With ELTI, he specializes in the development of field-based training course materials and communicating forest restoration strategies for diverse land-use decision makers in Latin America. As a Pre-Doctoral Fellow with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Jacob developed ELTI’s Focal Training Sites Initiative in Panama. There, he established two permanent training sites in the wet and dry tropical forest ecosystems and created training materials for ELTI field courses. Jacob’s interest in capacity building began as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer, where he spent over three years living in rural Panama developing agroforestry and silvopastoral system projects with small producers and community groups. Jacob holds a master’s degree in Forest Science from Michigan State University.