Ecotrust Forests LLC

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John Earhart is the chairman and founding shareholder of the Global Environment Fund (GEF) Management Corporation, a $1 billion private investment management firm focusing on businesses that improve environmental quality and manage natural resources in a sustainable manner. He serves as Managing Partner for the GEF Global Emerging Markets Forestry Partners, GEF’s Africa Sustainable Forestry Fund, and has been an active advisor for forest management projects throughout the world. Mr. Earhart has been active in the international environmental conservation field for more than 35 years and has lived and worked in several countries. The majority of his professional life has been dedicated to solving environmental and social problems through sustainable private enterprises and currently sits on a number of corporate and non-profit boards. He is a forestry/natural resources graduate of California State University, Sacramento and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Founder & President, Ecotrust Spencer Beebe is the Chairman of Ecotrust Forest Management (EFM) and the President and founder of Ecotrust, a non-profit organization in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Beebe founded Ecotrust in 1991 after acting as the founding president of Conservation International in 1987 and, prior to that, helping develop The Nature Conservancy's International Program. As Chairman, Mr. Beebe assists in raising capital for Ecotrust Forests, LLC and provides strategic direction and guidance on forestland acquisitions. Over his career, he has raised millions of dollars in grants and capital to fund, launch, or capitalize over 20 non-profit and for-profit organizations, including Conservation International, Ecotrust, Ecotrust Canada, and ShoreBank Pacific, among others. Having profitably managed family forestlands in Oregon for over 20 years using many of the natural forest management approaches utilized by EFM, his insight is indispensable. Mr. Beebe has a Master's Degree in Forest Science from Yale and a B.S. in Economics from Williams College.

A selection committee chaired by ImpactAssets’ Chief Strategist, Jed Emerson, and comprised of industry experts, selects firms according to a set of criteria developed to ensure that the list includes a diverse set of firms. Criteria for inclusion include firms that: have more than three years of experience in the impact investing field; invest through private debt or equity; and a demonstrate commitment to social and environmental impact at the portfolio level and corporate responsibility at the firm level.

Ecotrust Forest Management (EFM) is a private forestland investment management company that strategically acquires and manages ecologically significant forestland in the Western United States on behalf of investors and forestland owners. We aim to implement a style of forestry that can be economically viable, while at the same time beneficial to the health and resilience of ecosystems and rural communities. We were founded in 2004, and currently manage over 15,000 acres of forestland in Oregon and Washington on behalf of our investors.

Bettina helped launch Ecotrust Forests and joined EFM as CEO in 2008. Bettina has spent the past 15 years working to promote economic viability, social equity, and environmental health in the Pacific Northwest with a particular focus on forestry. A former vice president of Ecotrust’s Natural Capital Fund and commercial banker, Bettina has over 20 years of experience in banking, impact investing, and fund management. She also has significant expertise in emerging markets in ecosystem services, particularly the forest carbon market, where she is involved in developing markets and protocols for high-quality forest carbon projects at the state, regional, and federal levels. Previously, Bettina was Vice President at Ecotrust for forestry programs and for the Natural Capital Fund, a $26 million fund that invests in key businesses and initiatives in the conservation economy. Prior to joining Ecotrust in 1993, she was a vice president and commercial lender at First Interstate Bank of Oregon. Bettina has an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BA from the University of the Pacific. She currently serves on the boards of the Climate Trust, Forest Trends, and the VCS Association.

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