Raul D. Hernandez, Founder and CEO of Forever Redwood
Name: Raul D. Hernandez
Occupation: Founder and CEO, Forever Redwood
Place of Residence: Annapolis, California
Background and Personal History: Raul D. Hernandez founded Forever Redwood in 1995 by purchasing 41 acres of logged forestland and now manages over 700 acres of redwood forest with a focus on hands-on restoration. He incorporated the business in 1999, serves as its CEO, and wrote the manual “Old-Growth Again, Restoring Logged Forests One Tree at a Time.”
Raul spent years in management positions with the Miami Herald Publishing Company before moving to Northern California to become vice-president of Urban Renaissance, Inc., an inner-city low-income housing redevelopment firm (1988 to 1993).
Raul studied forestry and ecological issues exhaustively and accumulated a wealth of “hands-on” experience in forest restoration. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Florida International University (Miami, Fla.).
Raul has two daughters and three sons and spends his time between the Redwood forests of Annapolis, Ca., and the Forever Redwood woodworking shop in Ensenada, Baja California.
Current Projects: Raul is currently working on new partnerships with forest landowners in northern California to institute conservation easements, including wise stewardship practices that allow for conservative rates of harvesting designed to restore the forestlands to “old-growth again” in perpetuity.
Other Fun Facts: Raul was a card-carrying member of the Atletico de Madrid soccer club from ages 12 to 14 growing up in Madrid in the 1970s. He never missed a home game and is currently in seclusion over the Atletico’s loss in the championship game in late May 2016. Some habits formed in youth are hard to outgrow.
More Places to Find Raul on the Web: