BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

 

 

Timothy Hall, President, Chief Agroforester, Co-Founder of Eco Ranchos, Inc.

Timothy Hall is an educator, a naturalist, a farm advisor, and co-founder of Eco Ranchos.  As a boy he spent his summers in the mountains of Central California working on a large cattle ranch.  In the late 1960s, he was one of the pioneers in the organic farming movement, studied agriculture in college, earned his Bachelor’s Degree, and then completed 2 tours of duty in Vietnam where he earned a Bronze Star and other medals.  After the service, Timothy returned to two of his passions, teaching and agriculture.  For 35 years, he has taught and inspired thousands of students through the true art of teaching, and a profound understanding of the process of learning.  For 30 years, he has worked to create sustainable agriculture and has sought to combine that knowledge with his teaching abilities to help others learn how to live more lightly on the land yet meet their physical and social needs.  In Mexico, he has pioneered the fig industry and reintroduced the native amaranth grain.  Tim now works to develop the widespread use of the amazing Paulownia tree in complex agricultural systems to help meet the agricultural, commercial, environmental and social needs of communities worldwide.

By the 1990s, Mr. Hall turned his attention to the genus Paulownia as a flora solution for many of world’s pressing problems.  He was one of the first in the Western Hemisphere to commercially propagate the Paulownia as an agroforestry product.  Mr. Hall has written extensively on the efficacy of the Paulownia, and has lectured to foresters, university professors, government officials, and to private investors.

 

 

 

Christopher Danch, Secretary, Director of Development, Co-Founder of Eco Ranchos, Inc.

Chris brings a broad background of law, business, education, and community service to Eco Ranchos.  He has a solid grasp of the ecological, social and political challenges facing mankind.  He is devoted to the protection of the natural environment and to the development of sustainable agriculture and communities.

Chris earned a B.S. in Business Administration (with Honors) in 1977 and his Juris Doctorate in 1980.  From 1980 to 1996, he was managing partner of the law firm of Danch & Danch which maintained a successful general practice with significant experience in business law and litigation, construction and real estate law, business reorganizations under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code and tort litigation.  For the last 5 years of his full-time practice, he was plaintiff’s counsel in class actions in state and federal court under Title VII Civil Rights and California Labor Law representing workers in the citrus packinghouse industry.  In the late 1980’s, Chris became dissatisfied with the practice of law and began to seek work outside the law that would allow him to more fully and effectively express his desire to serve.  He was also becoming increasingly concerned about the growing environmental, and ultimately spiritual, problems facing mankind and felt that he could no longer conduct “business as usual.”

In 1993, Chris turned his full-time attention to the non-profit world where he co-founded and directed two environmental nonprofits and thereafter was executive director of the Los Padres Forest Association.  He has also been an educator at public and private schools and for various nonprofit organizations. 

 

 

Jason Hall, Vice-President, Director of Nursery Operations

Jason Hall is an active partner/owner of Green Tree Nursery, a business started by his parents, Joel and Judy Hall, in 1966.  Green Tree Nursery has partnered with Eco Ranchos to develop a viable Paulownia-based agroforestry industry in the Central Valley of California.  For over 40 years, Green Tree Nursery has been known for its integrity, and growing the highest quality orchard stock anywhere.  As a young boy, Jason worked at the nursery alongside his father, and by the age of 14 was leading work crews on the farm.  In addition to a lifetime of practical knowledge and experience, Jason obtained a BS in Ag Business at Chico State in 1997.  Upon returning from college, Jason went to work expanding Green Tree Nursery’s River Ranch, Fanning Ranch, and Silva Ranch.  Jason completely developed and designed irrigation systems, waterways drainage, wetland/vernal pond preservation, erosion control, and a very effective, fully integrated pest management system.  His efforts have resulted in premium growing conditions on over 400 acres of barren ground—which is now lush with nursery seedlings and almond orchards.

 

For the past 12 years, Jason has expanded and diversified Green Tree Nursery’s products by acquiring Linwood Nursery, the oldest and most respected Pecan Nursery in the Western United States.  Jason also began growing ornamental trees along with fruit trees to supply big box stores such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Longs, Ace Hardware, and Grocery Outlet.  Jason has been instrumental in maintaining Green Tree Nursery’s reputation for producing premium trees.  Jason uses leading-edge techniques such as rotating the growing grounds on a three-year cycle, inter-planting with green manure crops, and using high-grade, in-house compost.

 

 

Barclay Hope, Treasurer

 

A thirty year member of the natural and organic food industry, Hope has had success as both an entrepreneurial owner-operator, and as a corporate executive in the public sector.  His career has encompassed retail operations as an owner-partner in two groundbreaking natural foods supermarkets (Hope ‘n Hagens in Southern California) from 1981-88, owner of a gourmet fresh pasta manufacturing company (Buonapasta) from 88-95, a brief stint opening stores for Wild Oats (96-97), and finally in fresh perishable distribution, predominately organic produce, at Albert’s Organics from 1997 through 2006.  Starting as Western region General Manager, Hope succeeded founder Albert Lusk after the company was sold to UNFI after a two year earn-out period.  As President from 2001-2006, he led revenue growth of Albert’s from $60m to $200m, profitability growth of 5-6 times, led or participated in 5 acquisitions, led a strategic purchasing shift towards contractual buying, created marketing programs that anticipated the shift from independent natural food store customers to the mass market retail chains, oversaw the creation of a proprietary Premium produce brand known as Grateful Harvest, and led diversification into other fresh categories, including a fresh, organic, grass-fed beef program.