Staff

​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.

[email protected]

Chelsie Azevedo, MPH

Operations & Programs Manager
​Chelsie has a Masters in Public Health from UNC Chapel Hill where she fell in love with human-centered approaches to big problems. After 5 years working in global food security and seeing the importance of locally-led approaches that focus on ecological and social solutions, she pursued work with Trees for the Triangle as the Community Forestry Associate. In this role, Chelsie helps keep the organization aligned toward goals and engages with community members to promote the loving stewardship of our lands. Find her playing music at open mic, painting, or dancing at the nearest show. 

[email protected]

​Jean-Luc Duval

Volunteer and Event Coordinator
Current Legislative Assistant for State Representative Bryan Cohn in the North Carolina General Assembly.

Before joining the Trees for the Triangle team, Jean-Luc worked in the nonprofit sector for environmental groups, advocating for climate resilience, environmental justice, and wildlife preservation. With a strong background in volunteer management and event planning, he values relational organizing. Known as a "people person," Jean-Luc adds an individualized touch to his outreach and communication efforts. 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 tending to his garden, hiking with his wife and their dog Laila, or playing his guitar at a firepit with family and friends.

When Jean-Luc sets a goal, he prepares his mind, body, and spirit to achieve it, which sometimes takes months or years of planning. As an example of his unmatched determination and personal drive, Jean-Luc took a sabbatical from March through August in 2021 to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, 2,193.1 miles from Springer Mountain Georgia to Mount Katahdin Maine. The experience deepened his commitment to fight climate change and to work as an tireless advocate for conservation.

[email protected]

​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!

Dan Nifong

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.

​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. 

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.

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.

​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