Meet the Sangha's Staff
Madeline Bright: Executive Director
Madeline (Maddie) is the Executive Director at Earth Sangha where she has worked full-time on native plant conservation since 2011, and where she grew up as the daughter of co-founders Lisa and Chris Bright. Maddie has worked closely with ecologists, botanists, and park managers across the Northern Virginia region on plant conservation and ecological restoration projects over the years, including a brief stint interning at Huntley Meadows Park. She regularly teaches for the Arlington Regional Master Naturalist chapter and serves on the steering committee for the National Capitol Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management. Before starting at the Sangha, Maddie graduated from Kenyon college with a BA in History and spent four years as a firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician with the College Township Fire Department in Gambier, Ohio. The photo shows Maddie at a riparian planting with a Sambucus canadensis (elderberry) grown at our Wild Plant Nursery!
Maddie can be reached at mbright@earthsangha.org.
Katherine Isaacson: Director of Development
Katherine makes the Sangha work as an organization. She takes the lead on growing the Sangha's membership base, developing our relationships with foundations, and keeping our volunteer network organized. She also runs our office: she does - or makes sure that someone else does - the full range of our business activities: accounting, database management, mailings, website, and social media updates, and on and on. But Katherine is no mere desk-jockey: at least once a week she is in the field somewhere, helping to supervise field-work, collaborating with Maddie at the nursery, or talking with visitors at an outreach event. Katherine graduated in 2011 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (aka "Virginia Tech") with a BS in Economics and is a Virginia Master Naturalist chapter partner with the Arlington Regional Master Naturalists. The photo shows Katherine with her daughter at the Wild Plant Nursery.
Katherine can be reached at kisaacson@earthsangha.org.
Chris Bright: Director Emeritus & Co-Founder
Chris and his wife, Lisa, founded the Earth Sangha in 1997. In 2004, Chris left his position as a Senior Researcher at the Worldwatch Institute to work for the Sangha full time. Worldwatch is a research organization that tracks global environmental and social trends. Chris is the author of numerous articles and one book, Life Out of Bounds: Bioinvasion in a Borderless World, the first global, interdisciplinary study of biological invasion written for a general audience. The photo shows Chris working in the Sangha's original greenhouse.
Lisa Bright: Director Emerita & Co-Founder
Lisa founded the Sangha with her husband, Chris. Lisa has been recognized as a teacher by the Chogye Order of Zen Buddhism, the main Buddhist monastic order in Korea. She is a Fairfax County (Virginia) Certified Steam Monitor and Master Watershed Steward. Lisa has been working with volunteers since 1994, first as Director of Operations for Community Lodgings, an affordable-housing nonprofit in Alexandria, Virginia, and now with the Sangha. She manages our Wild Plant Nursery. Lisa has been studying and propagating native plants in the mid-Atlantic since 2000. The photo shows Lisa preparing to demolish some invasive alien shrubs in a Northern Virginia meadow.
Michaelanne Makuch: Restoration Manager
Michaelanne works closely with Maddie on restoration activities across the Washington D.C. region. She helps to coordinate restoration activities, conduct site assessments, and collect seed for our propagation efforts at the Wild Plant Nursery. Previously, Michaelanne interned with the Earth Sangha as a Conservation Intern. Before joining us, she worked administering child case subsidies nationwide for the military and locally in Fairfax County. She graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (aka "Virginia Tech") in 2015 with a B.S. in Sociology, has an A.S. in Horticulture Technology from the Northern Virginia Community College, and received a certificate in Ecological Restoration from the University of Minnesota in 2024. The photo shows Michaelanne dividing plants at the Wild Plant Nursery.
Michaelanne can be reached at mmakuch@earthsangha.org.
Katie Barbuschak (Danner): Development Coordinator
Katie is a key part of our Wild Plant Nursery team! When she isn't at the nursery or a field site, you'll find Katie at the office helping with a whole host of administrative tasks both nursery and office related. We couldn't get by without her diligent approach to record-keeping and data entry. Before joining the Sangha full-time in 2021, Katie had a career in education and then was a Wild Plant Nursery Intern from Fall 2019-Fall 2020. Katie graduated from the College of William and Mary with a B.A. in Art History and M.A. in Elementary Education. She trained as a Master Naturalist through the Arlington Regional Master Naturalists and studied Horticulture Technology at Northern Virginia Community College. The photo shows Katie at a native tree planting event at the Marie Butler Leven Preserve.
Katie can be reached at either kdanner@earthsangha.org or orders@earthsangha.org.
Kayla Hubbell: Nursery Coordinator
Kayla works with Maddie and Lisa on the full range of native plant propagation efforts at the Wild Plant Nursery. Kayla is also a talented artist with a keen eye for design. She helps to manage our newsletter and design new outreach materials! She is a former Earth Sangha Full-Season Conservation Intern and has an A.S. in Horticulture Technology at the Northern Virginia Community College.
Kayla can be reached at khubbell@earthsangha.org.
Shogofa Ayubi (Tookhi): Training Coordinator
Shogofa manages our flock of Conservation Interns. She makes sure that everyone receives training in all aspects of our work (seed collection, plant ID, seed cleaning, propagation activities, restoration techinques, etc), manages the hiring and onboarding process, scheduling, and more! Shogofa also works closely with Kayla at the Wild Plant Nursery, Michaelanne on restoration sites, and joins Lisa and Maddie in the field for seed collection. Shogofa has an A.S. in Horticulture Technology at the Northern Virginia Community College, is a Virginia Master Naturalist, and a former Earth Sangha Conservation Intern! Before joining the Earth Sangha she worked at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens and Green Spring Gardens.
Shogofa can be reached at sayubi@earthsangha.org.
Baray Ayubi and Justin Ducusin: Site Development Team
Baray (left) and Justin (right) are our dynamic duo leading the development of our new nursery site at 9801 Old Colchester Road! They are doing everything from brush-hogging dense stands of brush in the meadows, creating the new propagation yard, assembling our greenhouses, installing irrigation lines...and more! Before joining the Sangha, Baray worked in native landscaping and he is a Fairfax Master Naturalist. Justin previously interned with the Sangha in the Spring of 2025 while completing a certificate in biotechnology at Northern Virginia Community College. Justin also holds and B.S. in Biology and Environmental/Conservation Science.
Baray can be reached at bayubi@earthsangha.org for questions on volunteering at our new site.
Peyton Gravatt: 2026 Full Season Conservation Intern
My name is Peyton Gravatt and I am so excited to join Earth Sangha as a Conservation Intern! I have a BS in Biology from Virginia Tech and am currently pursuing an AS in Horticulture Technology from Northern Virginia Community College. Before joining Earth Sangha, I taught environmental education at Camp Fraser and at the Florida Museum of Natural History. I am also a Fairfax Master Naturalist. I can’t wait to learn about seed collection and propagation, and to be able to recognize more native plants!
Danté Julius: 2026 Full Season Conservation Intern
Hi, my name is Danté Julius, and I’m a recent graduate of Washington-Liberty High School. I’m also an Arlington Regional Master Naturalist, avid admirer and steward of the natural world, birder, and visual artist. I’m excited to be part of the Earth Sangha team and hope this experience helps further define my trajectory as I begin higher education. I’m currently planning to major in Scientific Illustration or a related ecological field.
I’m especially excited to deepen my knowledge of native plants and their communities, plant cultivation, and ecological restoration. I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the health of our environment while continuing to learn and grow.
Claudia Chaplain: 2026 Summer Conservation Intern
My name is Claudia Chaplain, and I’m joining Earth Sangha this summer as a seasonal intern. I am currently studying Ecological Restoration at Virginia Tech with a minor in Biodiversity Conservation. I love being outdoors, especially hiking, gardening, and hammocking. I am excited for the opportunity to learn through hands-on experience, specifically native plant identification and propagation. I am looking forward to gain valuable knowledge and form connections with others who share a passion for conservation and restoration!
Brooke Ehmann-Jones: 2026 Summer Conservation Intern
My name is Brooke Ehmann-Jones and I am joining the Sangha team as a Summer Conservation Intern! I am a recent graduate of Justice High School, and will attend William and Mary this fall to study Integrative Conservation. During high school, I participated in invasive plant removal and native habitat restoration projects at a local park. I was introduced to Earth Sangha through the Youth Conservation Leadership Institute under the mentorship of Maddie Bright, and later interned with Sangha in summer 2024, where I gained native plant knowledge that helped me start a neighborhood garden design business focused on pollinator habitat. I am excited to continue deepening my knowledge of native plants and ecological restoration this summer before beginning college.
Job Openings
We have no openings at this time.
