Sandy and Julia Shettler are a mother-daughter team with Tree Action Seattle, which advocates for Seattle's trees at the neighborhood level and at City Hall.

Sandy is a medical social worker with a background in public health. She focuses on the physical and mental health benefits of living near trees, and the need to bring these benefits to deforested and underserved urban communities. Julia is an electrical engineer by training and works in climate tech. She is deeply interested in preserving the natural environment as a common-sense solution to climate change.

Tree Action Seattle is a collective effort that was sparked by the City of Seattle’s July 2023 approval of the cutting of a large western red cedar. Nicknamed “Luma”, the Snoqualmie Tribe identified the tree as historic and culturally modified. This singular tree illuminated glaring flaws in Seattle’s tree code.

Activists nicknamed “Droplet” sat in Luma’s branches and did not leave until the property owner chose to protect Luma. The community that coalesced around Luma’s protection catalyzed a movement focused on transparency, accountability, and sound urban forest policy.

Daniel Hinkley is a plantsman, author, lecturer, nurseryman, and horticultural consultant. He earned a B.S. in Horticulture and Horticulture Education from Michigan State University and an M.S. in Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington. His first garden, Heronswood, near Kingston, Washington is now owned and operated by the Port Gamble SKlallam Tribe and is open to the public throughout the year.

Dan's current garden, Windcliff, is just a few miles from Heronswood. It sits on a high bluff overlooking the Salish Sea. For forty years, Hinkley has traveled the globe to similar climates to observe and preserve plants that deserve recognition as possible new additions to landscapes worldwide.

He has written four books and has been recognized by his peers in receiving numerous awards for his work, including the Liberty Hyde Bailey award from the American Horticulture Society, the Scott Gold Medal from the Scott Arboretum, and the Veitch Memorial Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society.