Board of Directors

Maria Chai (she/her)

Chair

Maria Chai (she/her) discovered the joy of tree care when she started gardening with her son. She’s a graduate of Canopy’s Community Forestry School and joined Canopy as a board member in 2020. A tech and marketing veteran, Maria led various marketing organizations, most recently at Google and YouTube. She has a BSE in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan and started her career in silicon valley as a semiconductor fabrication engineer. She’s a longtime volunteer with Canopy and has mentored high school students who are the first in their families to attend college. Maria lives in Mountain View with her husband, her son and three dogs. Her favorite trees are redwoods and Chinese elms.

Sally O’Neil (she/her)

Vice-Chair

Sally O’Neil (she/her) served as Director of Industrial Contracts at Stanford University. A lawyer and former journalist, Sally holds a JD from Santa Clara University, an MJ from the University of California, Berkeley, an MTA from the University of Chicago and a BA from Oberlin College. Sally is a Palo Alto resident and longtime Canopy volunteer. Gardening, traveling, reading and hanging out with her grandkids are her favorite activities.

Philip Jonas (he/him)

Treasurer

Philip Jonas (he/him) joined Canopy’s Board of Directors in 2023 after volunteering on the Finance Committee for over a year. Philip is an experienced financial and accounting professional and licensed California CPA, currently responsible for financial planning and analysis at Veritas Technologies. At Veritas, he is also the Santa Clara headquarter ERG Champion for GIVE (Giving at Veritas Empowered). In this role, he organizes and supports volunteering events and giving opportunities for local employees, including adopting a creek near the office on behalf of the company. Prior to Veritas, he worked in public accounting at BMP (Burr Pilger Mayer) LLP where he was a member of the Nonprofit Industry Group and provided assurance, tax and advisory services to several local nonprofit organizations. Philip lives in Palo Alto with his wife and dog. He can often be seen walking his dog or the neighborhood donkeys, or exploring open space trails of the greater Bay Area.

Jose Talavera (he/him)

Secretary

Jose Talavera (he/him) is currently pursuing his studies in Central Oregon. Born in Nicaragua and raised in Costa Rica, he began working with youth from different socio-economic backgrounds through local organizations in his community. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2016, he has built relationships with families and local leaders through his work at organizations like Hope Horizon, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Innovate Public Schools, and KIPP Public Schools Northern California, where he served as Associate Director of Advocacy. Jose is passionate about engaging community members from East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Redwood City to promote the leadership development of low-income families through community organizing and advocacy. He also serves as a board member at The Rosalie Rendu Center in East Palo Alto. Jose enjoys exploring mountain trails and spending time in nature.

Mar Y Sol Alvarado (she/her)

Mar Y Sol Alvarado (she/her) is a first generation college graduate, and proud East Palo Altan. She’s immigrated to from Michoacán, Mexico at age 10 and was raised by a single mother; the eldest daughter with two siblings.

As a full time business owner, she finds time to stay active and engage in her community. She is serves as the Treasurer for her office condominium HOA and is part of the small business ambassador team for the City of Mountain View Chamber. As a native Spanish speaker, she serves as a business advisor for San Mateo County Small Business Development Center, proudly supporting Spanish speaking entrepreneurs and business owners. She partners with Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center to share her story as a small business owner, and a woman of color in business.  She is a member of the Parish Council for St. Francis of Assisi Parish in East Palo Alto, where she actively supports bringing resources to the Parish and community members. She’s been a guest speaker for local non-profits that highlight the importance of educational achievement among local youth and social support programs for local families.

Mar Y Sol was recently nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year award by InStyle Latina Magazine.

Michael Cappon

Michael Cappon is an ISA Certified Arborist and urban forestry professional with over a decade of experience spanning tree care, land stewardship, and environmental education. He began his career in the field as a practicing arborist and horticulturist, where he developed a deep appreciation for the role of trees in urban ecosystems. Michael currently works as an urban forest planning consultant with Davey Resource Group, supporting municipalities across California in developing long-term strategies for tree care, canopy equity, and climate resilience.

In addition to his planning work, Michael is a dedicated workforce development practitioner with a strong focus on advancing equity in the green economy. He has led programs that prepare young adults—particularly those from underserved communities—for careers in urban forestry and environmental stewardship. He has also presented nationally as a subject matter expert on urban forestry workforce development, sharing best practices in training and community engagement. As a board member of Canopy, Michael brings his passion for trees, education, and environmental justice to support the organization’s mission of growing healthy trees and healthy communities.

Gordon Clark (he/him)

Gordon Clark (he/him) serves as the President at Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) in Palo Alto, a position he began in January 2025 after nearly 18 years as a member of POST’s land and fundraising teams. Prior to joining POST, Gordon Clark worked for land trusts in Maine and Alaska and for the Henry P. Kendall Foundation in Boston. He holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Management from Yale University and a Bachelor’s degree in History and Environmental Studies from Bowdoin College. He has served as a docent for California State Parks and Recreation’s San Mateo Sector and lives in La Honda with his wife and two daughters.

Uriel Hernandez (he/him)

Uriel Hernandez (he/him) grew up in East Palo Alto. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College in rural Vermont, he returned home and began volunteering with Canopy planting trees at the same schools he once attended. From 2015 to 2018 he was a Canopy staff member leading and organizing East Palo Alto tree planting efforts. His work with Canopy has blossomed into a career in arboriculture; he is an ISA-certified arborist and now holds a Master of Natural Resources degree from Oregon State University with a focus in Urban Forestry. His work to support his hometown goes beyond the urban forest; he is a board member for Nuestra Casa and he served on the East Palo Alto Planning Commission from 2017-2021. Uriel’s hobbies include exploring the bay area in search of unique places, special parks, and public space treasures.

Peying Lee (she/her)

Peying Lee (she/her) grew in her awe of nature in cities after participating in Canopy’s first Community Forestry School in 2019. Since then, she has been an active tree planting leader and vocal advocate for growing the urban forest in the Midpeninsula. In her home of Mountain View, she co-leads GreenSpacesMV, a grassroots advocacy coalition striving for healthy communities thriving with nature and native biodiversity. Peying is currently a program coordinator at Project Safety Net, a Palo Alto-based nonprofit promoting youth mental health and suicide prevention. Through her experience and previous work in public health outreach, early childhood education and supportive services, Peying has seen the power of collaboration to bring about positive change. Peying loves engaging the community on the connections between health and environment.

Laura Martinez (she/her)

Laura Martinez became the first Latina council member to serve the City of East Palo Alto in 2008. In 2011, at the age of 27, she was elected the youngest serving, and first Latina mayor, in East Palo Alto’s history. She was selected by Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal as one of the “Top 100 Women of Influence” in 2012 and “40 Under 40” in 2015. Laura was appointed to the Sequoia Union High School District and served as a Trustee from March to December 2015. Currently, she is the Assistant Director of Admission and Tuition Assistance at Castilleja School, supporting women’s education. Laura received a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, with a minor in Spanish, from Whittier College. She currently resides in East Palo Alto and is a longtime Canopy volunteer.

Rob O'Connor (he/him)

Rob O’Connor was raised in Palo Alto in a house with half a dozen redwood trees and two dozen fruit trees. Following degrees in Geology at UC Davis, and Geophysics at Stanford, Rob and family lived and worked around the globe for over 3 decades. Returning to the Bay Area in 2021, his focus has been on building a locally greener and more equitable community. Rob completed the Canopy Community Forestry school and is a frequent volunteer with Canopy as a Tree Planting and Tree Care Leader and committee member. Rob has recently completed certification as a UC Master Gardener. Rob and his wife now live, garden, plant, prune and walk in the Barron Park neighborhood of Palo Alto. Their two daughters live in San Francisco and London.

Jeff Schmidt (he/him)

Jeff Schmidt (he/him) is a City Councilmember in Menlo Park, serving District 3. Previously, he was the Chair of Menlo Park’s Environmental Quality Commission and worked on policy and program matters related to environmental protection, water and energy conservation, the urban canopy, and sustainability. He’s a member of 350 Menlo Park, a local climate policy and advocacy group active in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties and is also on the Steering Committee for the Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Project. Jeff is also the PR and Communications Manager for the Stanford Blood Center. Previously, he was the chief executive officer of Ignited, a national education nonprofit focused on workforce development for underserved students. During his thirty-year international career, Jeff has worked in four different sectors – business, nonprofit, higher education and government – and has led global teams across the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. He’s currently working on his first book – The Sideways Advantage: What To Do When the Career Ladder Breaks – that he’s aiming to publish in 2026.