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By the time Canopy, local urban forestry organization, plants a tree, many things will have happened.
First, Canopy volunteers must pick an appropriate location, then the correct type of tree, then see if the community will accept the tree and finally, put it in the ground.
“That tree will have done us so many favors,” said Jean-Paul Renaud. “Not only will it have provided shade and filtered the air, but more importantly, that tree will have created community.”
Renaud, who has spent years working for community-based organizations from TreePeople in Los Angeles to the Peace Corps in Ukraine, is Canopy’s newest Executive Director.
He succeeded Catherine Martineau, who worked with Canopy for over 18 years, in August.
Since 1996, the nonprofit has worked to plant thousands of trees — especially in underserved neighborhoods — so that when residents look up, they see a canopy of greenery.
More recently, Canopy is supporting the Ravenswood City School District in their efforts to plant hundreds of trees across all of their schools.
Before heading to the Peninsula, Renaud worked as Chief Communications Officer for TreePeople in Los Angeles. Much like Canopy, Treepeople is dedicated to reforesting urban areas like concrete-heavy school grounds.
So, when Canopy reached out to Renaud, he was happy to accept the executive director position.
“I love this work and when I saw the power that it can have on communities – make a change – I wanted to do more,” he said.
While Renaud didn’t always steer toward environmental work, he has long had a passion for anything that could bring people together to solve an issue.
He started his career as a journalist, fascinated by talking to people and keeping them informed on important news.
Renaud went on to work in communications for UCLA and apply to the Peace Corps.
Born in Cuba, Renaud was interested in working in Ukraine due to its similar history with communism. For a year, he worked with communities that were affected with HIV/AIDS.
“When I came back from the Peace Corps, I very much wanted to continue this idea of mission-based and community-centered work,” he said.
For Renaud, his favorite part about working with Canopy is his ability to interact with diverse groups.
“I’m talking to different communities with completely different needs and backgrounds,” he said. “And I get to speak different languages because of that diversity that is so compact.”
In just a day, he might start off working an event in Mountain View and end up in North Fair Oaks or East Palo Alto.
“That’s the beauty of this region,” Renaud said.
Editor‘s note: This version clarifies Canopy’s role in tree planting in Ravenswood City School District.
