J. Keith Gilless is Dean Emeritus of the Rausser College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley, and holds a joint professorial appointment in Rausser College’s Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management and its Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Gilless’ research program has encompassed issues in forest products trade and markets, regional economic analysis of resource-dependent communities, wildland fire protection planning, forestry decision support systems, and international development. He recently stepped down as chair of the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, where he previously led the development of general forest policy for the state and represented the state’s interest in federal forestland. He currently serves as the Interim Director for the University and Jepson Herbaria. He is a recipient of Berkeley’s Distinguished Teaching Award, and the co-author of two textbooks on forest resource management and economics. He has previously held visiting professor and researcher appointments at Beijing Forestry University and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. Gilless earned his B.S. in Forestry from Michigan State University and a joint Ph.D. in Forestry and Agricultural Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

David Zilberman holds the Robinson Chair in the Agricultural and Resource Economics Department at the University of California at Berkeley.  He received the 2019 Wolf Prize in Agriculture, is a U.S. National Academy of Science member since 2019, served as the 2018-19 President of the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA), and is a fellow of multiple professional associations (AAEA, EAERE, AERE, IAEA). He has over 400 referenced journal articles and has edited 30 books. In addition, he has served as a Consultant to the U.S.EPA, USDA, the World Bank, FAO, MARS, BP, and others. David's BA is from Tel Aviv University, and his Ph.D. is from Berkeley. David co-founded the Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program and the Berkeley MDP program. David's research analyzes water, innovation, the Biotechnology supply chain, and the interactions between agriculture, energy, and the environment

Dr. Mio Katayama is Assistant Dean of Professional Programs and Strategic Partnerships at Rausser College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley. Dr. Katayama has spent over a decade leading the Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program, empowering environmental and climate professionals as Program Director. She is also the Director of Program Operations for the new Master of Climate Solutions, a professional master's program at UC Berkeley focused on climate and sustainability. She holds a BA, MA, and Ph.D. in Anthropology from UC Berkeley, with a focus on food, culture, and environment. Dr. Katayama is dedicated to actualizing faculty vision and broadening access to Berkeley's exceptional education for professionals, with a strong emphasis on public private partnerships.

Marco Gonzalez-Navarro is the George Pardee Jr. Family Chair of International Sustainable Development and Associate Professor at UC-Berkeley.  His research focuses on issues in Development Economics, Urban Economics and Political Economy. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University. He currently serves as co-editor at the Journal of Development Economics, associate editor at Regional Science and Urban Economics, and as member of the editorial board at Journal of Urban Economics. He is a J-PAL, CEGA and BREAD affiliate.

Richard (Dick) Beahrs had a 35-year career as a media executive with Time Warner. During that time, he served as the President of Court TV and the Comedy Channel, which evolved into Comedy Central.  He also served as the head of New Business Development for HBO, where he oversaw the launch of Cinemax. As the Director of Sports Illustrated Enterprises, he also managed the development of ancillary businesses for the magazine. In 2001, he and his wife Carolyn funded the launch of the Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program at UC Berkeley. This multidisciplinary program has trained over 800 environmental professionals from over 115 countries in sustainable development skills. Beahrs served on the UN Hunger Task Force as part of the Millennium Development Goals Initiative. He is currently focused on efforts to enhance school feeding programs with locally produced foods on the African continent. He served as a trustee for the University of California, Berkeley Foundation as well as on the Advisory Boards of numerous University initiatives and programs. He has served on the Leadership Council of the Initiative for Global Development and the Boards of The School of Management at St. Petersburg University in Russia, the World Agroforestry Centre in Kenya and as Chairman of the Arbor Day Foundation. His current business activities include serving on the Board of the San Jose Giants (a minor league affiliate of the San Francisco Giants), and as a Senior Advisor to Revolution Foods. He graduated from University of California, Berkeley in 1968 where he served as the Student Body President his senior year.  He and his wife Carolyn reside in Berkeley. They have four children and six grandchildren.

Mike Cheng is the Executive-in-Residence and Advisor to the Dean of Rausser College of Natural Resources and a faculty member in the Master of Molecular Science and Software Engineering (MSSE) Program at UC Berkeley. He retired from his senior executive position at CPI International in Palo Alto, CA with 30 years of general management, operations management and marketing experience. He served as Golden Gate University’s (GGU) MBA Program Director from 2015 to 2017 and led the redesign and launch of their current MBA and EMBA programs. Mr. Cheng has served as an advisory board member in both UC Berkeley’s Rausser College of Natural Resources and GGU’s Ageno School of Business. He is a frequent workshop leader in RCNR’s Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program. Mr. Cheng is a graduate of the Management of Technology Companies program from the American Electronics Association/Stanford Executive Institute. He holds an MBA in General Management from Golden Gate University and received a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

John Pardee ‘69 (UC Berkeley) is a real estate and transactional attorney. He previously served as Counsel for The Trust for Public Land in San Francisco and as Senior County Counsel for San Diego County. He currently serves on the Land Protection Advisory Council for the Pacific Crest Trail Association and is a former member of the California Advisory Board for the Trust for Public Land. He is also a member of the Rausser College of Natural Resources Advisory Board. In 2008, John, his wife Vera, and other members of the Pardee family established the George M. Pardee, Jr. Family Chair in International Sustainable Development at the Rausser College of Natural Resources. John holds a B.A. in Political Science from UC Berkeley and a J.D. from the University of Southern California