Kitt Payn

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT KITT PAYN

Dr. Kitt Payn is employed as Vice President of Tree R&D at Terviva, a food and agriculture company headquartered in California, with operations in Florida, Hawaii, India and Australia. Terviva’s mission is to plant millions of trees to feed billions of people. The company produces plant protein and vegetable oil by sustainably growing a legume tree crop called Pongamia that is carbon negative and produces dramatically higher yields than other oilseed crops. Terviva targets farmland that can’t be used for traditional crops due to climate, disease, or market related challenges.Dr. Payn’s role at Terviva is to direct their global Tree R&D operations involving Pongamia cultivar development through breeding, advanced phenotyping, and the development of science-driven horticultural practices.Kitt has more than 20 years experience involving the genetic improvement and commercialization of forest tree species. During this time, Kitt has served as the Tree Improvement Technology Program Leader at Mondi, a global packaging and paper group that is located in over 25 countries. More recently, he was Director of the North Carolina State University Cooperative Tree Improvement Program, serving 40 member organizations ranging from vertically integrated forest products companies, state agencies, TIMOs, tree nurseries, and biotech companies. The goal of the Program is to rigorously test loblolly pine trees throughout the southeastern US and select elite genetic material that offers the greatest value to landowners.