With over 12 years of experience working with farming communities and reforestation projects in Central America, Kahlil Baker has been developing innovative approaches to making community forestry an economically viable land use option for subsistence farmers. Baker is executive director of Taking Root, where his primary responsibility is to oversee all aspects of operations. This involves complying with international forest carbon standards, developing forest inventory and carbon accounting methodologies, and supervising the operational team. Baker is also responsible for developing international partnerships to help promote the project.

He holds a doctorate in forest economics and master’s degree in forest biometrics from the University of British Columbia, a degree in economics from Concordia University, a permaculture design certificate from Costa Rica, and a professional specialization certificate in business development. He is fluent in French, English and Spanish.