Meet Our Educators

TreePeople’s award-winning Environmental Education program owes a great deal of its success to our staff of talented Eco-tour educators.

Each of our educators is unique, but they all possess the right qualities – combined with excellent professional training – to open young hearts and minds to the wonders of the urban forest. Of course, it helps that they all share a love for nature…and a great sense of humor, too!

Born and raised in the concrete jungles of Los Angeles, Hector has found refuge leading Eco-tours of “coyotes” through our Magical City Forest in Coldwater Canyon Park. A vehement believer that education empowers a community, Hector is currently working on his Masters degree at the California State University, Los Angeles, focusing on the development of renewable energy. When not consumed by planting seeds in young minds or remedying a fuel cell, Hector custom screen-prints colorful illustrations on wearable canvases.

“Hector has a wonderful sense of humor and enjoys his work. He made our tour both educational and fun.” -3rd Street Elementary School teacher

Tainy was born and raised in Southern California. She graduated from Van Nuys High School for the Performing Arts in 2007 and went on to attend Los Angeles Valley College as a Music Major. She is back at Los Angeles Valley College studying Child Development and plans on becoming an elementary school teacher.
Tainy loves to be outdoors and hikes and camps regularly. She also loves to teach and have fun with children of all ages. Fortunately, as an Elementary Educator, she gets to have fun outdoors with kids!

Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, Aysha has loved exploring the forests of TreePeople. She enjoys inspiring kids to care about their environment and has always had very fond feelings for TreePeople’s mission ever since she came on an Eco-tour as a little girl. When Aysha is not teaching kids about the water cycle or oak trees she can be found doing improv and sketch comedy throughout Los Angeles. She loves performing and recently did her first one woman show called Hebrew School Horror.

Born and raised in the forests of Studio City, Elliott developed a love for the outdoors at an early age playing on the dusty trails of Fryman and Franklin Canyon. Since then he has lived amongst the redwoods of Santa Cruz, where he attended university. Elliott eventually became a high school English teacher, teaching in public schools, as well as The American School Foundation in Mexico City. Later he worked for two organic farms in Austin Texas. After a decade away, Elliott is back and loving his work at TreePeople!

A local native of Los Angeles, and an Eagle Scout, Weston has always had community and nature in his blood. Practically born and raised at TreePeople, Weston knows the park like the back of his hand (freckles and all). As a TreePeople Citizen Forester, Weston led his community in a huge tree care event. Now, through fun and engagement, Weston inspires the youth of the city to grow a green mind and care for their home. In his spare time he works as a fine artist and hikes anywhere and everywhere.