African Rainforest Conservancy – ARC

Founded in 1991, The African Rainforest Conservancy (ARC) works alongside its field partner, the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG), to support a network of more than 260 villages in 7 mountain and coastal regions throughout Tanzania that are protecting 3,479 km2 of forest.

The ARC Board

Carter Coleman
President

Carter lived in Tanzania from 1987 through 1991, re-launching ARC’s field partner the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group as a grassroots community conservation organization. Carter is the author of two novels and a journalist who has written for Time, Life, Sports Illustrated, The Financial Times, The Los Angeles Times, among others. Carter is currently Managing Director of Agrica Ltd, a sustainable African agribusiness.

David Yamner
Treasurer

David is the President & CEO of Concept Artists, a production firm that designs and executes events and creative projects for corporations, associations, nonprofits, and private interests around the world. David has backpacked in over twenty-five countries on five continents, with his travels to Tanzania taking him to Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti National Park. His background includes five years as an associate finance attorney with Reid & Priest (now Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner). David holds B.A., M.B.A, and J.D. degrees from Vanderbilt University.

Beth O’Donnell
Secretary

Beth is an acclaimed photographer and painter, exhibiting in galleries throughout the U.S. Her photojournalistic work in Africa, for which she spent two months in 2000 working in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, was published in The London Daily Telegraph and Marie Claire magazines. She has also been published in The Financial Times and has appeared twice as a guest on Oprah Winfrey’s Oxygen Network, for “Angels in the Slums” and “AIDS and Orphans.” In 2006, Beth’s book Angels in Africa was published. This book introduces seven visionary women hailing from seven different countries (including Tanzania), who each have taken powerful action to rectify the devastating societal conditions in Africa.

Peter Wirth

Peter is an Executive Vice President and Co-head of the Investment Banking department at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. (KBW), a boutique investment bank specializing in financial services. Peter has been with KBW for over twenty years, and founded their Structured Finance Group, which has raised billions in capital in the last several years.

Lindy Reilly

Linda turned her focus to Africa after visiting Kenya and Tanzania with her family in 1995. She has subsequently been involved in a multitude of projects across the region, raising funds for an orphanage in Kitale, Kenya, assisting at a community workshop in South Africa, and garnering support to enable college students to volunteer overseas. She helped to found and served on the board of Authentic Human Development for Africa (AHDFH) which worked with township leaders in South Africa to establish women cooperatives. Most recently she has traveled to Uganda with the University of Notre Dame where they are establishing a project in and around the village of Nindye. Lindy is a member of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies Advisory Board at the University of Notre Dame.

Advisory Board

Lauren Hutton
Lauren Hutton
Christy Turlington
Christy Turlington
Edward Burns
Edward Burns
Bennett Miller
Bennett Miller
Michael Oppenheimer
Michael Oppenheimer
Carolyn Roumeguerre
Carolyn Roumeguerre

Junior Board

A group of individuals united by their passion to do their part to conserve East Africa’s rainforests for their generation and generations to come.
  • Nicholas Hemmerly
  • Jenna Landry
  • Flint Reilly
  • Keenan Reilly
  • Frederick Volp
  • Sam Wathen
  • Tommy Martin
  • Arun Yang
  • Antonio Aransaenz
  • Madeline Ross
  • Matthew Lombardi
  • Anthony Cacace
  • Aimée MacCormac
  • Dana Watters

The ARC Staff

Tony Cacace
Tony CacaceAdministration & Operations
Tony Cacace began working with the African Rainforest Conservancy in 2012, providing support to the Executive Director and Treasurer in the daily administration and operational tasks, and continues to build awareness and gain support for the organization each year through a myriad of fundraising events. Living in Manhattan, Tony works as an agent at Concept Artists, a talent agency that represents over 40 unique artists, and specializes in headline talent buying.