Meet the Sangha's Staff
Maddie Bright: Executive Director
Maddie is the Executive Director at Earth Sangha where she has worked full-time on native plant conservation since 2011, and where she grew up as the daughter of co-founders Lisa and Chris Bright. Maddie has worked closely with ecologists, botanists, and park managers across the Northern Virginia region on plant conservation and ecological restoration projects over the years, including a brief stint interning at Huntley Meadows Park. She regularly teaches for the Arlington Regional Master Naturalist chapter and serves on the steering committee for the National Capitol Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management. Before starting at the Sangha, Maddie graduated from Kenyon college with a BA in History and spent four years as a firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician with the College Township Fire Department in Gambier, Ohio. The photo shows Maddie with her daughter and future conservationist, Maeve.
Katherine Isaacson: Director of Development
Katherine makes the Sangha work as an organization. She takes the lead on growing the Sangha's membership base, developing our relationships with foundations, and keeping our volunteer network organized. She also runs our office: she does - or makes sure that someone else does - the full range of our business activities: accounting, database management, mailings, website, and social media updates, and on and on. But Katherine is no mere desk-jockey: at least once a week she is in the field somewhere, helping to supervise field-work, collaborating with Maddie at the nursery, or talking with visitors at an outreach event. Katherine graduated in 2011 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (aka "Virginia Tech") with a BS in Economics and is a Virginia Master Naturalist chapter partner with the Arlington Regional Master Naturalists. The photo shows Katherine with her daughter at the Wild Plant Nursery.
Chris Bright: Director Emeritus & Co-Founder
Chris and his wife, Lisa, founded the Earth Sangha in 1997. In 2004, Chris left his position as a Senior Researcher at the Worldwatch Institute to work for the Sangha full time. Worldwatch is a research organization that tracks global environmental and social trends. Chris is the author of numerous articles and one book, Life Out of Bounds: Bioinvasion in a Borderless World, the first global, interdisciplinary study of biological invasion written for a general audience. The photo shows Chris working in the Sangha's original greenhouse.
Lisa Bright: Director Emerita & Co-Founder
Lisa founded the Sangha with her husband, Chris. Lisa has been recognized as a teacher by the Chogye Order of Zen Buddhism, the main Buddhist monastic order in Korea. She is a Fairfax County (Virginia) Certified Steam Monitor and Master Watershed Steward. Lisa has been working with volunteers since 1994, first as Director of Operations for Community Lodgings, an affordable-housing nonprofit in Alexandria, Virginia, and now with the Sangha. She manages our Wild Plant Nursery. Lisa has been studying and propagating native plants in the mid-Atlantic since 2000. The photo shows Lisa preparing to demolish some invasive alien shrubs in a Northern Virginia meadow.
Michaelanne Makuch: Restoration Manager
Michaelanne works closely with Maddie and Chris on restoration activities in the Washington D.C. region and in our Tree Bank projects in the Dominican Republic and Panama. She helps to coordinate restoration activities, conduct site assessments, and collect see for our propagation efforts at the Wild Plant Nursery. Previously, Michaelanne interned with the Earth Sangha as a Conservation Intern. Before joining us, she worked administering child case subsidies nationwide for the military and locally in Fairfax County. She graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (aka "Virginia Tech") in 2015 with a B.S. in Sociology, has an A.S. in Horticulture Technology from the Northern Virginia Community College, and received a certificate in Ecological Restoration from the University of Minnesota in 2024. The photo shows Michaelanne dividing plants at the Wild Plant Nursery.
Katie Barbuschak (Danner): Development Coordinator
Katie is a key part of our Wild Plant Nursery team! When she isn't at the nursery or a field site, you'll find Katie at the office helping with a whole host of administrative tasks both nursery and office related. We couldn't get by without her diligent approach to record-keeping and data entry. Before joining the Sangha full-time in 2021, Katie was a Wild Plant Nursery Intern from Fall 2019-Fall 2020. Katie graduated from the College of William and Mary with a B.A. in Art History and M.A. in Elementary Education. She trained as a Master Naturalist through the Arlington Regional Master Naturalists and studied Horticulture Technology at Northern Virginia Community College. The photo shows Katie at a native tree planting event at the Marie Butler Leven Preserve.
Kayla Hubbell: Horticulture Coordinator
Kayla works with Maddie and Lisa on the full range of native plant propagation efforts at the Wild Plant Nursery. Kayla is also a talented artist with a keen eye for design. She helps to manage our newsletter and design new outreach materials! She is a former Earth Sangha Full-Season Conservation Intern and has an A.S in Horticulture Technology at the Northern Virginia Community College.
Alfonso "Manolo" Sanchez: Tree Bank Co-Director
Manolo runs the Tree Bank Hispaniola Nursery and manages the Tree Bank Hispaniola finances. He works with Cosme (see below) to survey conservation easements and monitor plantings. Manolo is a farmer is Los Cerezos, where the Tree Bank Hispaniola is based, and a founding member of our partner organization the Asociación de Productores de Bosque Los Cerezos (Los Cerezos Forest Producers Association). He is also an original and continuing participant in three Tree Bank programs: Parcelas Sembradas, Credito Forestal, and Rising Forests Coffee. He was elected by the Association membership to be our Assistant Director, and we promoted him into his current position. The photo shows Manolo on his farm.
Cosme Damian Quezada: Tree Bank Co-Director
Cosme plays a role similar to that of Manolo. Cosme works at the Tree Bank Nursery, and helps survey easements and monitor plantings. In addition to his regular chores, Cosme is expanding the Nursery's native-tree accessions, and coordinating several small nursery construction projects. Like, Manolo, Cosme is a local farmer, a participant in several Tree Bank Hispaniola programs, and an officer in our partner association. Cosme plays a crucial role in the Tree Bank Hispaniola's Forest Credit program: he works as a kind of accountant, and he is meticulous and persistent. The photo shows Cosme and one of his sons in his Tree Bank Hispaniola Parcela Sembrada.
Yinabel Perez: Tree Bank Hispaniola Coordinator
Yinabel is a crucial member of our Tree Bank Hispaniola team. She manages the adminstrative tasks associated with running the Tree Bank Hispaniola including reporting, banking, communications, as well as coodinating logistics for purchasing, truck repairs, and visits. As our most tech savvy team member, Yinabel plays a key role in ensuring our DC based staff has up-to-date information on the day to day acitivities of the Tree Bank Hispaniola. Yinabel is the daughter of the Tree Bank's first director, Gaspar Perez Aquino, who passed away in 2014. Yinabel has a BS in Psychology from La Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo. The photo shows Yinabel (right) with our Director of Development, Katherine (left).
Frankie Manuel Perez Luciano: Tree Bank Nursery Assistant
Frankie is the Tree Bank Nursery's reliable factotum: whatever it is that needs to be done, Frankie will do it. He mixes potting medium, fills the little "grow bags" that hold our stock, tends the plants, and when they're ready to go out, he helps make sure that the little trees end up on the right properties. Frankie grew up in Los Cerezos; he still lives there and has a small farm there. His uncle Gaspar Perez Aquino, was the co-founder of the Tree Bank Hispaniola and worked as its Director until he died in 2014. Like many local people, Frankie hasn't had much formal education, but he is skilled farmer and hard worker. The photo shows Frankie beside our community center, built in 2011.
Shogofa Tookhi: Conservation Intern
Hi I’m Shogofa! I recently graduated from the Horticulture Technology Program at the Northern Virginia Community College this Spring. I’m currently enrolled in the Virginia Master Naturalist Program with the Fairfax Chapter to deepen my understanding of Virginia’s natural resources. I’m excited to be apart of Earth Sangha and look forward to restoring our native habitats while learning more on native and invasive species! Shogofa is a 2025 Full-Season Conservation Intern.
Mikaela Day: Conservation Intern
My name is Mikaela Day, I am a 23 year old STEM student at NOVA, and I hope to eventually get my Environmental Science B.S. I love being outside and when I envision my future career, doing work outdoors is what I see for myself most. My passion for environmental sciences began in high school after taking the AP course under an exceptional instructor and mentor. I have a significant history of volunteer work with local parks and was employed by the Fairfax County Park Authority as a naturalist interpreter. Nature and its preservation excites me because I find it important to contribute to creating a world I want to be a part of. For me, that world is sustainable and creative in climate and ecological solutions. My work with Earth Sangha is a key step in furthering my familiarity with plants, their identification, and their use from an environmentally conscious standpoint.
Astra Moas: Conservation Intern
Hi, I'm Astra! I've been a resident of Northern Virginia for nearly my whole life, and want to do my part to take care of my home. I'm a graduate of Northern Virginia Community College and am currently taking a break from my education at George Mason University to get more hands on experience. I'm excited to work towards restoring the natural beauty around us!
Job Openings
Earth Sangha Summer 2025 Native Plant Conservation Internship
Positions available: 2
Assist the Earth Sangha in the day-to-day operations of the Wild Plant Nursery. Our nursery is the region's only exclusively local ecotype native plant nursery. Engage in restoration activities on field sites including invasive plant removal and native plantings. Learn about Northern Virginia's native flora, horticultural skills, and become part of a grassroots effort to conserve and restore our native plants and their habitats.
Responsibilities and Duties:
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Assist in the supervision of nursery volunteers of all ages and backgrounds.
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Receive training on basic day-to-day nursery operations in order to independently complete tasks including: identification of native plants, watering, sowing seed, making divisions, repotting, identifying and correcting nutritional deficiencies, basic maintenance tasks, and cleaning/organization tasks.
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Assist with other operations at the Wild Plant Nursery, as necessary.
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Opportunities for field work at other sites throughout the region including plant identification, seed collection, and invasive plant removals.
Minimum Qualifications:
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Reliable transportation to and from Wild Plant Nursery (Grove Point Park, Springfield) and other field sites.
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Good communication and interpersonal skills.
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Interest in native plants and their conservation.
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Be able to work outdoors for extended periods of time.
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Be able to perform physical tasks such as lifting heavy objects, bending, kneeling or stooping, or other manual labor tasks.
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Relevant education or job experience is a plus, but not necessary.
Compensation and other information:
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Our summer internships are seasonal positions, limited to a 10-12 week term running June through August (start and end dates are flexible) with a schedule of about 20 hours a week. Typical hours are 8am to 1pm, Sunday through Thursday.
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Summer Internship positions pay $16 an hour. Summer Internship positions do not qualify for benefits.
If you're interested in applying, please email a CV and, optionally, a cover letter to Michaelanne Makuch at mmakuch@earthsangha.org. Applications are open through March 24, 2025.
Earth Sangha NVCC Student 2025 Native Plant Conservation Internship
Positions available: 1
Assist the Earth Sangha in the day-to-day operations of the Wild Plant Nursery. Our nursery is the region's only exclusively local ecotype native plant nursery. Engage in restoration activities on field sites including invasive plant removal and native plantings. Learn about Northern Virginia's native flora, horticultural skills, and become part of a grassroots effort to conserve and restore our native plants and their habitats.
Responsibilities and Duties:
-
Assist in the supervision of nursery volunteers of all ages and backgrounds.
-
Receive training on basic day-to-day nursery operations in order to independently complete tasks including: identification of native plants, watering, sowing seed, making divisions, repotting, identifying and correcting nutritional deficiencies, basic maintenance tasks, and cleaning/organization tasks.
-
Assist with other operations at the Wild Plant Nursery, as necessary.
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Opportunities for field work at other sites throughout the region including plant identification, seed collection, and invasive plant removals.
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Meet regularly with your supervisor and staff mentor(s) to discuss your career goals and progress.
Minimum Qualifications:
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Be enrolled at Northern Virginia Community College.
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Reliable transportation to and from Wild Plant Nursery (Grove Point Park, Springfield) and other field sites.
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Good communication and interpersonal skills.
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Interest in native plants and their conservation.
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Be able to work outdoors for extended periods of time.
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Be able to perform physical tasks such as lifting heavy objects, bending, kneeling or stooping, or other manual labor tasks.
-
Relevant education or job experience is a plus, but not necessary.
Compensation and other information:
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Our NVCC student internships are seasonal positions, limited to a 10 week term with a schedule of about 15 hours a week. Typical hours are 8am to 1pm, Sunday through Thursday.
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Spring and Fall positions are available.
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NVCC Student Internship positions pay $16 an hour. Student Internship positions do not qualify for benefits.
If you're interested in applying, please email a CV and, optionally, a cover letter to Michaelanne Makuch at mmakuch@earthsangha.org. NVCC Student Internships will also be listed through NVCC Career Connections.
