Scott is a designer and systems thinker with a focus on infrastructure that supports long term cultural goals in cities, organizations and ecosystems. Scott's background in architecture, urbanism, construction, and consulting inform the high value he places on engaging stakeholders directly in the design process—particularly in the midst of today's overemphasis on efficiency and quantification. Scott has taught at the McGill School of Architecture, Michael Graves College, Parsons The New School for Design, Stanford in New York, and The University of Kentucky School of Architecture. He speaks regularly on systems thinking, wood and forests, workplace design, organizational culture, and sustainability. He holds architecture degrees from the University of Toronto and MIT.

Sarah is a forest geographer with a background in ecology (MSc, BSc), human geography and tropical forests (PhD). Her research and practice connect culture and ecology in landscapes urban and rural, including conservation and restoration strategies, education, and community engagement. She has worked with community-based forest restoration and conservation enterprises in montane cloud forests in Andean Ecuador and the Nepalese Himalaya, and in lowland jungle in Guatemala’s Peten. Recent postdoc work with the University of Michigan and with the PARTNERS reforestation network focused on understanding the social and ecological drivers and outcomes of community forestry and restoration - and on crafting action-oriented research for the field. She has also served as a consultant and reviewer for many organizations, including the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, International Tropical Timber Organization, The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, and Conservation International, and multiple academic publications. A recipient of the prestigious L’Oreal Women in Science Mentorship Award, she is dedicated to teaching and developing communities of practice around pressing social and environmental challenges.

Mack is a strategist focusing on the design and implementation of innovative connections between urban, exurban and rural issues. With Pilot Projects he has helped lead the development on the Forest Footprint for Cities, Partner Forest Program, and the Sustainable Wood for Cities guide. Mack’s research work centres around urban, exurban and rural intersections of architecture, sustainable mobilities, land use, and resource theory. His prior research has been supported by SSHRC and MITACS and has covered topics such as optimal urbanization in suburban Montréal, the development of transit-oriented landscape amenities in exurban Sweden, and now focuses on the impact of urban consumption – including construction – on tropical forests and the global south. Prior to Pilot Projects, Mack has worked in various architecture offices in Canada and the Netherlands since 2014.

Michael develops research and strategic insights at the intersection of urban planning and sustainable landscapes. Michael holds a M.Plan. Planning and Sustainable Development from University College Cork, Ireland, and a B.A Urban Planning from Concordia University, Montreal. He has worked as a planner in both Ireland and Canada. His academic interests are also shaped by a childhood spent in post-apartheid South Africa, a country he deeply loves. An outdoors enthusiast, Michael enjoys woodworking, drawing, and growing his own food. Ask him about growing gourmet mushrooms—a passion he is keen to share.

Valeria graduated from The London School of Economics and Political Science with a Master's Degree in Development and Anthropology. She has worked on many projects both in the private and public sector, focusing on design, management, and evaluation. She has also experience in building strategic partnerships for project development. Currently, she directs a social outreach project at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, where she is a course leader.

Mikayla holds a bachelor’s degree in International Development with an emphasis in Latin American studies from the University of Guelph and a Masters of Development Practice from the University of Waterloo. She has extensive experience working with minority youth and has conducted gender-based research on youth education in Africa and Latin America. Mikayla is passionate about the interconnected environmental and social impacts of sustainability and is working on the knowledge mobilization of data from The Future of Forest Work and Communities program and implementation of the Partner Forest program. Mikayla loves storytelling through music and poetry and being outside – whether it's in a faraway forest climbing a mountain or an urban forest reading a book in her hammock.