Redwood Forest Foundation Inc (RFFI) is pleased to announce the hiring of Alicia Bales as our new Program Director. She will spearhead RFFI’s efforts to facilitate meaningful community involvement in the future of our region’s forests. Alicia is a well known voice in Mendocino County, with decades of history as a community radio journalist and local community organizer. Her background fits exceptionally well with RFFI’s mission to acquire, restore and manage depleted forest landscapes through inclusive community engagement to benefit the environment and the wellbeing of the community.

Alicia will work with the Redwood Forest Council, RFFI’s community advisory group, to prioritize community input about issues relating to the management and future of Usal Redwood Forest, and actively support the implementation of their ideas and programs. She’ll spend her first few months familiarizing herself with the people and projects at the heart of RFFI’s mission, and sharing these stories with the community, including exciting efforts to bring Indigenous cultural burning back to the area, and the many large scale fire mitigation and habitat restoration projects underway throughout the 50,000 acres, as well as opportunities to actually visit and tour the sites.

Alicia has a deep and demonstrated commitment to the things RFFI cares about, the Redwood forest and the people who live here. To deeply engage the community takes dedication and consistency, and RFFI feels fortunate to have Alicia coming on board to help us carry out this important facet of our mission.

You can reach Alicia Bales by email at alicia@rffi.org to find out more and get involved.