Shady brings 20 years of experience at the intersection of environmental advocacy, grantmaking, operations, and organizational systems. He is passionate about protecting the public lands and wild places of the Central Coast, and ensuring that ForestWatch has the infrastructure and capacity to do its best work.
Prior to joining ForestWatch, Shady served as Patagonia’s inaugural Senior Director of Global Justice, Equity, and Antiracism, leading the company’s cross-functional strategy for cultural and systems change. He originally joined Patagonia through its Environmental Initiatives department, where he managed grantmaking systems, data infrastructure, and programs centering underrepresented communities in the outdoors and environmental movement.
Shady immigrated to the United States at the age of five and holds an MA from Georgetown University. A proud “PhD dropout,” he returned to California to be closer to the landscapes and people he loves. He lives in Ventura with his family, dog, cat, and seven chickens, and enjoys skiing, trail running, backpacking, and cycling.