Neela de Zoysa is a Botanist with wide-ranging experience as a researcher and educator in plant taxonomy, field botany and biological conservation. She teaches at the Native Plant Trust on many aspects of New England plants and advocates for land preservation through several organizations in the MetroWest area. She holds a Masters in Forestry from the University of Oxford and is a former Research Associate of the Arnold Arboretum. Neela began her career in Sri Lanka conducting research in tropical rainforests, based at the University of Peradeniya and more recently was involved with climate change policy formulation related to emissions from deforestation.