Maria Chai

Chair Award

For her thoughtful, collaborative leadership as Board Chair and dedication to Canopy’s community forestry and education programs

Maria Chai first discovered the joy of tree care when she started gardening with her son. She showed up one day to a Canopy event, where she planted her first tree–and she was hooked. Her love for trees translated to several leadership roles at Canopy, where she served on the Board of Directors for six years. During Canopy’s 29th planting season, Maria served as the Board Chair, working closely with Canopy’s leadership during a time of transition and growth. Maria has also served as a classroom volunteer and Education Committee member, planted many community trees as a Canopy-certified Planting Leader, and graduated in the first class of Community Forestry School in 2019!

A tech and marketing veteran, Maria has 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. Maria lives in Mountain View with her husband, her son and three dogs. Her favorite trees are redwoods and Chinese elms.

Christopher Kao

Community Roots Award

For going above and beyond to mobilize his community to grow the East Palo Alto urban forest

When Christopher Kao received his first tree from Canopy in 2024, he had a vision for his neighborhood: a more liveable community shaded by a forest of thriving trees. As president of the Montage Circle HOA, Chris spearheaded an initiative to plant over 40 trees, in an area of East Palo Alto with the lowest canopy coverage (2-4%). Working closely with Canopy’s community foresters, he took initiative in getting irrigation installed, scheduling tree stump removals, and personally inviting his neighbors to participate in Canopy’s tree planting programs and events. Throughout the past 3 planting seasons, Chris and his neighbors planted trees throughout the Montage Circle HOA, bringing his vision to reality. He even helped map his neighborhood’s new trees on Canopy’s TreePlotter!

Chris previously served on the East Palo Alto Planning Commission and chaired the East Palo Alto Public Works & Transportation Commission. When he served on the commissions, he kept trees top of mind with city-related projects–recommending appropriate, climate-adapted species for new construction projects in the community. Today, he works as a software engineer at General Motors.

Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula

Community Roots Award

For their thoughtful partnership in connecting local youth with the urban forest through environmental education

Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula has been an instrumental partner in the success of Canopy’s Junior Forester Leadership Program for the past 3 years. With the support of the Boys & Girls Club afterschool teachers and site directors, Canopy’s Junior Forester Leaders have taught more than 50 lessons for the 2nd-4th grade classes at Los Robles-Ronald McNair Academy and Belle Haven Elementary. Boys & Girls Club recognizes the power and value of early childhood experiences in nature, and students have expressed their appreciation for the outdoor explorations and lessons. This year, our partnership is expanding to include all elementary schools in Ravenswood City School District and our Teen Urban Foresters!

Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula’s mission is to empower the youth in our community with equitable access to social, academic, and career opportunities to thrive. Canopy is deeply appreciative to be a partner in their mission.

Sara Peek

Out-on-a-Limb Award

For her outstanding commitment to Canopy’s work as a Planting Leader, Pruning Leader, and survey volunteer leader

Sara Peek first volunteered with Canopy in 2016 as a surveyor of the Great Oak Count. As a gardener with a curiosity for urban plants, she came back in 2021 to complete Canopy’s Community Forestry School, and she has been a steady presence and committed volunteer ever since.

Sara is now a Certified Community Forester, Planting Leader, Pruning Leader, and Great Oak Count Lead Surveyor. At plantings she truly digs in, sometimes arriving solo and often with planting partners she has gathered along the way. As a Planting and Pruning Leader, she brings a warm, welcoming approach that makes volunteers feel included. She also volunteers with Village Harvest, harvesting local orchards for food bank donations. We are grateful that, even with a demanding professional life, Sara makes time to be in community with Canopy.

Jim Murray

Out-on-a-Limb Award

For his outstanding commitment to Canopy’s work as a Planting Leader and community outreach volunteer

Jim Murray was working with plants long before he came to Canopy. He spent two years working in a plant nursery during high school, has been part of Santa Clara’s Wilson School Teaching Garden for nearly 25 years, and volunteers with Village Harvest, gleaning fruit from neighborhood trees and heritage orchards for local food banks.

Jim first connected with Canopy in the early days of the pandemic, when he logged on to “Landscape Resilience: Lessons from the Facebook Bayfront Campus.” By the next fall, he had found his way to Canopy’s Community Forestry School, graduating as a Canopy-certified Community Forester. For the past four years, he has shown up as a dependable Planting Leader, outreach volunteer, and friend of Canopy. He steps up whenever help is needed, whether in the field or behind the wheel of his truck, getting trees where they need to go.

Luke Lew

Young Forester Award

For his incredible commitment to Canopy’s tree planting and survey programs as a youth leader and volunteer

When Luke Lew was figuring out how to fulfill his volunteer requirements as a freshman at Palo Alto High School, he thought “Why not start with trees?” and began attending Canopy’s tree planting events. He came into the tree plantings with an established interest in sustainability and ecological preservation, but he came out of them with something new: a deep appreciation for the community that comes together to plant the trees. He enjoyed meeting people from different generations, with different experiences, from different cities, who collectively shared the same hope for a better environment and future. The experience also opened his eyes to the role of community forestry in bridging the gap in environmental health disparities.

Since his first tree plantings five years ago, Luke has become a Canopy-certified Planting Leader, making time during the school year to help with weekday and weekend tree plantings. He has also put in many hours as a volunteer for the Young Tree Care Survey and Great Oak Count, and has even stepped before the Palo Alto City Council to make a public comment advocating for the City’s continued support of Canopy’s programs in Palo Alto.

Luke is now a freshman at UC Irvine studying Civil Engineering, a major he claims he was inspired to pursue after his experiences with Canopy.

Azbil North America

Evergreen Ally Award

For their exemplary, enthusiastic support of Canopy’s mission as tree planting and tree care volunteers

If Azbil could volunteer with Canopy every month, they would. For the past few planting seasons, Azbil has continued to show up as a dependable volunteer corporate group, offering help when our team needs additional support in the field. Whether it’s tree care or tree planting, Azbil enthusiastically shows up, asking questions and sparking conversations about Canopy’s work.

Azbil North America, Inc. is an overseas affiliate in North America of Azbil Corporation and has been serving a wide range of industries in North America with industrial automation and control products since 1996. In 2006, Yamatake Group formulated its new group philosophy and brand symbol of “azbil”, reflecting their commitment to realize safety, comfort and fulfillment in people’s lives and contribute to the global environment through “human-centered automation”.