Dear TreePeople Community,

Late last year, I was truly honored to be elected the new Board Chair at TreePeople. Having grown up in Los Angeles, I have known about TreePeople most of my life. In fact, I went to high school just down the hill from Coldwater Canyon Park. Over the years, I have spent countless hours hiking the nearby trails with my wife, our kids, and our dogs. The land, the trees, and our natural habitat have always been very important to me and my family. To now be entrusted with leading this prestigious Board is something I feel I have spent decades preparing for.

One of the organization’s top priorities when I started as Board Chair was to conclude our search for a permanent CEO–someone who could honor the fifty-year legacy of TreePeople and spearhead our efforts to build a more climate-resilient Southern California at this crucial time in our world. I am truly delighted to announce that our search has been successful, and TreePeople’s Board has elected Casandra “Cassie” Rauser, PhD, to be the next CEO of TreePeople.

Cassie brings years of environmental work to her new role including a leading role developing the Mayor’s climate plan and, prior to that, serving as Executive Director of UCLA’s Sustainable LA Grand Challenge, a project to transform Los Angeles into the first fully sustainable megacity in the areas of energy, water, and ecosystem health. She has extensive experience strategically developing and funding major research and training programs, and formerly worked abroad building partnerships among private companies, local and national governments and communities to preserve public-private land. Cassie has a demonstrated ability to build relationships and forge collaborations among diverse groups and to identify challenges specific to Southern California; we are thrilled to welcome her to the TreePeople family.

Cassie’s selection marks a new, exciting chapter in the storied, fifty year-plus history of TreePeople. With her at the helm, TreePeople is well-positioned to confront the many challenges that face our environment, our culture, and the very important work that we do. Now, more than ever, we must all stand together as a region, as a community, and as a family, to create a better, more resilient future, for our children and for all those who follow. We can’t do it without you!

Please join me in welcoming, and celebrating, our new CEO, Dr. Cassie Rauser.

With gratitude,

John D. Bunzel

Chair, Board of Directors

TreePeople