linguistics. Realizing that he would probably be bored as an academic with studying unique languages, travelling the world, and unravelling the secrets of the human capacity for speech… he became an accountant. He has a Masters in Accounting from Kenan-Flagler business school, and is a licensed CPA in North Carolina.

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Adam began his career at Morehead Capital Management, advancing to Partner in 2012. In 2016, he began at Investors Management Corporation, taking on the role of VP of Finance. After 8 years in that role, he retired as a paid accountant to pursue his true passion of doing accounting without getting paid for it.

Since 2021 Adam has served as a Director and Treasurer for Camp Corral, a 501©3 that sends the children of wounded, ill, and fallen military veterans to summer camp for free. He lives in Raleigh with his wife Sarah and their three wonderful dogs Ziggy, Bobbie, and Gizmo.​

​Dr. Richard W. Carroll

Grant Coordinator
Known as the ‘Old Silverback’ to many and as Kombete (old man of the forest) to his BaAka friends in the forest of Central Africa, Dr. Richard Carroll completed his Doctor of Forestry degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies on the ‘Feeding Ecology of lowland gorillas in southwest Central African Republic (CAR)’. After hiking the Appalachian Trail in 1975, Richard went to CAR in 1976 as a Peace Corps Volunteer and worked as a fisheries extension agent for two years, then three years as a wildlife biologist in the far north of CAR studying the status of black rhinos and elephant ecology, funded partially by WWF. 

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While still in the Peace Corps, Richard completed a master’s in biology thesis of the Birds of CAR, including a species list and habitat associations. After PC, Richard joined WWF as Senior Program Officer for Central and West Africa and became the WWF Vice President for Africa and Madagascar.

​Richard was instrumental in developing the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas Program in CAR, one of the first Integrated Conservation and Development Programs (ICDP), founded on the principal of bringing together indigenous peoples needs and rights into a conservation program. Dzanga-Sangha helped inform the creation USAID CARPE (Central African Regional Program for the Environment) and following successful central Africa heads of state summits, the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) which resulted in 12 large conservation landscape covering 40% of the Congo Basin.

​DRC was a significant part of Dr. Carroll’s portfolio at WWF and he has visited Lac Tumba and many areas in the country, working with local people, NGOs, and government officials. In addition, Richard helped support Community Based Conservation Programs in Namibia, Tanzania, Madagascar, Cameroon, and others. After a 35-year career in conservation in Africa, Richard retired from WWF in 2014, and turned his attention to his own backyard. Dr. Carroll serves on boards of local and regional environmental groups such as the Eno River Association and the Cary Tree Archive (CTA) and has converted his literal backyard into food production and his home environment to a native plant and pollinator garden habitat.​

Richard helped the create the Lillian Mae Wolcott Carroll Memorial Pollinator Garden at the Cary Tree Archive and serves as an advisor the CTA Program.

​Jean-Luc Duval

Volunteer Coordinator
Current field organizer for Climate Action NC and NC League of Conservation Voters in Raleigh. Before joining the board, Jean-Luc has worked in the nonprofit sector for environmental groups advocating for climate resilience and reforestation policies. With a strong background in volunteer management and event planning, he is excited to recruit a strong roster of tree planters and site evaluators for TftT. He is also a former candidate for Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor in the 2020 election. Outside of tree plantings, you can find Jean-Luc working in his garden, hiking with his dog Laila, or playing his guitar for anyone unfortunate enough to hear.

Ellie Kinsey

Education and Outreach Coordinator
Ellie is currently the Stormwater Education Specialist for Durham County, as well as an educator at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. She has previously worked as an aquarium educator, volunteer service puppy trainer, research assistant, and media manager for the Coastal Ocean Research Monitoring Project in her hometown of Wilmington, NC. At UNC Chapel Hill, she studied Psychology and Journalism but never lost interest in Environmental Science research for which she has received awards from NOAA, the United States Army, American Water Works Association, and others. Ellie is a member of the North American Association for Environmental Educators and an active member in her local community. Ellie’s passion to improve quality of life for all living things, big and small, has led her to Trees for the Triangle and her many other experiences.

​Archana Lamichhane

Member
Dr. Archana P. Lamichhane is a distinguished Environmental Epidemiologist with over 15 years of experience in epidemiology and public health research and programs, both in domestic and international contexts. Her academic journey began with an undergraduate and master’s focus in Environmental Science and Geography/Natural Resource Management. This educational foundation fueled her extensive exploration of the profound impacts of pollution and climate change on both the environment and human health.

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Archana is a passionate advocate for environmental preservation and sustainability, dedicating her time and expertise to these causes in both her personal and professional life. In the early stages of her career in Nepal, she played an active role in forest and wildlife conservation projects funded by UNEF and GEF.

In a personal capacity, she currently mentors a group of high school teens, guiding and inspiring them to engage in various environmental, climate, and sustainability projects. Archana firmly believes in the power of collective effort to safeguard our planet and emphasizes the importance of instilling environmental values and sustainable habits in young people, which can have a long-lasting impact on future citizens and leaders. Professionally, Archana’s current focus is on policy work, where she provides invaluable technical expertise and direction, particularly in the fields of air pollution and climate change epidemiology.

​Her work informs science policy decisions to protect both human health and the environment. She is an enthusiastic supporter of the Trees for the Triangle initiative, recognizing the comprehensive benefits that trees and vegetation offer for our health, environment, and in combating climate change.

Jordyne Krumroy​

Member
Jordyne Krumroy is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Welcoming America, where she drives innovative development and partnership strategies. Harnessing her creativity as a powerful tool, she collaborates with philanthropic, corporate, and nonprofit leaders to transform possibilities and foster lasting systemic change. In her previous role as Senior Regional Manager, she collaborated with Southern members to advance equitable policies and programs. She also led the One Region Initiative and managed the organization’s belonging portfolio, designing and implementing impactful bridge-building training initiatives.

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Before joining Welcoming America, Jordyne managed communications and outreach for the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, where she advocated for transportation equity. Her diverse experience includes connecting resources for families experiencing homelessness at Nicholas House and leading mentorship matching with a focus on Latinx enrollment at Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Jordyne holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Spanish from Appalachian State University and a Master of Social Work from Georgia State University. Deeply passionate about public spaces, she believes in the essential role of community-created environments, with trees and green spaces as vital components for fostering connection and well-being.

​Board Advisors

George McDowell

Member Emeritus, Advisor
George is a former Army officer and retired lawyer. He serves on the Board because he agrees with author Jim Robbins, that “planting trees may be the single most important ecotechnology that we have to put the broken pieces of our planet back together,” and he is moved by U.N. Secretary General António Guterres’s warning that “we are in an environmental crisis and have little time to act before its effects become irreversible.”

​Katie Rose Levin

Member Emeritus
Growing up in woods in the country of North Carolina, she spent her life bringing the woods back into the cities of the Triangle. She is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist with a double masters in Forestry and Environmental Management. In her professional life she is the owner of City Leaf Works, providing arborist consulting services to people and companies alike.  She uses her science, policy and advocacy knowledge and experience to further the mission of TftT.

Dan Ault

Member Emeritus, Advisor