Board of Directors

Jeff Schmidt (he/him)

Chair

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.

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.

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.

Dayna Chung (she/her)

Dayna Chung (she/her) is the Executive Director of Community Equity Collaborative, where she focuses on early childhood, equity, climate resilience, and community partnerships. She contributed to San Mateo County’s Early Childhood Climate Action Plan, a first-of-its-kind county-level plan focused on climate resilience for young children and child care facilities. She has also worked with Canopy on its Planting Hope climate summit and preschool tree plantings, helping bring early childhood into climate and urban forestry conversations while supporting partnerships that add shade and climate resilience to early learning spaces.

Dayna also serves on the San Mateo County Commission on the Status of Women, the KQED Community Advisory Panel, and the board of the Brazelton Touchpoints Center, affiliated with Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. She lives in Menlo Park with her husband, three children, and two dogs. Her favorite trees are the redwoods, magnolias, cherry blossoms, and ginkgos in her yard.

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.

Newsha Firoozye (she/her)

Newsha Firoozye (she/her) is a Palo Alto native, organizational leader, and community advocate. She serves on the JLS Middle School PTA Executive Board and as Parent Enrichment Chair on the Green Scholars Program Operations Committee, where she enjoys supporting students, families, and educational opportunities. She is also HR Director at San Francisco Bay University, bringing more than 20 years of leadership experience across higher education, research, healthcare, and nonprofit organizations. This fall, she will begin the Doctor of Nonprofit Administration (DNPA) program at the University of Pennsylvania, furthering her commitment to nonprofit leadership, equity, and community impact.

A proud mom of three, Newsha enjoys music, the arts, exploring the outdoors, and helping build more equitable and connected communities. She has a lifelong appreciation for palm trees, her favorite for their resilience and warmth.

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.