Board & Staff

Staff

SHAUNDRELLE TODD
Executive director

Shaundrelle Todd is an experienced project manager with an extensive background in
conservation, educational programming, event planning, and logistics. Serving as
Executive Director since April 2021, she draws on an outstanding skillset that
includes keeping TreesDurham well organized, tracking data, and building relationships with the many volunteers, community leaders, organizations, and corporations that work side by side with us to create a healthy, socially-just, climate-resilient tree canopy in Durham.

Todd has a Master of Public Administration from North Carolina Central University and a Bachelor of Science in Transportation and Logistics from North Carolina A&T
University. Having grown up on a farm in Zebulon, North Carolina, she leans in to hard
work and, if presented with a challenging task, finds a way to get it done.

HEAven gullate
Communications Assistant

Heaven Gullate is the founder and CEO of Heavenly Productions 98 LLC, a media company that specializes in "All Things Media." Gullate also has experience in PR, advertising, social media marketing, journalism, production, graphic design, website building, celebrity interviewing, and more. Gullate is an alumni of the illustrious North Carolina Central University and graduated with a Bachelor's of Arts in Mass Communications with a concentration in Journalism. She has served as TreesDurham's Marketing and Communications Assistant since August 2021.

Board of Directors

Marcy Lowe
Interim Chair

Marcy Lowe is the founder and CEO of Datu Research, an environmental consultancy that informs federal and international public policy to slow global climate change. Datu’s clients and partners include the Environmental Defense Fund, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rockefeller Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Rotary International.

With this global backdrop, Lowe’s TreesDurham work focuses on coping with the climate changes that are already underway, including hotter summers, more flooding, and increased stress. Many of Durham’s most climate-vulnerable neighborhoods lack adequate tree cover. Lowe believes that planting trees empowers a community to reduce heat, protect against flooding, improve mental health, and reduce crime. She also finds it fun and rewarding to work really hard on a beautiful Saturday planting trees with TreesDurham friends old and new!

Brittany Curry
Vice Chair

Brittany Curry is the Director of Development, Marketing and Communications at Global Scholars Academy. Curry joined Global Scholars Academy in 2017 and Durham is so lucky to have her.

Prior to joining GSA, Curry served as an industry leading marketer at Johnson & Johnson. While there she managed local and global businesses including JOHNSON’S®, BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages, AVEENO®, and LISTERINE®. She has corporate experience in brand management, strategy development, innovation, media, and finance, agency experience in marketing campaign planning and execution and talent management, and non-profit education experience in fundraising strategy, marketing and communications. Basically she can do almost anything and look good doing it.

Born and raised in Atlanta, GA, Curry holds a Bachelor's degree in Public Relations and English from Hampton University and a M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan – Flagler Business School with certifications in Marketing and Sustainable Enterprise.

John Hykes
SECRETARY

John has devoted his life to creating beautiful, sustainable, and functional landscapes for people to enjoy. With over 20 years experience in landscape architecture projects ranging from public sector parks and streets involving significant community participation to residential design his love for trees and plants is intrinsic to his work. He enjoys working with clients to develop designs that bring functional and beautiful gardens to life.

One way or another, John's work has always brought him into the dirt. He has managed crews of hundreds as the chief landscape architect on multi-year, multi-million dollar urban parks projects, while also dug more backyard bungalow drainage ditches on sweltering July afternoons than he can count. We love having people who think big and dig big helping TreesDurham!

Mel Downey-Piper

Mel Downey-Piper is the Vice President of Health Strategies for the American Heart Association in the Triangle. Prior to that, she worked for 11 years at the Durham County Department of Public Health as the Health Education Community Transformation Director and Partnership for a Healthy Durham Coordinator.

Mel holds a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Welfare from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Berrian Puma

Berrian has worked in Research and Development for the consumer-packaged goods industry for more than 23 years. For the first 20 he worked for Procter and Gamble, on the oral care business with assignments in Caracas, London, Mexico City and Cincinnati. More recently he moved to Durham to lead the Research and Development team for Burt’s Bees, a leading natural personal care brand.

Berrian was born and raised in Venezuela and has a degree in Chemical Engineering from the “Universidad Simon Bolivar." He has been actively involved in Hispanic youth since his arrival to the US in 2003.