GREEN FORESTS WORK STAFF
Chris Barton
Christopher D. Barton, Ph.D., is a Professor of Forest Hydrology and Watershed Management in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Kentucky. He is currently working in the areas of ecosystem restoration, reforestation, and remediation of streams, wetlands, and mined lands. Best management practices for protecting water resources are also being examined. Dr. Barton is an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Phytoremediation and the International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment.
Dr. Barton is the founder and President of Green Forests Work, an NGO that aims to improve the environment and economy of mined landscapes. Through this program, 7 million trees have been planted on mined lands in Appalachia and Australia, and over 25,000 volunteers have participated.
Dr. Barton currently serves on the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Earth Resources. Recently, Dr. Barton was named a Fulbright Distinguished Chair and worked with CSIRO in Australia for six months in 2023.
Michael French
Michael French is GFW’s Director of Operations and co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative’s Science Team. Michael holds a B.S. in Biology and an M.S. in Forestry from the University of Kentucky. He is instrumental in all aspects of GFW operations and has supervised the reforestation of thousands of acres of mined lands across Appalachia for nearly two decades.
French began working for GFW as a Reforestation Coordinator in 2014 and has been Director of Operations since 2015. Before working for GFW, he worked for The American Chestnut Foundation and focused on linking American chestnut restoration to surface mine reforestation efforts. He also worked for a professional tree-planting company where he supervised the planting of millions of trees on mined lands across Appalachia.
May May Barton
May May Barton, MA, is the Marketing and Communications Director at Green Forests Work. She holds a BA in graphic design and an MA in Arts Administration from the University of Kentucky. Before joining GFW, Barton spent over 15 years as a Student Media Advisor at the University of Kentucky. Additionally, she was the Design Director of the newsroom at the Lexington Herald-Leader.
In her current role at GFW, Barton oversees the organization's day-to-day operations and manages its marketing and communication needs, which include design, publication layout, multimedia production, web design, photography, and writing.
Outside work, Barton enjoys tending to a large vegetable and flower garden and an established truffle orchard. She is also training her white Labrador retriever, Pinky, to hunt truffles.
Anna Maria Branduzzi
Anna Maria Branduzzi, Reforestation Coordinator for Pennsylvania and West Virginia, has been with Green Forests Work since early 2021. She holds a Master's degree in Forestry from the University of Kentucky.
Branduzzi has ten years of experience with ecological restoration of mined lands. She began her natural resources career working on the Monongahela National Forest (MNF), WV, from 2014 to 2019, first as an AmeriCorps Wildlife Tech, then completing 4 years as a term Biological Technician. While obtaining her Master's degree, Branduzzi conducted her research on the MNF, focusing on native plant restoration on mined lands within the red spruce ecosystem. This included characterization and utilization of native seed with and without woody debris microhabitats in mined land seed banks.
Branduzzi enjoys the excitement of tree planting season while mentoring future natural resource stewards, including interns and AmeriCorps members. She finds fulfillment in planting trees, collaborating with partners, and staying connected to her early career roots in West Virginia.
Briana Snyder
After receiving her Bachelors in Pre-Professional Zoology at Ohio Wesleyan University in 2015, Briana Snyder spent five years leading, implementing, and coordinating landscape-scale forest restoration in West Virginia with The Nature Conservancy.
Working amidst the forests, Snyder solidified her passion for conservation and land management while gaining diverse skills. Desiring to improve her understanding of the science and practice of land management, she enrolled at the University of Kentucky and graduated with a Masters of Forest and Natural Resource Sciences in 2022. Snyder studied mined land reclamation in Appalachia and focused her thesis research on bat use of reforested mined lands. She continues to utilize this education as a Reforestation Coordinator with Green Forests Work.
Eric Oliver
Eric Oliver is a Mined Land Reforestation Specialist for Green Forests Work. Oliver earned a BS in Earth Science from Clarion University of PA,
a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in GIS from Penn State University and is a Master’s Degree Candidate in GIScience at Northwest Missouri State University.
Oliver's work focuses on reforesting thousands of acres of forest in Pennsylvania lost to mining and restoring the temperate forest ecology to a native state that existed before mineral extraction using the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative’s Forestry Reclamation Approach.
Before working for Green Forests Work, Oliver was a Mineral Resources Program Specialist for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Mining Programs. He currently lives in Tyrone, PA, and is the caretaker for the Plummers Hollow Private Nature Preserve.