Laura Martinez

Chair Award

For her long-time, unwavering commitment to Canopy’s mission as a volunteer and remarkable service as a previous Board Member and Board Co-Chair

Laura’s journey of leadership began in 2008, when she became the first Latina council member in East Palo Alto’s history. Just three years later, at the age of 27, she made history once again as the city’s youngest-ever mayor and first Latina to hold the position. Her leadership extended into education, where she served as a Trustee for the Sequoia Union High School District and currently serves as Associate Director of Admission and Tuition Assistance at Castilleja School, where she champions women’s education.

A longtime volunteer with Canopy, Laura’s connection to our mission runs deep. Her early experiences volunteering at tree plantings during her time as mayor sparked a lasting passion for environmental stewardship. This passion, cultivated by her family’s love for nature and community service, has driven her commitment to Canopy’s work. Laura fondly recalls her childhood, where she spent weekends in the community garden and joined her mother at Gamble Garden’s Spring Tours. Her mother, who once served on the Canopy board, passed on a love for trees and a dedication to service that Laura now carries forward.

Through her leadership, service, and passion for urban forestry, Laura Martinez has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to creating a greener, healthier future for East Palo Alto and beyond. Canopy is proud to celebrate her as this year’s Chair Award recipient, honoring her remarkable contributions and the lasting impact she continues to make on our community.

Kammy Lo

Chair Award

For her long-time volunteering with Canopy, outstanding service as a previous Board Member and Board Chair, and leadership as Interim Executive Director

In 2016, Kammy was introduced to Canopy through her work in environmental education in the Mountain View Whisman School District. It was a fortunate introduction, as her support and leadership in the ensuing years has been nothing short of amazing. From her time as a volunteer to her time as a Board Member and Board Chair, her leadership and role as a treasured counselor has left an impact on Canopy.

Like many of our volunteers, Kammy’s service extends beyond Canopy’s branches, with her participation in Leadership Mountain View leading to Kammy joining Mountain View’s Environmental Planning Commision where she served from from 2019-2021.

The magic of Kammy Lo may be in her quiet demeanor that belies a fierce determination and action-oriented leader. Kammy’s tenure on the Board ended in 2022, but her Canopy engagement continued and was critical to Canopy in 2023 when she stepped in as Interim Executive Director. A quick thinker who is always focused on finding the right solution, Kammy’s wisdom, leadership and good humor is a huge gift to Canopy. Together with her husband Kowsik (and sweet family dog Chippy), we remain delighted beneficiaries of their volunteer time and support.

All Five Staff & Community

Arnold Soforenko Award

Carol Thomsen, Hojayra Anaya, and Karen Pace

For their dedication and collaboration with Canopy in greening the All Five campus and engaging Belle Haven community members in Canopy’s mission

The Arnold Soforenko award recognizes significant contributions to our local urban forest and an organization or individual who have done significant work to promote and preserve trees. This year we recognize All Five preschool as the organization and the staff are the embodiment of the dedication and engagement it takes to deliver urban forestry where it is needed most. Since 2019, All Five has dug in with Canopy to prioritize greening on their Belle Haven campus, collaborating on tree planting days, hosting community movie nights, and opening the campus to tree care and tree lessons. This year, All Five and Canopy collaborated on an ambitious CAL FIRE-funded mature tree installation project to deliver critical shade to their campus. We are grateful for our continued partnership with All Five and look forward to continuing this (literally) ground-breaking work with them. Named after longtime Canopy Board Member and volunteer Arnold Soforenko, we are delighted to recognize the All Five staff and give a few shout-outs to staff members Hojayra Anaya, Karen Pace and Carol Thomsen who have all been amazing organizational leaders bringing the forest to the preschool.

City of East Palo Alto Public Works Maintenance Team

Community Roots Award

For their long-time partnership with Canopy, generosity and collaboration with our Trees Program Team, and commitment to fostering a healthy urban forest in East Palo Alto

It’s hard to imagine Canopy’s work in any of our communities without the incredible, long-time support from the City of East Palo Alto (EPA) Public Works Maintenance Team. Since the start of our partnership with EPA in 2005, the Public Works Maintenance Team has been instrumental in making Canopy’s mission to grow urban tree canopy for all come to life. The Public Works Team makes Canopy’s community tree plantings and tree care work possible by providing us with free water, mulch, and a space to store our tools, work trucks, and trees at their Public Works Yard. Canopy’s field staff appreciates the care and support of this team – from sharing meals with us, being there to lend a hand, or having a laugh together during a day of hard work. In addition to sharing their facilities, the Public Works Maintenance Team helps connect Canopy with EPA partners and community members to share our free tree program and community events with residents. The EPA team is also dedicated to learning best arboricultural practices through attending Canopy tree care workshops to ensure they are fostering a healthy urban forest through their management and care for EPA’s public trees. This team has gone above and beyond to support Canopy’s urban forestry work and community outreach in EPA, and we are incredibly grateful to have them as a partner.

Jose Sanchez, East Palo Alto YMCA

Community Roots Award

On behalf of the Lewis & Joan Platt East Palo Alto Family YMCA

For his above-and-beyond support of Canopy’s Teen Urban Foresters

As the Healthy Living Experience Director of the Lewis & Joan Platt East Palo Alto Family YMCA, Jose Sanchez has been a crucial supporter of the Teen Urban Forester (TUF) Program. Since 2020, Jose’s contribution has been essential in securing a dedicated space for our Teen Urban Foresters (TUFs) to meet and organize community events annually. This partnership has provided a reliable and accessible meeting location for the TUFs, within walking distance of their homes and schools. Jose consistently goes above and beyond to accommodate our last-minute requests, demonstrating his unwavering support for our cause. Whether it’s a last-minute guest speaker request or space to use, Jose Sanchez is the person to call. Thank you, Jose, for your outstanding support for the youth and the community. Canopy truly appreciates it.

Marilyn Keller, Jeff Greenfield, & Family

Out-on-a-Limb Award

For their family’s long-time support of Canopy’s mission as outstanding volunteers, committee members, and community leaders

The Keller-Greenfield family has been part of Canopy since at least 2010, although Marilyn first worked with Canopy when she helped develop the Palo Alto Schools’ Tree Policy in 2007. In addition to planting trees with her husband and daughters, Marilyn served multiple terms as a Canopy Board Member and Board Secretary and led Canopy’s Governance Committee. Jeff has generously shared his expertise in tree planting, tree advocacy, tree surveys and community activism over the years and currently serves as a member of Canopy’s Advisory Council. He also served on the residents’ group that worked on the important update in 2022 of Palo Alto’s Tree Protection Ordinance. Their daughter Ruth interned at Canopy in Summer 2020, creating educational activities for use during online learning. Their daughter Elizabeth volunteered for the Young Tree Care Survey, served as a tree-care intern and later helped improve the operations of the summer tree survey. Together with their daughters, Marilyn and Jeff are valued members of the Canopy family, and we are grateful for their dedicated and outstanding service.

Jarvis Leung

Out-on-a-Limb Award

For his outstanding service as a Canopy Planting and Pruning Leader and commitment to urban forestry projects in the greater Bay Area

Jarvis Leung is a Canopy-certified Community Forester, Planting Leader, Pruning Leader, Surveyor, Community Forestry School graduate of the Class of 2021, and an amazing Canopy volunteer whose passion for the urban forest goes beyond helping Canopy on the field! He continues to share the knowledge and experiences he has acquired at Canopy by organizing and leading tree planting events via Urban Forest Friends (a branch of Tri-City Ecology Center), a nonprofit he is actively involved with that advocates for a strong, vibrant urban forest program for the Tri-Cities working closely with the City of Fremont – where he lives – and City of Newark.

Rob O'Connor

Out-on-a-Limb Award

For his incredible, dependable service as a Canopy Planting and Pruning Leader and dedication to the preservation of urban trees

Rob O’Connor, Community Forestry School graduate of the Class of 2021, is a Canopy-certified Community Forester, Planting and Pruning Leader par excellence, Canopy Community Forestry Committee Co-Chair, and one of Canopy’s most dependable volunteers on the field! His dedication and commitment to urban trees and their preservation is nothing less than stellar. Always ready to lend a helping hand to the field staff at very short notice, Rob’s focus on urban trees and their care has taught many first-time planting volunteers the importance and value of our urban forest and why they should be the voice for our urban trees.

Evan Smith

Young Forester Award

For his dedication as a youth volunteer and outstanding stewardship of the local urban forest

Evan Smith planted his first tree with Canopy in 2019 when he was only in 4th grade. Since that first tree planting, Evan has been a committed youth supporter of Canopy’s work and a dedicated steward of the local urban forest. At any Canopy tree-planting event, Evan is the first to arrive and the last to leave, always going the extra mile to help staff. His dedication and passion for the urban forest show in his recent completion of the Spring 2024 Community Forestry School (CFS) session. Most CFS graduates are adults, but Evan completed the course at just 15 years old! Today, Evan is a sophomore in high school, and he continues to be an inspiration and outstanding steward of the urban forest.