• Temra Costa

    PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

    Temra Co-Founded Regenerative Forest Solutions in 2022 to address the challenges our forests and communities face due to changing environmental conditions.

    Temra applies her 20 plus years of experience planning and implementing initiatives for the private, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors across diverse domains. These include: circular economies; land stewardship; ecological forestry; soil health; regenerative food and agriculture; and natural resource management to help create more resilient communities and ecosystems.

    Temra’s entrance into the field of forestry and land stewardship began in earnest when she became a co-owner of over 150 acres of mixed forestland in Sonoma County. Here she has worked with various collaborators to develop a forest management plan, host educational programing, and revitalize the site’s historic milling infrastructure.

    As a published author, carbon sequestration enthusiast, co-owner of Green Valley Farm + Mill, and Board Director of Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District, Temra is dedicated to increasing the adoption of regenerative forest and land stewardship practices.

    Contact: temra at regenerativeforestsolutions dot org | LinkedIn

  • Jason Grant

    DIRECTOR

    Jason brings 30+ years of experience in the forestry and wood products sectors and is presently the manager of World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) US Forest team.

    Formerly Jason was a consultant and co-chair of the Sierra Club’s Forests & Climate team where he served as the organization’s representative to the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®), both on the board of FSC US and at several FSC General Assemblies. 

    A LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Accredited Professional, Jason has extensive experience in the green building movement and a deep understanding of how green building rating systems relate to wood and forestry. Early in his career, Jason co-founded EcoTimber, one of the first companies in the world to bring FSC-certified products to market. He presently is also part of the Climate Smart Wood Group.

  • Leslie Lukacs

    DIRECTOR

    Leslie is the Executive Director of Zero Waste Sonoma, formally known of the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency, and has worked for over 20 years in solid waste and resource management.

    In addition to her role with RFS, Leslie serves on the board of directors of the National Recycling Coalition and the Zero Waste International Alliance. She is an advisor to Zero Waste USA and the California Resource Recovery Association and founder of numerous stakeholder groups including the Green Initiatives for Venues and Events (GIVE) Council, Compost Coalition of Sonoma County, Sonoma County Zero Waste Task Force, and the Zero Waste North Bay Symposium.

  • Mark Tukman

    DIRECTOR

    Mark founded Tukman Geospatial in 2003 after working for five years at Pacific Meridian Resources. Mark has created fine scale land cover and vegetation maps over large areas, and has worked with a wide range of satellite imagery, aerial photography, and LiDAR data to map land cover, vegetation communities, and forest structure.

    Mark holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a Master’s of Environmental Management from Duke.

  • Meilin Tsao

    DIRECTOR

    Meilin (she/they) comes to the Regenerative Forest Solutions Board with a background in resource recovery, zero waste solutions, and a passion to bring regenerative land stewardship and farming practices into a stronger reciprocal relationship.

    Meilin is currently employed by the County of Marin and the Zero Waste Marin JPA. Through these roles they also serve on the Marin Biomass Project’s Steering Committee, bringing advanced insights into the potential developments for Sonoma County where Meilin is a resident.

    In Sonoma County, Meilin serves on the Sonoma County Economic Development Collaborative’s Board representing District 5 and is the Chair of the 2025 North Bay Zero Waste Symposium.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Bruce Goines

Bruce is a two term President of the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority and Director of the Novato Fire Protection district. Bruce retired from the US Forest Service in 2014 after 40 years of service as a wildland firefighter and licensed professional forester. In his last 20 years with the US Forest Service, Bruce managed statewide forest community health, woody biomass utilization, climate change and forest carbon management programs for California’s 18 National Forests. He led interdisciplinary teams conducting pioneering studies assessing greenhouse gas implications of different approaches to forest management in California. His efforts have resulted in over $200MM investment in forest health management of public forest lands. Bruce graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science in Forest Resource Management and retains his license as a CA Registered Professional Forester.

Clarke Stevenson

Clarke Stevenson is the Forest Stewardship Specialist for the Watershed Research and Training Center (WRTC).  He has several roles within the Office of Planning and Research Wood Feedstock Aggregation Pilots including wood product and biomass market analyst, project manager of the Digital Marketplace, and point of contact for the North Coast OPR Pilot Region where he provides technical assistance and program guidance on biomass market development.  He is the USFS Shared Stewardship Advisor for the North State, supports project development on conservation finance and landscape scale collaboration efforts, and is involved in various projects for WRTC's Forestry and Fuels and Watershed Stewardship programs.  Before WRTC, Clarke worked for an air district and bioenergy attorney, supporting state policy and program development to overcome barriers to wood utilization throughout the state. He holds a MS in Energy Technology and Policy from Cal Poly Humboldt and is based out of Eureka, CA.

Laurel Harkness

Laurel Harkness has a diverse background in outdoor recreation, place-based natural resources, community development, and working landscapes. Prior to joining RVCC, she served in the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development working to support resilient, equitable, and sustainable economies in rural communities. Laurel has many years of experience working collaboratively in rural communities, advancing equity in the outdoors, growing stewardship economies, and supporting wildfire recovery and forest resilience. Laurel has played key roles in large landscape conservation efforts across the west and has gained a specific focus on centering Indigenous futures in the advancement of place-based solutions. Laurel is based in Mt. Shasta, CA. She is a graduate of U.C. Davis (B.S. Soil & Water Science / Viticulture) and is currently a graduate student in Rural Policy at Oregon State University.

Judy Rosales

Judy Rosales is the executive director and founding member of the Coast Ridge Community Forest. She has worked as a marketing consultant for Native American tribes and tribally-owned businesses, including providing support services for tribal sustainability and renewable energy projects. Upon completing the Natural Resources Management Program at Santa Rosa Junior College, Judy worked as a project coordinator and grant writer for the Gualala River Watershed Council and as an educator in hatchery practices for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Judy is a long-time resident of the Gualala Ranch in Cazadero near Fort Ross.

Raymond Baltar

Raymond serves as the Biochar Program Manager at Sonoma Ecology Center, and is the Executive Director of the Sonoma Biochar Initiative. A seasoned problem solver and creative entrepreneur, Raymond brings his decades of dedication toward finding and developing cutting edge technologies and processes that provide lasting value to people, and to society. During our series, he will talk his work designing systems for in-forest biochar production, an alternative to straight burn piles that can increase carbon storage. Biochar made from woody biomass has been found to store half the woody biomass's original carbon content in a long-lasting form with multiple benefits.

Sasha Ponomareva

Sasha Ponomareva is the Climate Resiliency Program Manager at Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water).  Sasha supports the implementation of the agency’s Climate Adaptation Plan in pursuit of resilience across Sonoma Water’s three systems: flood control, water supply, and sanitation. She also manages two partner-rich countywide efforts, one focused on identifying jurisdictional gaps and opportunities in flood risk management across the county, and the other focused on developing a Drought Resilience Plan compliant with SB552 for state small water systems and domestic wells in the county.

Prior to Sonoma Water, Sasha completed her Master’s degree in the Energy & Resources Group at UC Berkeley with a focus on nature-based climate solutions, carbon sequestration, composting infrastructure, and forest health. During this time, she also helped start the State Governor’s Office of Planning and Research’s Woody Feedstock Aggregation regional pilot projects in support of California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan. Prior to that Sasha worked for 5+ years at the City and County of San Francisco: running the Green Business Program at SFO and working as an environmental educator at the Department of the Environment.

Vance Russell

Vance Russell has nearly 40 years of experience working in forest science & management, rewilding, biodiversity conservation, agricultural landscapes, restoration, and natural resources management. He is a conservation consultant, principal and owner of 3point.xyz. Vance works for various non-profit, state/federal agencies, and private businesses. Vance was the California Director of Programs for the National Forest Foundation, where he managed, led, and funded community forestry projects. Before joining the National Forest Foundation, he was director of Audubon California’s Landowner Stewardship Program, working with farmers and ranchers to restore habitat compatible with existing agricultural operations. He managed the 7,800-acre Bobcat Ranch and 3,000-acre Mayacamas Mountains Reserve in Yolo and Sonoma Counties, California. Vance is the former Board Chair of Groundswell International, is a trustee for the South Downs National Park Trust, and serves on the Rewilding Leadership Council for the Rewilding Institute. Vance received his M.S. degree in Forest Science and Natural Resources Management from Cornell University and a B.A. in Biology from the College of Wooster.

Harlan Tranmer

Harlan is a Registered Professional Forester (# 2850) with ERS Inc., an employee-owned natural resource consulting firm specializing in forestry and forest-related services. 

David has over 50 years of professional environmental and energy policy experience and was a former employee of the US EPA. He brings his expertise in regulatory compliance management, air quality management, facility siting, and environmental management systems assessment to RFS.

David Morell, PhD

Fred Euphrat

Fred Euphrat has been a licensed forester since 1989 and also holds a doctorate in watershed management from UC Berkeley.

Through his business, Forest, Soil & Water, Fred implements forest operations and water management, and conducts research in social forestry. A former professor of forestry at the Santa Rosa Jr. College for over a 10 years, Fred has roots in Petaluma and Healdsburg and has owned a producing redwood forest on Mill Creek since 1960. This forest burned during the 2020 Walbridge Fire that he is in the process of revitalizing. Fred is a Board Director of the Sonoma Resource Conservation District, co-founder of the Sonoma County Forest Conservation Working Group, and an engaged voice in the forestry community of Sonoma County and beyond.

Jeremy Fisher, MSArch

Jeremy Fisher is a building scientist with an MSArch from UC Berkeley. His experience ranges from general contracting, project management, material science, building science, civil engineering, ecological restoration and forestry.

With 20 years of experience designing and building residential, industrial and manufacturing facilities, including multiple wood shops, net zero prefabricated homes, and a $12M ecological distillery, Jeremy is an advisor on wood product utilization for RFS and serves on the working group of the Sonoma County Wood Recovery & Utilization Project.

Matt Greene

Matt Greene is a forester in Sonoma County who has spent over 23 years preparing and implementing Timber Harvest Plans and Non-Industrial Timber Management Plans for clients to manage their forests, preparing California Cooperative Forest Management Plans, conducting timber inventories and timber valuations, preforming fire fuels assessments and reduction projects near structures and on a larger landscape level, conducting biological surveys, and erosion control plans.

Matt served on the California Licensed Forester Association Board of Directors from 2009 through 2015.  He was president of the Association in 2012.  Matt has served on the Board of Directors of Forest Landowners of California since 2018.

Matt Greene Forestry and Biological Consulting

Josh Metz

Josh Metz is a Senior Advisor at Regional Government Services (RGS), where he leads a team of experienced professionals delivering economic development strategy, executive management, and program implementation services to local governments, special districts, non-profits, and educational institutions across California.

From 2022 to 2025, Josh served as the District Executive for the Sonoma-Mendocino Economic Development District (SMEDD), where he played a pivotal role in regional economic development planning, leading among other things the convening of the 2024 SMEDD Biomass Utilization Symposium.

Josh’s diverse career spans natural resource management with the USDA Forest Service, wine country business and project development in Mendocino and Lake Counties, and over a decade of leadership in regional economic development. As Executive Officer at the Fort Ord Reuse Authority, he played a key role in the transformation of Monterey County’s former military base into a hub for sustainable economic growth. He also co-founded the DART, a nonprofit organization focused on fostering emerging technology workforce development and industry expansion.