Our Management and Forestry Team

Forever Redwood furniture grew out of a non-profit organization called Old-Growth Again Restoration Forestry. Old-Growth Again (OGA) came into being between a group of friends who loved the Redwood forest and wanted to take care of it. It began in 1995 with a 40 acre tract of land, building a little cabin, and learning the basics of restoration forestry practices. Soon it became a firewood business, more acreage, an extra truck, and a few employees. Then it expanded to include 580 acres, a nursery of young Redwood trees, and a rapidly-growing patio furniture business, which meant more employees. Some of our best workers hailed from Mexico, and as our operations increased, we decided to open a second workshop in Ensenada, Mexico (just two blocks from the beach). Our base of operations is still Sonoma County, California, where we continue to manage our forestland, mill and dry our own lumber, and make the best Redwood furniture money can buy.

The key to the success of any endeavor is having the right people. The combination of years of forest conservation, environmental pro-activism, and business management experience gives OGA a team that is unparalleled in its ability to realize the mission and vision of profitable reforestation.

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Raul D. Hernandez founded OGA in 1995 by purchasing 41 acres of logged forestland to focus on "hands-on" restoration. He incorporated OGA in 1999, serves as its CEO and wrote the manual "Old-Growth Again, Restoring Logged Forests One Tree At a Time." Raul spent years in management positions with the Miami Herald Publishing Company before moving to Northern California to become vice-president of Urban Renaissance, Inc., an inner-city low-income housing redevelopment firm (1988 to 1993). Raul studied forestry and ecological issues exhaustively and accumulated a wealth of "hands-on" experience in forest restoration. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Florida International University (Miami, Fl). Raul has a 17-year-old daughter, Sky Alexandria, a 3-year-old son, Raul Angel, and a 1-year-old daughter, Norma Mia. He spends his time between the Redwood forests of Annapolis, CA and our new wood working shop in Ensenada, Baja California.

Frank Marrero joined Raul at the beginning of OGA's venture. Like the blind leading the blind, Frank and Raul together designed and built a cabin and barn while experimenting with various forest-regenerating techniques. Frank has developed all of OGA's off-the-grid systems. He has worked thousands of hours in the woods and is an indispensable source of creativity and foolishness. Frank is a public school teacher in the San Francisco Bay area. A veteran of inner-city trenches as well as privileged schools, Frank has been developing curricula to nurture and develop affective strengths (including character education, emotional fluency, moral values, and self-awareness) for a quarter century. His works have been lauded with superlatives by scholars, educators, parents, and children. He holds a Masters in the Arts of Teaching, and also teaches in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at John F. Kennedy University. See www.FrankMarrero.com for his writings in these areas. Frank is also the author of Lincoln Beachey: The Man Who Owned the Sky, the definitive biography of the Forgotten Father of Aerobatics. Frank and his (master-teacher) wife Julia are the proud parents of two bright children: 11-year-old Salem and 7-year-old Ella.

Terry Patten is a writer, trainer, coach, consultant, and entrepreneur. He has been involved with Old-Growth Again since its inception, as a key strategist, consultant, and investor. Most recently, his work has been focused on teaching, training, coaching, social entrepreneurship, and civic service. He is the author, with noted philosopher Ken Wilber, Marco Morelli, and Adam Leonard, of Integral Life Practice: A 21st-Century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening. He worked with Wilber and a core team at Integral Institute (I-I) to develop Integral Life Practice, which distills ancient and modern practices into an intelligent contemporary transformational lifestyle. He was a Senior Trainer at Integral Institute Seminars and a Co-Director of I-I’s Coaching Center and the Integral Life Practice Center at Integral University. He teaches and coaches internationally. He was also the founder and for ten years the guiding spirit behind the Tools For Exploration catalog, which first presented and educated about the many emerging brain-mind machines, subtle energy tools, and other cutting-edge technologies for expanding awareness. He currently lives in Marin County, California, with his wife, Deborah, and enjoys regular phone calls and visits from his young adult son, Michael, who lives in New York City.

Warren Linney has been a board member and Senior VP of Investor Relations since 2001. He has been instrumental in helping OGA maintain an average 80% annual growth rate the past four years by attracting investors for forestland purchases and the woodworking business. Warren is also Chairman of the nonprofit World Stewardship Institute (WSI). WSI works locally to raise consciousness and build alliances with local churches and businesses on environmental issues. WSI is currently working with www.Declarationofpeace.org on the war in Iraq. WSI is also working to create land entitlement for the Shipibo Amazon tribe in Peru. WSI played a role in protecting the Headwaters Redwood forest in 1999. Warren is Chairman of the Board of the telecommunications firm Broadlink Communications, which provides fixed wireless internet to homes and businesses. Warren was CEO of Cellular One of Western Illinois and Wireless Plus, Inc. prior to organizing Broadlink. He and his wife Joan, via their family trust, are investors in OGA and its restoration projects.

Ian Morris is a "hands-on" expert in designing and building biodynamic gardens. His expertise helped OGA overcome many early in-the-field hurdles. Ian is actively involved in OGA's tree planting efforts and is an investor in several OGA restoration projects. Thanks to Ian's field experience and advice, OGA tree planting survival rate now exceeds 90%. He lives in Graton, CA, in a beautiful new home with his lifelong partner, Aviana, and their 2-year old daughter, Favor.

Hans J. Burkhardt, PhD was a biochemist, author and forest researcher/activist. Beginning in the 1980's, Hans was instrumental in organizing a grass roots movement to change the unsustainable practices of the large timber companies via the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors. He authored a book about these proposals in 1995, Maximizing Forest Productivity, Resource Depletion and a Strategy to Resolve the Crisis. The book is extensively quoted in OGA materials. Hans brought an enormous amount of experience to OGA. Hans was a teacher and a mentor and helped us create our restoration forestry standards. (Read his article, "The Economic Aspect of Ecoforestry".) Sadly, Hans Burkhardt passed away in 2004.

Maria Eugenia Blanco is an architect and a partner in the firm Delphi Design and Development of Coconut Grove, FL. Maria specializes in traditional neighborhood design. She worked for over ten years with the firm of Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberg, founders of the new urbanism movement. Maria is currently involved in developing traditional neighborhoods in the city of Managua, Nicaragua with emphasis on open space and the lessening of dependence on the automobile. Although Maria is no longer affiliated with OGA, she played an important role in the early design direction of the Forever Redwood furniture line and we are forever grateful.