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We are blessed by the leadership and support of a remarkable team of professionals. The Plant With Purpose Board of Directors provides governance, offering oversight and accountability while ensuring the organization fulfills its mission effectively. We are grateful for their individual and collective contributions to our work.

Scott Sabin

CEO

Scott Sabin has served as the Executive Director and then CEO of Plant With Purpose since 1995 and has grown the organization from a single program in one country to include over 900 communities across eight countries. Scott is motivated to serve with Plant With Purpose because of the unique combination of spiritual, environmental, and economic work on behalf of the rural poor. Prior to working for Plant With Purpose, he served seven years in the United States Navy and in 2010 he published Tending to Eden: Environmental Stewardship for God’s People. Scott holds a degree in Political Science from Oregon State University and a M.A. in International Relations from the University of San Diego. Scott and his wife Nancy reside in San Diego with their two children, Amanda and Danny. On any given Saturday, Scott can be found dinghy sailing on San Diego’s waterways.

Scott Sabin
CEO

John Steel

Chair

John Steel and his wife, Gail, were invited to a home reception in 2003 and have been hooked on Plant With Purpose’s impactful work ever since. John joined the board in 2013 and has been actively involved on the Executive Committee, Governance Committee, and serving in the role of both Secretary and Chair. 

John spent his career as the V.P. for Zytec Corp and Artesyn Technologies and is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota. He and Gail retired to sunny Solana Beach from Minnesota and have been actively involved at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church. They have been married for over 50 years and have two sons and five grandchildren. John enjoys riding his Harley through California’s diverse landscapes.

John Steel
Chair

Judith Enns

Secretary

Judith joined the Plant With Purpose Board in 2019 and holds the position of Board Secretary and also serves on the Board Governance Committee. For over 30 years, Dr. Enns has been influential in enhancing the role of Human Resources in companies of all sizes and in advancing the careers of HR professionals. Now retired, Judith actively applies her human resources and business expertise to serve nonprofit organizations all over the San Diego area.

Judith established the most successful Human Resources staffing and consulting firm in San Diego, HR Solutions, now a division of Eastridge Workforce Solutions. She is also an active Elder at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church and chairs the HR Committee for the Presbytery of San Diego. She earned her Ph.D. in Communications at Ohio State University and taught at the university and college level in the U.S. and abroad.

Judith Enns
Secretary

Steve Dhanens

Treasurer

Steve joined the Plant With Purpose Board in 2019. He recently retired from Qualcomm Incorporated after 18 years where he served as Vice President & Business Unit CFO for Qualcomm MEMs Technologies and Omnitracs Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm. Steve also participated in M&A due diligence and served as the operations team lead on acquisition integration. He also played an integral part in negotiating long-term supply agreements for Qualcomm's semiconductor division. Steve began his career as a CPA working for the accounting firm of Price Waterhouse.

Steve and his wife, Dalal, have 4 children (Katy, Anne, Grace, and Ted) and reside in Solana Beach where they enjoy family time and the outdoors. They are members of Solana Beach Presbyterian Church.

Steve Dhanens
Treasurer

Sebastian Mathews

Board Member

Sebastian Mathews met CEO Scott Sabin and COO Paul Thompson quite providentially at a conference in 2019, and in 2022 he became a board member. Sebastian was born in India into a smallholder farming family, spent his early childhood in Zambia, and later in apartheid South Africa where he came to faith in Christ. 

He holds a MBA from Heriot-Watt University, a Master of International Business from Georgia State University, and Bachelors in Finance and Engineering from the University of Witwatersrand. He serves as a Senior Director at Oratium, advising Fortune clients on sales communications. Sebastian also is a co-founding board director of the Global EverGreening Alliance, which is the largest alliance of its kind, and he is president of its U.S. chapter. Sebastian is the USA Country Ambassador for the Global Corporate Finance Society and a certified Financial Modeling and Valuation Analyst. Sebastian and his wife, Natasha, and their three children, Olivia, Anna, and Gabriel, currently reside in Syracuse, New York.

Sebastian Mathews
Board Member

Cindy Chen

External Affairs

Cindy joined the Plant With Purpose Board in 2019 where she serves as the External Affairs Committee Chair. She has visited Plant With Purpose’s programs in Oaxaca, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and finds Plant With Purpose to be the most effective organization at reversing deforestation and rural poverty in a sustainable, holistic way. 

Cindy has a BSE in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Masters of Liberal Arts in Sustainability from the Harvard Extension School, where she also earned certificates in Natural Resource Management and Corporate Sustainability. Her Capstone Project on U.S. Nature Based Solutions Investment won the 2021 Dean's Prize for Outstanding ALM Capstone - Sustainability Consulting. Cindy transitioned to a Sustainability / Circular Economy role in 2021 after working in technical roles across Shell for 17 years. Cindy also serves on the Board of Access Evangelical Covenant Church in Houston, TX.

Cindy Chen
External Affairs

Jeff Kahler

Board Member

Jeff Kahler is rejoining the board in 2021 after serving several terms since 2006. He also serves as CFO and Treasurer of Find us Faithful Foundation in Colorado, which has been a major donor to Plant With Purpose over the past six years. 

Jeff has degrees from the University of Colorado and University of Northern Colorado. He is founder of Genesis One Capital, LLC. Jeff lives in Castle Rock, Colorado with his wife, Elle, where they attend Castle Oaks Community Church. Jeff serves on the Audit Committee and the Internal Affairs Committee. Jeff is an avid biker and mountaineer.

Jeff Kahler
Board Member

Curtis Robinson

Board Member

Curtis Robison joined the Plant With Purpose Board in 2022. He is a Principal Consultant with Root, part of Accenture, and leads their diversity, equity, and inclusion practice. He received his undergraduate degree in Psychology, his Masters in Business Administration, and he completed one year of doctoral work in strategic leadership. Curtis resides in San Diego with his wife Angela.

Curtis Robinson
Board Member

Jeff Busby

Board Member

After attending a home reception over a decade ago, Jeff Busby was inspired by Plant With Purpose’s empowerment model and long track record of delivering tangible, lasting results. Jeff has been an influential connector since 2003 and has served on the board since 2005 in various terms and leadership positions. He currently serves on the Internal Affairs Committee. 

Jeff is an alumnus of Northwestern University and UC Berkeley and is the current Executive Director of Brandes Investment Partners. Jeff and his wife, Sally, are active members at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church and enjoy traveling with their three daughters: Lucy, Grace, and Claire. Jeff took a bike trip in 2016 riding all the way from Canada to Mexico, and enjoys traveling to Canada for backcountry skiing. He views his support of Plant With Purpose as one of the most important and effective ways to build God’s Kingdom.

Jeff Busby
Board Member

Cindy Outlaw

Board Member

Cindy Outlaw joined the board in 2003 and helped pioneer the organization's expansion into Tanzania. She was introduced to Plant With Purpose by CEO Scott Sabin, a fellow member of her church, and has been motivated by the thousands of lives now filled with hope as a result of the mission. Cindy has served the board in various positions including Board Chair, Treasurer, and on the Executive Committee.

Cindy has degrees in accounting and finance from Point Loma Nazarene University and San Diego State University. She also has a degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and practices as a grief counselor for a local hospice organization. Cindy and her husband, Ed, have two grown children, Molly and Ryan, and reside in Solana Beach where they attend the Village Community Presbyterian Church. Cindy is an avid hiker and organizes group hikes both locally and internationally. She has climbed six of the seven Summits, the highest point on each continent, and has led groups up Mt. Kilimanjaro sixteen times.

Cindy Outlaw
Board Member

Katrina Pennington

Board Member

Katrina was first introduced to Plant with Purpose in 2012 and was immediately drawn to the work they were doing in Haiti. She has been on vision trips to Haiti and Tanzania and is anxious to explore the work in other countries. Katrina holds a MA degree in Christian Education from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, Mill Valley CA and was ordained to the ministry in December 1986. She currently serves as Executive Pastor with Clear Lake Presbyterian Church in Houston, TX. and joined the Plant With Purpose Board in 2024.

Katrina Pennington
Board Member

Matthew Ellingson

Board Member

Matthew is the Principle Strategic Humanitarian Alliances Advisor, at Compassion Int’l. Matt first became acquainted with Plant With Purpose while in university in the 1990s. He has more than 27 years of sector experience and joined the board in 2024. In addition to his work at Compassion Int’l, Matt has served in leadership roles with several organizations as well as been a part of UN and Humanitarian sector policy and thought leadership groups. He resides with his family in Friday Harbor, WA.

Matthew Ellingson
Board Member

Richard Dahlstrom

Board Member

Richard joined the board in 2024.  He was the founder of Wilderness Formation ministries, and led Bethany Community Church in Seattle for 28 years, and was drawn to the ministry of Plant with Purpose because of their commitment to environmental sustainability, economic empowerment, and spiritual renewal.  He lives in the mountains with his wife of 43 years, where they steward their own tiny slice of the Cascade mountains, and currently serves as a conference speaker, leadership coach, and author. 

Richard Dahlstrom
Board Member

Eric Kaiser

Board Member

Eric Kaiser first learned about Plant With Purpose when he met Scott Sabin at an ECHO missions conference in 2001. He has served several terms on the Board and returned most recently in 2017. He attended both SDSU and UCSD and recently retired from his role as Engineering Director at ViaSat. Eric serves as President of the Widow’s Jar - an active partner with Plant With Purpose. Eric and his wife, Wendy reside in central Illinois.

Eric Kaiser
Board Member

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