Eric Johnson
Principal, Senior Project Manager
eric@samararestoration.com

Eric is a co-owner of Samara Restoration and has over twenty years of experience working within the ecosystems of northern California. With a master’s degree in Environmental Systems from Humboldt State University, Eric advocates for community development and ecological balance in our bioregion. He provides design and planning services for restoration and native residential/commercial landscaping projects. Eric is responsible for bid estimates and managing a wide array of projects which serve private landowners, schools, non-profit organizations, local, state, tribal, and federal agencies.

Josh Koepke
Principal, Project Manager
josh@samararestoration.com

Josh is a co-owner of Samara Restoration and works in a variety of capacities from ecological restoration planning to landscape design and implementation. His decades of experience with California native plant horticulture provides an invaluable perspective for revegetation-based projects. He has a degree in Wildlife Biology and has extensive experience in the fields of vegetation management, custom seed collections and nursery contract growing, native plant-based landscape design/installation, habitat mitigation and ecological monitoring. Josh has worked on landscape related projects throughout California for public schools, private ranches, homeowners, architects, non-profits, and government agencies.

Troy Perez
Nursery Production Manager
troy@samararestoration.com

Troy Perez is a co-owner of Samara Restoration and is responsible for leading the nursery production, horticulture staff management, and operations. Troy has over 15 years of native plant horticulture experience and has a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Cal Poly Humboldt. He’s passionate about working with native plants, healthy communities, and building sustainable landscapes.

Jeff Rockefeller
Project Foreman & Equipment Operator

Rocky has worked for Samara since 2012 and brings an extensive skillset to our landscape construction. He is a Project Foreman responsible for field crew supervision and is our lead equipment and hydroseed operator. Efficiency and communication are his strong points which contribute to successful project completion. Rocky is experienced in all aspects of erosion control and implementing the most effective Best Management Practices for the project.

Bryce Kunzel
Assistant Nursery Manager
bryce@samararestoration.com

Bryce is the Assistant Nursery Manager at Samara and he works on all aspects of the nursery, from day-to-day operations, long term planning, and inventory management. Combining a botany degree with over a decade of working in California native plant horticulture, Bryce helps advance the nursery towards its goals to deliver high quality plants to all of Samara’s restoration efforts.

Veronica Farber
Restoration Ecologist
veronica@samararestoration.com

Veronica holds a degree in Environmental Science with an emphasis in ecological restoration and minor in geospatial analysis from Cal Poly Humboldt. She supports Samara Restoration by assisting with project management tasks such as developing budgets and proposals, assisting with project designs and restoration plans, overseeing field work, writing technical reports, and communicating with project teams. Veronica’s skills in technical writing, planning, and organization, and her passion for landscape restoration have made her a key addition to our team.

Michelle Duncan
Propagation Specialist
michelle@samararestoration.com

Michelle has an academic background in botany and ecological restoration, and 7-10 years of agriculture experience. She initially joined our team as a Seasonal Nursery Technician in 2022. Through display of her determination, initiative, and strong work ethic, Michelle has become the backbone of the seed propagation program at our nursery. As the key strategist and planner for our seed propagation program, she ensures our propagation needs are met and plays a critical role on our nursery team.

Sara Bandali
Botanical Technician
sara@samararestoration.com

Sara has a degree in Environmental Science and Management with a double major in Ecological Restoration and Environmental Planning from Cal Poly Humboldt. From her field experience classifying vegetation throughout the North Coast of California, Sara has cultivated her knowledge of CA native flora. She currently assists us as our seed collection lead by maintaining our seed inventory, and she also assists with botanical surveys and plant identification when needed.

Mariano Bayless
Restoration Technician

Mariano supports us in all levels of our restoration and landscape construction services. He is a rock-solid team player and brings an extensive skillset to our team.

Gregory Zambrano
Restoration Technician

Gregory supports the field crew in all levels of our restoration and landscape construction services. Born and raised in Humboldt, he has a wealth of knowledge of our local plant communities and land stewardship. He specializes in forest management and native plant landscape projects.

Aaron Songer
Restoration Technician

Aaron supports us in all levels of our restoration/landscape construction services. While his educational background is in Wildlife Management and Conservation, Aaron also spent time studying Field Botany and Plant Identification. His enthusiasm and knowledge of local plants and ecology make Aaron a great asset to our company.

Katie Magers
Restoration Technician

Katie has been working with us for over a year. She is dedicated restoring our beautiful north coast with native plants. She has worked for several landscape companies as well as farms and nurseries that has helped nurture her skills as a valuable restoration technician. Katie loves surfing, hiking, and traveling.

Seasonal Technicians

Each spring Samara hires a handful of seasonal nursery and restoration technicians. Nursery technicians are responsible for assisting with propagation, organization, and basic nursery maintenance activities during the growing season (April-November). Restoration technicians are responsible for assisting with commercial, residential, and restoration project implementation services including planting, watering, weeding, seeding, mulching, etc. Contact info@samararestoration.com for more information.