Blue Forest Continues to Grow: Introducing 12 New Team Members
Over the past year, Blue Forest has welcomed 12 new team members spanning every level of the organization, from specialized technical roles to senior leadership positions. Some joined us shortly after our last team announcement in early 2025, and have now reached their one-year marks. Others came aboard throughout the year, and our newest colleagues just started in 2026. These additions represent the organization’s strategic evolution as we deepen our conservation finance capabilities, expand our geographic reach, strengthen the scientific rigor behind our work, and build the operational infrastructure to sustain it all.
Building Conservation Finance Capacity
Based in Washington, DC, Elizabeth West joined in September 2025 as Director of Conservation Finance. “Much of my role is about translating between impact investment markets and ecological outcomes, and making sure the numbers ultimately serve the landscape,” Elizabeth reflects. She supports the development and management of conservation finance facilities that enable large-scale forest and watershed restoration, which in practice includes overseeing existing facilities, designing new financing structures, and engaging with partners to ensure they are both useful and scalable. “Designing innovative financing facilities and products and then watching them turn into real, on-the-ground restoration is both motivating and deeply rewarding,” she adds.
“I joined Blue Forest because it leads the field in innovative financing for nature-based solutions,” says Jason Lee, who is also based in Washington, DC, and joined Blue Forest’s growing finance team in July 2025 as Conservation Finance Senior Manager. Drawing on experience in originating and structuring climate investments, Jason focuses on the diligence, structuring, and ongoing management of loan products, while also supporting the development of Blue Forest’s next fund.
“No other organization has the same caliber of science, project development, and financial chops under one roof. And that shows in the kind of impacts our deals have.” – Jason Lee, Conservation Finance Senior Manager
Another recent addition to the finance team, Daniel McGill joined in September 2025 as Conservation Finance Manager based in Seattle, Washington. He performs deal structuring and execution for FRBs in the project pipeline, portfolio monitoring and management for the FRB Catalyst Facility, and supports new product development as Blue Forest expands the scope of its work. He enjoys contributing to a team whose work involves regular collaboration with experts across disciplines, including scientists, financial professionals, land managers, foresters, marketers, and Tribal experts: “I really appreciate working on interdisciplinary teams, as I believe that all complex problems are inherently interdisciplinary,” Daniel observes.
Expanding Project Development Across Landscapes
“Blue Forest’s mission resonates deeply with me because it bridges the gap between ecological realities on the ground and the systems needed to fund and scale that work,” explains Erin Ernst, who joined in January 2026 as Director of Partnerships and Project Expansion. Based in Chico, California, Erin oversees and scales a portfolio of FRBs and other conservation finance projects where active restoration is already underway. Her role involves partnering closely with land managers, Tribes, and implementation teams to problem-solve challenges, track impact, and scale projects so they can deliver bigger ecological and community benefits.
“With each new project I work on, I become even more excited about the ways we’re able to support our wonderful partners to accelerate important ecological restoration projects.” – Ariella Chichilnisky du Lac, Senior Project Development Associate
Senior Project Development Associate Ariella Chichilnisky du Lac is based in Palo Alto, California, and focuses on developing FRBs in California. She co-leads exploration in Sonoma and Napa Counties, and supports our FRBs with the Colfax-Todds Valley Consolidated Tribe near Colfax, CA and with the National Forest Foundation on the Plumas National Forest. She is also engaged in earlier-stage exploration in the Truckee-Tahoe area, as well as with potential utility collaborations across California. Having recently marked her one-year milestone in her full-time role, she has notably been with the company much longer than that. What began as a summer internship in 2022 evolved into contract work while she completed her undergraduate and Master’s degrees, and ultimately this full-time position on the project development team, which she moved into in January 2025. “The innovative nature of our work is one of the main reasons I’ve stayed at Blue Forest for more than three years,” she reflects.
“It has been energizing to join an organization where everyone I’ve met is passionate about the work they do and aligned around shared goals” – Melissa Merritt, Project Development and Science Associate
Blue Forest also welcomed two Project Development and Science Associates in January 2026, each bringing complementary expertise to bridge scientific analysis with project implementation. Melissa Merritt of Denver, Colorado focuses on water utility collaboration and project exploration in the Colorado River Basin. As a member of both teams, Melissa serves as a liaison between the groups, helping to connect science-backed benefit analysis with on-the-ground project results. “I was especially inspired to see that Blue Forest truly values local perspectives. That commitment is essential for balancing the urgency of forest and watershed restoration with the real impacts these projects have on local communities.”
Based in Seattle, Washington, Sam Muir also supports Blue Forest’s projects from both the science and project development sides, which includes coordinating with internal teams and external partners, keeping projects organized and moving forward, and translating scientific and technical information into clear insights for decision-making and partner communication. “The work sits at a meaningful intersection of ecology, finance, collaboration, and implementation, and I’m excited by how the team helps turn complicated environmental challenges into practical, long-term restoration efforts,” shares Sam.
Deepening Scientific Expertise
“As a parent, I think often about my two sons and the world they will inherit,” reflects Wren Raming, who recently marked one year at Blue Forest in his position of Senior Water Resources Scientist. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Wren’s work focuses on quantifying the impacts of forest restoration on watershed health and resilience, particularly through the lens of water. This includes staying current with the latest science, applying hydrological models, and leading in-house research on the physical and economic impacts of wildfire.
“The unprecedented scale of ecological crises unfolding every day can at times feel overwhelming. But, to paraphrase the author Wade Davis, despair is nothing more than a failure of the imagination and this is one of the areas where Blue Forest really shines. Imagination was required to take a financial system, that historically has undervalued nature (if at all), and use it to redirect capital toward protecting forests, watersheds, and communities at the scale and pace these challenges demand.” – Wren Raming, Senior Water Resources Scientist
Strengthening Philanthropic Resources
“Living in California, the wildfire problem has become impossible to ignore,” observes Ben Steele, who joined in March 2025 as Senior Manager of Development. Having previously built fund development skills in the education and law sectors, he was ready for a change: “I knew I wanted to take my fundraising skillset and bring it to an organization trying bold new things to protect our beautiful but at-risk natural landscapes.” Based in San Francisco, California, Ben manages and coordinates Blue Forest’s philanthropic fundraising efforts, often working closely with senior leadership and subject-matter experts to ensure that the organization meets annual revenue goals and reserve targets. When not at his desk, he is most likely to be found somewhere in the Western U.S., hiking, biking, skiing, or otherwise enjoying the natural environment.
“When I found Blue Forest, I knew it was a perfect match. My colleagues are kind, whip-smart, mission-driven, and incredibly dedicated to their craft.” – Ben Steele, Senior Manager of Development
Blue Forest’s capacity for procuring philanthropic support is further expanded by the hiring of Raven Zellers of Albuquerque, New Mexico, who joined the team as Grants Development Associate in September 2025. Raven finds, applies for, and manages grants, working across teams to turn their work into strong proposals. Before joining Blue Forest, Raven managed a portfolio of federal grants in the forestry sector. She worked with many local organizations holding federal grants for the first time, and witnessed firsthand the cashflow barriers that often impede important restoration work: “Many of them had to put in frequent invoices or deal with the complicated advance process to have enough operating reserves,” she explains. “The struggle they went through introduced me to conservation finance, and ultimately Blue Forest, as a way to support these partners and their amazing work.”
Building Data and People Systems
With a background spanning ecology and geospatial data science across academia, government, and industry, Jillian LaRoe joined in January 2026 as Data Science Manager. Based in Loveland, Colorado, Jillian’s focus is on streamlining data accessibility and integration, supporting a number of functions like restoration benefit evaluation and impact reporting.
“I’m excited to build user-friendly tools that visualize complex spatial data and generate analytics to explore restoration impacts, which will be essential infrastructure as Blue Forest’s portfolio continues to grow.” – Jillian LaRoe, Data Science Manager
“I’m most excited about supporting the people behind the work,” emphasizes Lucy Phalen, who joined in January 2026 as Human Resources Manager based in Chicago, Illinois. “It’s meaningful to help cultivate an employee experience where folks feel supported and inspired to focus on something bigger than themselves.” As Blue Forest continues growing, Lucy’s work ensures that the organization’s people and culture continue to thrive, creating the systems and support that enable our team to do their best work.
“I see my role as one of helping employees succeed in theirs.” – Lucy Phalen, Human Resources Manager
What this Growth Enables
These 12 individuals represent expanded capacity to deliver on Blue Forest’s mission. With stronger data infrastructure, deeper finance expertise, broader project development reach, more rigorous science, better operational systems, and enhanced fundraising capability, Blue Forest is better positioned to shape a more resilient and flourishing future for the ecosystems and communities that sustain us all.