Trees Atlanta Board of Directors elected five new members who began their first 3-year terms in 2024. Martha Issa joined the board in April, Lynnette Reid in July, and Mandy Burnette, Dan Englander, and Claire Gotham in November. These individuals are part of an active Board of Directors who represent leading businesses and organizations that serve metro Atlanta, including Veritiv, Atlanta Beltline, Smurfit Westrock, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, and Capgemini.
A full list of directors is available on Trees Atlanta’s website.
In 2025, Trees Atlanta’s Board will be guiding its 40th year of environmental conservation and community forestry in metro Atlanta. Its mission is to protect and improve Atlanta’s urban forest. Trees Atlanta planted its first tree on Carnegie Way in Downtown Atlanta in 1985, and has planted over 170,000 trees to date. Each year, in addition to planting trees, staff and volunteers restore and improve hundreds of acres of forested areas, educate students and adults to be active stewards of our city’s trees, and lead workforce development programs to invest in future generations of community foresters. The board and staff of Trees Atlanta will be hosting several events in 2025 to celebrate four decades of service in metro Atlanta with thousands of volunteers and supporters.
Mandy Burnette is Director, Corporate Giving for Smurfit Westrock, a global leader in sustainable, fiber-based packaging solutions. In her role she has responsibility for North America programmatic community investments, with a focus on strategic partnerships that support the organization’s sustainability goals and business objectives related to workforce development for advanced manufacturing and protecting forests and urban tree canopies. Mandy also manages strategic sponsorships in Smurfit Westrock’s North American headquarters community of Atlanta and oversees the Smurfit Westrock Employee Relief Fund, as well as the company’s Matching Gifts and Grants for Volunteers employee engagement programs. In addition to her role at Smurfit Westrock, Mandy serves on the board of advisors for The Manufacturing Institute and is an alumni network co-lead for the Atlanta Women’s Foundation Inspire Atlanta leadership program.
Dan Englander is a partner at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, where he is a trademark lawyer for international brands. He helps brands choose trademarks, manages their international trademark portfolios, and oversees a large docket of trademark disputes for top brands. Dan also supervises a team of attorneys that assesses the availability of entertainment titles that are intended for use on some of the most popular movie, TV, and music streaming services. Dan moved to Atlanta in 2009 to attend Emory Law School, where he was elected editor-in-chief of the Emory International Law Review. As a Phoenix native, he is continuously amazed at how green Atlanta is. He lives in Peachtree Heights East with his husband and three-year-old twins.
Claire Gotham is a Vice President at Capgemini focused on Utilities & Renewables in the Resources and Energy Transition business unit. She is a leader in retail/wholesale energy, trading & risk management. In this role, Claire draws upon her experience tackling complex projects, leading diverse teams to deliver results to achieve the business vision. Claire’s skill set comprises over 25 years of experience in consulting and business development. She has led major strategy and technology transformations at Fortune 500 companies both in the U.S. and globally. Claire grew up in Atlanta and was excited to return in 2006 to raise her family after a decade in California. She is a member of the Alliance Theatre Board and a proud parent to four children.
Martha Issa serves as the Sr. Director of Sustainability at Veritiv, a leader in specialty packaging distribution, headquartered in Atlanta. In Martha’s role, she embeds sustainability into how the company operates and serves customers. Sustainability is a core responsibility in all that Veritiv does to deliver diverse products and solutions that make a more meaningful impact on its customers, suppliers, communities, and planet. Prior to this role, Martha served as Veritiv’s Director of Cleaning & Protection, Facility Solutions, and Director of Business Development and Marketing. Bilingual in English and Spanish, she holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Universidad Centroamericana in El Salvador and is a graduate of Instituto Superior De Economia y Administracion De Empresas where she secured a Master in Business Administration (MBA).
Lynnette Reid is the Vice President of Planning, Engagement and Art at Atlanta Beltline. Reid has been with Atlanta Beltline for 13 years having joined the team as the Community Engagement Advocate and also serving as the Senior Community Planner. With approximately 20 years of public sector experience, including at the Fulton County Department of Environment & Community Development, Reid brings a wealth of experience related to community planning and engagement, land use, zoning, and regulatory development. She holds a B.A. in Public Administration from Trenton State College and Master of City and Regional Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is a proponent of inclusive and equitable communities.