Our Team
Our current full time staff is made up of 3 people with others who donate their skills and experience on a part time / voluntary level. Our voluntary staff are local residents in Sao Paulo who assist in the everyday care of our young trees. Though we may currently be few in number, we are very dedicated and focused on our long term goals and the expansion of our project.
- Jeffrey Binion - President / International Relations / Founder / Botanical Research / Administrative Contact for all project affairs.
- Elisangela Binion - Vice President and Co-Founder / Domestic Relations in Brasil / Document Translation /Administrative Contact with Brasilian Government agencies.
- Francismar F. A. Aguiar - Project Manager / Botanical Research / Horticulture Advisor / Director of Agricultural and Botanical Research.
- Volunteers - daily activities in maintaining our young trees.
Early on, in laying the ground work for this project, we met and recruited Francismar F.A. Aguiar (Director of Botanical Research / Sao Paulo-Brasil). Francismar is a native citizen of Brasil and has 30 years of study in botanical research of a diverse variety of plant species currently threatened with extinction in Brasil. He has an outstanding reputation and relationship with many professionals in the community of environmental research that we also have at our disposal. He has served as part of the administration team in projects like “Sound Wood”. He has also spearheaded studies and reasearch programs in the germination of Dalbergia Nigra and Pau Brasil. His research has established proper soil content, required nutrient levels, natural habitat and overall conditions required to be successful in the reforestation of these species. His research has led to understanding the elements and contributing factors that insure the growth of healthy, sustainable trees.
Francismar has been very generous and unselfishly shared his time and vast knowledge in teaching us the things he has learned in his many years of research. He has also guided us to the areas most appropriate (indigenous areas of origin for Dalbergia Nigra) to locate a permanant home for our project. We could not ask for a better mentor and partner in our efforts.
Elisangela (My wife and Co-founder) and Francismar discussing and shooting some close up video of a flowering Pau Brasil tree. Elisangela has been instrumental in helping establish our project. She is our official translator of documents, liason for the Government branches of Brasil, and also a native (citizen) of Brasil. Her passion and love for her country are attributes that make this project very personal for her. As a firm and compassionate animal rights activist, her future dreams are to include threatened animals into our reforestation areas. With the deforestation of the Atlantic Coastal Forests of Brasil, there has been a dramatic decline in the animal populations as well. Affecting many bird, monkey and feline species.
More coming…
