2024 SPEAKERS
Check back often as more speakers are confirmed!
Kathy Abusow
President and CEO
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Kathy Abusow
Kathy Abusow is President and CEO of SFI Inc., a sustainability leader that stands for future forests. She has held this role since 2007, when Sustainable Forestry Initiative® became a fully independent, non-profit organization. Since joining SFI, Kathy has greatly expanded SFI’s network to include the forest sector, brand owners, conservation groups, resource professionals, landowners, educators, local communities, Indigenous peoples, governments, and universities.
Dr. JJ Apodaca
Executive Director
Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy
Dr. JJ Apodaca
As Executive Director, Dr. JJ Apodaca leverages his 15+ years of research experience to develop and inform optimal conservation and management decisions for the organization. Focusing on imperiled species, his research and conservation work combines several fields and methods ranging from genetics to habitat modeling and life history studies. He has held leadership roles with the Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation network, serving as co-chair in the southeast for two years and nationally for four to improve conservation efforts with federal and state agencies, private landowners, and nonprofit organizations. JJ has a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of South Florida and a doctorate in biology from the University of Alabama, where his dissertation work focused on prioritizing areas important to conservation of amphibians in the southeast at both the macro and micro scales.
Michael Berger
Secretary General/CEO
PEFC International
Michael Berger
Dr. Michael Berger has over twenty years of experience in environmental and quality management, sustainable supply chain development, and management systems. After his studies in Economics and PhD in Forestry, he worked as a management consultant in different sectors, before serving as a Technical Expert for accreditation bodies and at a leading sustainability consultancy in Germany. Michael was also a lecturer in Corporate Social Responsibility at the School for Forestry and Sustainable Resource Management at the Technical University Munich in Weihenstephan.
Dr. Jen Beverly
Associate Professor, Department of Renewable Resources
University of Alberta
Dr. Jen Beverly
Dr. Beverly is an Associate Professor in the Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta. She has 6 years experience as a wildland firefighter and 15 years professional research experience in wildland fire science, both in academia and as a former Research Scientist with the Canadian Forest Service.
Dr. Beverly’s overall goal is to contribute new insights about wildfires that improve interactions between fires, people and ecosystems. To this end, she applies a range of methods, including statistical modeling, simulation modeling and spatial analysis, to inform complex fire management decisions. Her studies have addressed post-fire ecological effects, fire behavior prediction, fuels measurement, fire-climate interactions, wildfire evacuations, escaped fires, values-at-risk mapping, and strategic fire risk assessment at both community and landscape scales.
Dr. Beverly’s method for community wildfire exposure assessment has been adopted by Alberta Wildfire and is promoted nationally by FireSmart Canada. In recent years, her research has also been broadly applied by a range of practitioners working in Canadian fire management agencies, consultancies and the North American insurance industry. Dr. Beverly has published her work in high-ranking ecological journals including Methods in Ecology and Evolution, Conservation Biology and Landscape Ecology, as well top discipline-focused journals on forest management, wildfire science and natural hazards.
Jimmy Bullock
Senior Vice President, Forest Sustainability
Resource Management Service, LLC
Jimmy Bullock
Jimmy oversees sustainable forestry and environmental policy and programs and advocacy on forestry issues for RMS-managed timberlands in the United States. He also has responsibility for forest certification and audit programs and leads environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives for RMS-managed timberlands globally. Jimmy earned his B.S. degree in Forestry from Mississippi State University in 1980 and his M.S. degree in Wildlife Ecology from Mississippi State in 1982. A Certified Wildlife Biologist, Mississippi Registered Forester and Society of American Foresters Certified Forester, Jimmy is on the Board of Directors for the National Conservation Leadership Institute, the Catch-A-Dream Foundation, the Mississippi Wildlife Federation, the Forest Landowner’s Association and the Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy. Jimmy is a Professional Member of the Boone and Crockett Club. In 1994, Jimmy was presented the prestigious American Forest and Paper Association’s Forest Stewardship Award for his leadership role in conservation of the Louisiana Black Bear. In 2017 Jimmy was honored as recipient of the Quality Deer Management Association’s Joe Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award and the Wildlife Management Institute’s George Bird Grinnell Award for Distinguished Service to Natural Resources Conservation, both of which are the highest individual honors bestowed by the respective organizations. Jimmy was recently honored as the 2019 College of Forest Resources Alumni Fellow at Mississippi State University.
Mekko Chebon Kernell
Mvskoke Traditional Practitioner and Executive Director
Native American Comprehensive Plan of the United Methodist Church
Mekko Chebon Kernell
The Rev. Kernell, an ordained Elder in the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, is formerly the executive secretary of Native American and Indigenous Ministries for the denomination’s General Board of Global Ministries. In this role, he has worked with the World Council of Churches, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the United Methodist Church’s Council of Bishops assisting in a denominationally mandated effort to improve relationships with Indigenous communities through dialogue, study and local or regional acts of repentance acknowledging harms inflicted upon Indigenous communities.
He is an enrolled member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and is of Muscogee Creek heritage. In 2016 he was honored by receiving the Religious Literacy Award sponsored by the Westar Institute “for his tireless efforts to educate the general public, including not only mainstream American Christians but also native peoples themselves, about the ‘deep and broad religious riches’ of Indigenous peoples in the context of reconciliation work and the recovery of native practices.“
He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Oklahoma City University and a Master of Divinity from Phillips Theological Seminary. He is a cultural practitioner and member of the Helvpe Ceremonial grounds. He has been married to Sara for 18 years and has five children Kaycee, Josiah, Raylen, and Solomon and niece Cali.
Michelle Cole
Academic Administrator III
Auburn University College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment
Michelle Cole
Carol Denhof
President
The Longleaf Alliance
Carol Denhof
Carol Denhof has been with The Longleaf Alliance since January 2011 and assumed the position of President on November 1, 2019. As President, she leads the organization in its mission to ensure a sustainable future for the longleaf pine ecosystem through partnerships, landowner assistance and science-based education and outreach. In her former position with The Alliance as Understory & Media Coordinator, Carol was responsible for activities ranging from facilitation of longleaf ecosystem restoration to implementation and coordination of outreach and education efforts of The Longleaf Alliance. Previously, Carol worked for eight years as the Conservation Coordinator at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. During her tenure at the Garden, Carol managed projects that focused on the conservation of rare plant species throughout the southeastern United States. Her work involved plant propagation, population reintroduction and augmentation, habitat restoration, and habitat management. Prior to her time with the Garden, Carol worked as a Plant Ecology Research Technician at the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center in southwest Georgia where she studied the understory diversity of longleaf pine wiregrass habitat. She earned her B.S. and M.S. in Biology from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. Carol is a native of Blakely, Georgia and currently lives on St. Simons Island with her husband and their two children.
Michael P. Doss
President and CEO
Graphic Packaging International Inc., and Chair, SFI Board of Directors
Michael P. Doss
Mike brings a wealth of leadership experience on sustainability and community building. His approach shows that financial results and corporate responsibility are not mutually exclusive. He also champions SFI certification to show how well‑managed forests play a central role in meeting sustainable development goals.
Mike has held several positions of commercial and operational leadership during his 33-year career with Graphic Packaging. He also serves on the board of directors for several associations and charities.
Alice Ewen
Assistant Director Cooperative Forestry
USDA Forest Service
Alice Ewen
Alice Ewen is Assistant Director for Cooperative Forestry, where she leads USDA-Forest Service programs dedicated to the conservation and sustainable management of the nation’s privately owned forests. Her national portfolio includes Forest Legacy, Forest Stewardship, Community Forests and Open Space, and the Landscape Scale Restoration program. For the previous two years, she served as Chief of Staff for State and Private Forestry, where she advised and supported senior leaders to advance public policy priorities to protect communities from harm and improve the health and productivity of the nation’s forests.
Previous assignments include Acting Division Director for the Community Assistance and Research Division of the EPA Office of Community Revitalization, leading a policy team responsible for advancing sustainability strategies in urban planning and community development. From 2013-2015, Alice served as the Deputy Associate Director for Lands at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, where she led Federal policy formulation on climate and natural resources issues. Her accomplishments included the development of the Obama Administration’s Climate and Natural Resources Priority Agenda and advancement of the National Drought Resilience Partnership.
Troy Harris
Managing Director of Timberland and Innovative Wood Products
Jamestown
Troy Harris
Troy Harris is the Managing Director of Timberland and Innovative Wood Products at Jamestown with 30 years of experience in public and institutional timberland portfolio management, timberland acquisitions and dispositions, operations management, and business development throughout the U.S. Troy is a passionate advocate of the mass timber industry and has been vital in connecting it to the commercial real estate industry through his work to build 619 Ponce in Atlanta, the first “Georgia Grown” mass timber building. Troy is a Certified Forester and serves on the Forest Landowners Association (FLA) and the Georgia Forestry Association (GFA) boards. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) and is a Trustee for the Georgia Forestry Foundation. Troy received a Bachelor of Science in Forest Management from Auburn University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Georgia.
Nausheen Iqbal
Assistant Director, Urban and Community Forestry
USDA Forest Service
Nausheen Iqbal
Nausheen Iqbal is acting as the Assistant Director of Urban and Community Forestry Program in the USDA Forest Service’s State, Private & Tribal Forestry office in Washington, DC. Her work focuses on national program management of the Urban and Community Forestry Program, which delivers nature-based solutions to create resilient and equitable green spaces and tree canopy for urban communities. Nausheen has served as Deputy Director for Forests and Equity at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Prior to the Forest Service, she was a consultant with the World Bank’s Global Water Practice on transboundary waters management, worked on water security issues at the Woodrow Wilson Center, and disaster and flood management at WWF-USA. Nausheen has an MA in Global Environmental Policy from American University as well as a JD from New York University School of Law.
Sharon Jean-Philippe
Professor of Urban Forestry
The University of Tennessee
Sharon Jean-Philippe
Sharon Jean-Philippe is Professor of Urban Forestry and the Urban Forestry State Extension Specialist at the University of Tennessee. She is the faculty advisor for all students majoring in forestry in the urban forestry concentration and is the primary director of summer internship opportunities for students across multiple disciplines. She teaches courses in forestry that address vegetation establishment, management, and removal across an urban – rural gradient, legal issues, vegetation utility management, and the effects of societal influences on green infrastructure. Her Extension appointment affords her the opportunity to work with Extension agents and specialists, as well as directly with Tennesseans, to help them with their urban forest needs. In addition, she develops Extension outreach opportunities that educate and highlight climatology, enhance human benefits of urban forests, and increase economic value of green infrastructure to cities. Dr. Jean-Philippe was appointed to the Tennessee Forestry Commission as the Representative of the Public-at-Large (2020 – 2024) and is the faculty director for Tennessee Champion Tree Program and the Community Riparian Restoration Program.
Sharon is a member of Society of American Foresters, a member of International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) where she is on the Board of Directors for ISA and serves as Board Treasurer, Board of Trustees member for the TREE Fund (2017 – 2024) and President Elect for the Gamma Beta Phi Society (2022 – 2024). She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Biology from Tennessee State University, master’s degree in Botany and Ph.D. in Natural Resources from University of Tennessee.
Dan Lambe
Chief Executive, Arbor Day Foundation
SFI Board of Director
Dan Lambe
Dan Lambe is the CEO of The Arbor Day Foundation, the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. In his role, Dan is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the organization and advancing its mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. Under his leadership, the Arbor Day Foundation has undergone remarkable growth through the development of programs and partnerships that have helped plant more than 500 million trees in the last 50 years around the world. Dan is a trusted thought leader in the sustainable forestry space and regularly speaks at conferences hosted by the United Nations, Sustainable Brands, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other high-profile industry events. Dan is also frequently used as a resource to top news outlets organizations is often featured on The Weather Channel, CNN, Forbes, Fast Company, NPR and most recently the author of “Now is the Time For Trees” book. Dan serves on the SFI Board of Directors.
Pat Layton
Director
Wood Utilization + Design Institute, Clemson University
and SFI Board of Director
Pat Layton
Pat’s experience includes developing new forestry and marketing initiatives. She plays a vital role in SFI’s development, particularly in the area of mass timber, a priority in SFI’s strategic direction.
Pat’s leadership has advanced innovative design solutions with wood-based construction materials and illustrated the critical role of sustainably managed forests in emerging markets like tall wood buildings.
In 2003 she was chosen to lead the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. Prior to her current position, Pat served as Clemson’s Director of the School of Agricultural, Forest, and Environmental Sciences. Before joining Clemson University, she was a manager at Scott Paper Company.
Adrian Leighton
Natural Resources Division Head, Salish Kootenai College; and
Research Co-Chair, Intertribal Timber Council
Adrian Leighton
Adrian Leighton has been an adviser and instructor of Forestry at Salish Kootenai College since 2003, and the designer of the Bachelor of Science program in Forestry at SKC.
Since 1994, his major interest has been understanding the point of intersection between responsible resource management and the ecology of natural systems.
Off campus, he is a former co-chair of the Intertribal Timber Council Research Sub-Committee and a member of the 3rd & 4th Indian Forest Management Assessment Team (IFMAT).
Brandon Lewis
Senior Director, Sustainability
Manulife Investment Management
Brandon Lewis
Brandon is responsible for implementation of the timberland and agriculture group’s Sustainability and Responsible Investing program. In this role, he works to integrate sustainability considerations throughout all aspects of the firm’s timber and agriculture businesses globally, including corporate policy, investor communications and reporting, acquisition due diligence, product development, and operations. Prior to this position, Brandon held various technical and consulting roles in environmental finance, renewable energy, and mining.
Tim Lowrimore
Director
Georgia Forestry Commission
Tim Lowrimore
Tim Lowrimore was appointed as Director/State Forester of the Georgia Forestry Commission in December 2020. Lowrimore is a registered forester with the Georgia Board of Foresters who has more than 20 years of forestry and professional experience. Prior to his appointment at GFC, he served as public affairs manager for Interfor, one of the largest lumber producers in the world. There, he worked with all levels of government regulatory agencies and community and economic development officials to promote and protect operations and sustainability initiatives. Professional recognition includes SAF Fellow Designation, Georgia Forestry Association Forest Champion Award, and Georgia Trend’s Top 500 Most Influential Georgians. Lowrimore is a University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources graduate. Lowrimore and his wife, Wendi, have two daughters. The family lives in Macon.
Nick Milestone
Vice President, Projects and Construction,
Mercer Mass Timber
Nick Milestone
Nick is responsible for growing Mercer Mass Timber’s project integration model, bringing innovative, high-quality solutions to clients on schedule and within budget. Nick serves as a key strategic partner on all project engagements, guiding design, materials, process, and operational decisions.
Nick has overseen the design and construction of more than 550 steel and mass timber structures during his more than 36 years in construction. He is currently vice-chair and director of Timber Development UK, formerly known as TRADA, the Timber Research and Development Association.
Chad Papa
Research Assistant
Michigan State University
Chad Papa
Chad Papa is a Research Assistant with the FCCP. He helps build learning materials to support ongoing education for natural resource professionals and landowners, and assists in carbon policy research. Chad’s favorite outdoor activity is running on trails and his favorite place in the world is the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Florida. He has a BS in Environmental Science from the University of Florida. More recently, Chad completed a MS in Forestry from Michigan State University and is currently a PhD student in Forestry at Michigan State University. Chad has a background in horticulture and loves growing epiphytes at home, specifically orchids and bromeliads.
Dr. Catherine Phillips
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, Southeast Region
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Dr. Catherine Phillips
Catherine leads the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ecological Services program in the Southeast Region, covering Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Her team oversees a wide array of activities, ranging across environmental permitting and recovery planning to species classification and proactive on-the-ground habitat restoration. Collaborative conservation is the center of the Southeast team’s work. Catherine has been with the Service since 1998 and has raised a family while pursuing a conservation career.
Caitlyn Pollihan
CEO and Executive Director,
ISA
Caitlyn Pollihan
Caitlyn Pollihan serves as CEO and Executive Director for the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). She began her role as Executive Director in 2017, with the Board adding the CEO title in 2020 to better reflect Caitlyn’s leadership responsibilities. During her tenure Caitlyn has successfully led the organization’s relocation to Atlanta, GA US, initiated the modernization of ISA systems and operations, and has increased the global connectivity and accessibility of the association.
Prior to joining ISA, Caitlyn served as the executive director of the Council of Western State Foresters (CWSF) and the Western Forestry Leadership Coalition (WFLC). In this role, she facilitated the development of the organization’s strategic goals and agendas and worked with members and CWSF/WFLC staff to ensure the organization’s success. Prior to this role, Caitlyn was the CWSF/WFLC governmental affairs director where she was instrumental in the creation of key legislation and educating members and partners on legislative proposals and national policy with western implications.
Caitlyn previously served as the staff vice president for government and environment affairs for the Home Builders Association of St. Louis and Eastern Missouri. In this role, she worked on state and local legislative initiatives, green building programs, and helped create and implement a ground‐breaking approach to building site safety inspections with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Caitlyn participates in several coalitions and committees, such as the Sustainable Urban Forestry Coalition Steering Committee, the i-Tree Executive Committee, and previously served on numerous public policy committees and was an appointed member of the National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule.
Caitlyn holds a bachelor’s degree in contemporary media and journalism/public relations from the University of South Dakota and a master’s degree in organizational communication from the University of Missouri‐St. Louis. She has a Certificate in Nonprofit Organization Management from the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Institute for Organization Management and has earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential, the highest professional credential in the association industry.
Scott Robertson
Senior Associate and Aboriginal Rights Lawyer, Nahwegahbow Corbiere LLP and PEFC Board member
Member of the Six Nations of the Grand River
Scott Robertson
Scott Robertson is a senior associate at Nahwegahbow Corbiere LLP where he regularly advises clients on Aboriginal, Treaty rights and title issues as well as tax and business structures. Scott has extensive experience advising clients on the Crown’s duty to consult and accommodate Aboriginal peoples.
He has successfully represented clients at the Supreme Court, Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal, Ontario Court of Appeal, Ontario Energy Board, National Energy Board, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Ontario Lands Tribunal, and the Human Rights Tribunal.
Andrew Sileo
Town Arborist
Town of Davidson, NC
Andrew Sileo
Andrew Sileo joined the Town of Davidson as its arborist in the fall of 2023.
The Town of Davidson Arborist serves as the expert for all of the town’s municipal tree efforts, arboriculture (the cultivation of trees and shrubs), public tree planting and management, tree removal, and urban forest management, including development and interpretation of the town’s tree ordinance regulations. They are also charged with leading community outreach efforts, building partnerships, and coordinating public education.
Andrew is a certified arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture, a certified plant professional with the North Carolina Nursery Landscape Association and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mount Olive in agricultural productions. Andrew has been professionally in arboriculture for over six years. As the Town Arborist, Andrew is excited to help diversify the Town’s tree community and help establish a stronger, healthier, more sustainable urban forest. He looks forward to getting to know Davidson better and educating our community about the importance of proper tree care.
Christy Slay
CEO and VP, Science & Impact
The Sustainability Consortium
Christy Slay
Dr. Christy Slay was appointed TSC’s CEO in 2021 and also directs TSC’s science and research application activities, working to develop a global, transparent, scientifically based measurement and reporting system for product sustainability. Slay has been with TSC since its inception in 2009 and has held key leadership roles during her tenure. She currently leads the way in our strategic planning for THESIS, directs the research and development team in THESIS content creation, leads the development of TSC’s Commodity Mapping program, leads many of TSC’s high–profile partnerships, and is the Principal Investigator on several of TSC’s largest grants. She publishes in notable scientific journals, most recently in Nature Climate Change on global forest carbon fluxes and Science on the drivers of global forest loss. She has also co–authored reports on sustainable agricultural metrics and climate change resilience in supply chains featured on HSBC’s Centre of Sustainable Finance. Christy was recently featured on CNBC as an expert on supply chains and climate change. Christy has 23 years of experience as an educator in both collegiate and environmental education settings. In addition to her adjunct faculty role at the University of Arkansas instructing a graduate sustainability course at the Walton College Graduate School of Business, she holds an adjunct faculty position at ASU’s College of Integrative Sciences and Arts. She received her doctorate in biological sciences from the University of Arkansas. Prior to her graduate research, she led curriculum development and strategic planning with the National Audubon Society where she also authored articles for Audubon Magazine. She received her B.A. in biology from Hendrix College attending courses at Birkbeck College at the University of London. She serves on the board of the Ozark Natural Science Center, a residential nature education center for school children. In her spare time Slay co–leads cave ecology research for the HICAVES Project on the island of Hawaii discovering new species and featured in a documentary on Nature PBS. Christy is based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, is an avid birdwatcher, and loves spending time exploring the Ozark mountain trails and rivers with her biologist husband Mike and rescue dog Roxie.
Pete Stewart
President and CEO
ResourceWise
Pete Stewart
Pete Stewart is a 27-year veteran of the forest products industry. In 2000, he founded Forest2Market, the only transaction-based wood fiber pricing service in the industry. Twenty years later, Forest2Market is a provider of wood raw material pricing data and supply chain expertise to the forest products industry worldwide.
In 2019, when Battery Ventures partnered with Forest2Market and Fisher International, Stewart – a long-time trusted advisor to the executive management of major pulp and paper and other forest products companies globally – became President and CEO of both firms. Upon the acquisition of Tecnon OrbiChem in 2020, Stewart became the CEO of all three companies, which were subsequently rebranded into ResourceWise.In 2022, ResourceWise acquired Wood Resources International and PRIMA Markets, expanding its wood fiber pricing globally as well as its expertise in low-carbon fuels, respectively.
As the CEO of ResourceWise, Stewart identifies acquisition opportunities and works tirelessly to integrate new price-reporting companies and their employees into the ResourceWise family and culture. A Texas native, Stewart has a BS in Forestry from Texas A&M and an MS in Economics from the University of Georgia.
Nicole Stiffarm
Program Manager, Salish Kootenai College Center for Tribal Research & Education in Ecosystem Sciences; and
Education Chair, Intertribal Timber Council
Nicole Stiffarm
Nicole Stiffarm is the lead program manager in charge of student program oversight, workforce development, academic advising, and program compliance. She is an enrolled tribal member of the Chippewa Cree Tribe in Rocky Boy, MT, and a mother of three.
She is a graduate of Salish Kootenai College and holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry with an emphasis in Forest Management. She formerly served as the Chair for the Intertribal Timber Council Education Committee and served as a Delegate in the inaugural Women’s Forest Congress. She is currently working toward her Masters in Natural Resource Management at Salish Kootenai College.
John Tirpak
Chief, Division of Conservation and Classification – Ecological Services
US Fish and Wildlife Service
John Tirpak
John Tirpak, Ph.D., works in Falls Church, VA as the Division Manager for Conservation and Classification in the Ecological Services program for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In this role, which he assumed in January 2024, he helps manage the listing and delisting workload for the Service. He previously served as the Deputy Assistant Regional Director for Ecological Services in the Southeast Region. of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Prior to his work for Ecological Services, Dr. Tirpak was Science Coordinator for Gulf Restoration in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Dr. Tirpak works with federal, state, private, and non-profit conservation partners to resolve technical challenges and align those solutions with the legal, financial, political, and other practical realities of restoration and conservation through communication and coordination. Dr. Tirpak received his PhD in Biology from Fordham University in the Bronx, NY, an MS from California University of Pennsylvania, and a BS in Wildlife Resource Management from West Virginia University.
Bryan Van Stippen
Program Director
National Indian Carbon Coalition
Bryan Van Stippen
Bryan Van Stippen is Program Director for National Indian Carbon Coalition, an initiative of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) that provides education, training and technical assistance to American Indian tribes and Alaska Native Villages on the development of carbon credit and renewable energy projects on tribal land. A member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, Van Stippen previously served for seven years as Tribal Attorney for the Ho-Chunk Nation Department of Justice in Wisconsin where he was responsible for land acquisition and other land-related issues. He earned a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and a Masters in Computer Information Systems from Tarleton State University in Texas. Van Stippen is a graduate of the University of North Dakota School of Law (J.D.); the University of Tulsa College of Law (LL.M. in American Indian and Indigenous Law); and the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law (S.J.D in Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy). He lives with his wife and two children in Green Bay.
Andres Villegas
President and CEO
Georgia Forestry Association
Andres Villegas
Andres has extensive private, public and NGO sector experience in forestry and natural resources having held domestic and international positions with Weyerhaeuser, Chevron, The Langdale Company, and the Georgia Department of Agriculture. His work has focused on implementing sustainable forestry and renewable energy programs in Georgia, North Carolina, Oregon and the country of Uruguay.
Andres was born in Bogota, Colombia and has travelled extensively throughout the world promoting environmental sustainability, trade of food and forest products, and collaborative partnerships. He received a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and a Certificate in International Agriculture from The University of Georgia. He also earned an Executive Certificate of Management and Leadership from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management.
He serves on the volunteer boards of the University of Georgia Alumni Association (July 2023), National Alliance of Forest Owners, is Chairman of Advancing Georgia’s Leaders in Agriculture and Forestry (AGL), the Central Georgia Boy Scouts Council, the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division Small Business Environmental Assistance Program Compliance Advisory Panel, and the Georgia Drawdown Leadership Council. He was recognized in 2022 as one of the 50 most influential Latinos in Georgia by the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and one of the 500 most influential Georgians by Georgia Trend Magazine in 2022 and 2023. He is a member of Gridiron.
SFI Conservation Impact Workshop Speakers
Andy Carroll
Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Skytec, LLC
Andy Carroll
Andy has over 20 years of experience in applying satellite monitoring, spatial data analysis, and emerging technologies in unmanned aerial systems to support natural resources management and conservation. His mission at Skytec is to innovate mapping and monitoring through automation of satellite-based monitoring and high-resolution unmanned systems. He has co-authored books, published multiple papers on conservation decision support systems and GIS applications, and taught introductory GIS courses over the years.
Dr. Emily Coffey
Vice President of Conservation and Research
Atlanta Botanical Garden
Dr. Emily Coffey
Dr. Emily E. D. Coffey is VP for Conservation & Research at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. She leads and collaborates with a dynamic team of conservation scientists and horticulturists to expand the activities in propagating and growing rare plants, and develop conservation initiatives for plants and ecosystems. Formerly assistant professor in biology at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, she received her PhD and her Masters of Science from the University of Oxford – UK and her Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Missouri. She is the co-Chair of the Southeastern Plant Conservation Alliance (SE PCA), the lead for the Global Conservation Consortium for Magnolias, and working group chair for the ex situ IUCN SSC Orchid Specialist Group. As head of the Garden’s Conservation & Research Department, she oversees the Southeastern Center for Conservation, where she collaborates within diverse partnerships to conserve rare species from private and publicly owned land throughout the southeastern U.S.
Allison Gratz
Director of Network Relations
NatureServe
Allison Gratz
Allison Gratz is NatureServe’s Director of Network Relations. She has a Master of Forestry degree from Duke University and a B.A. in Biology from Drew University. Allison first collaborated with the NatureServe Network and conservation data tools while working on the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, including in 2005 when the NatureServe G1 & G2 classifications were first incorporated into SFI’s Standard as the basis for the definition of Forests with Exceptional Conservation Value and the Objective on the Conservation of Biodiversity.
Throughout her career, Allison has worked to improve conservation data, and joined forces with NatureServe Network Members to bring those learnings to on-the-ground practices. Most recently, while working at Enviva, a wood-to-bioenergy producer, she leveraged NatureServe data tools to help implement procurement practices that promoted the use of sustainable forestry practices in sensitive habitats, specifically in bottomland hardwood forests in the southeast US.
Chad Leatherwood
Senior Sustainability Transformation Manager
Weyerhaeuser
Chad Leatherwood
As Senior Sustainability Transformation Manager at Weyerhaeuser, I am focused on providing strategic and technical guidance on sustainability related innovations and adaptations to drive business transformation and improvements in efficiency and effectiveness in the areas of wood procurement, by-product management, and energy generation and use.
Previously with Evergreen Packaging I focused on various forest certification projects, internal and external customer requests related to sustainability, and management and development of several sustainability efforts.
I have experience with the development, permitting, and operation of greenhouse gas and renewable energy projects that utilize landfill gas, environmental compliance at a large pulp and paper mill, and various air-related compliance activities.
Specialties: Forest Certification programs, greenhouse gas emission reduction projects, by-product management, cap and trade programs, air permitting, landfill gas-based renewable energy projects, combustion processes.
Joseph Lemeris
GIS/Data Manager
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program
Joseph Lemeris
Joe is directly involved in creating, managing, and applying the underlying data for identifying FECV. He manages the South Carolina Natural Heritage Data program for documenting rare, threatened, and endangered species in South Carolina. He works with biologists and managers across the state to create and manage surveys, conduct geospatial analysis, and create maps and disseminate data, and receives and responds to requests for environmental review pertaining to endangered species occurrence on or near proposed project sites. Prior to his work with the SCDNR, Joe developed integrative habitat and forestry restoration plans for South Carolina’s state parks and has experience with GIS tracking analysis of collared wildlife, including big cats in Namibia.
SFI Staff Moderators
Lauren Cooper
Chief Conservation Officer
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Lauren Cooper
Lauren heads the SFI Conservation Pillar, providing conservation leadership internally as well as externally to our network of resource professionals, landowners, educators, local communities, Indigenous Peoples, and governments. She will develop best management practices for climate-smart forestry and fire resiliency and awareness, lead SFI participation in collaborative efforts to conserve forested landscapes and integrate Indigenous knowledge into SFI conservation programs. Lauren currently leads the Forest Carbon and Climate Program at Michigan State University, and she has international experience working with Indigenous communities in Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, and the United States. Lauren has served as a convener, moderator, and facilitator in high-level climate events, engaged in numerous climate working groups and has developed climate curriculum, educational materials, and plans. She currently serves as a steering committee member with the Women’s Forest Congress and on the Forest-Climate Working Group. Lauren is passionate about building new relationships at the intersection of sustainability, forests, society, and climate.
Dr. Healy Hamilton
Chief Scientist
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Dr. Healy Hamilton
Dr. Healy Hamilton works collaboratively and strategically across SFI’s conservation pillar to support scaling conservation impact. Healy’s scientific work will further the role of sustainable forest management in species recovery, climate-smart forestry, and conservation outcomes. Healy will also serve as SFI’s conservation science liaison with the wider conservation and scientific community. She will support the SFI standards pillar on customer engagement related to conservation science and the SFI education pillar on engaging Project Learning Tree audiences. Healy currently serves as Chief Scientist for NatureServe, and she is an elected member of the Executive Committee for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature U.S. National Committee. Healy’s impressive track record of leading high-profile and impactful research projects includes developing the most comprehensive and detailed map of species extinction risk, in collaboration with the Environmental Systems Research Institute and The Nature Conservancy. Healy holds a PhD from the Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Paleontology, at the University of California at Berkeley, and an MA in Environmental Studies from Yale University’s School of the Environment. She channels her passion for the outdoors into hiking, cycling, and scuba diving.
Paul Johnson
Vice President, Urban and Community Forestry and Career Pathways
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Paul Johnson
Paul leads SFI’s efforts to enhance the sustainability of urban forestry through the SFI Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard. He is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Board Certified Master Arborist, Municipal Specialist, and is Tree Risk Assessment, Texas Oak Wilt, and Wildfire Risk Reduction Qualified. He is also a Society of American Foresters Certified Forester. Paul has been recognized as a True Professional of Arboriculture by ISA and received the Leah MacSwords Current Achievement Award for Communications from NASF. He is Past President of the ISA Board of Directors and he graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in Forestry. He has been a state urban and community forestry program leader, radio talk show host, newspaper columnist, university extension horticulturist, university adjunct instructor, and plant healthcare specialist. Paul believes that #TreesAreKey to healthier, happier, safer communities.
Jason Metnick
Senior VP, Customer Affairs
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Jason Metnick
Jason leads the standards pillar at SFI, with a focus on elevating the SFI standards as a proof point for sustainable forestry and responsible purchasing. His work advances the standards pillar through engaging and communicating the value of SFI’s standards to certified organizations, customers of SFI‑certified organizations, and others interested in the value of sustainable forestry. Jason has worked at SFI since 2001 and holds a Bachelor of Science in forestry from Northern Arizona University. He is a member of the Society of American Foresters and sits on a number of committees related to forest certification, chain of custody, and eco-labeling. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife, two daughters, and Maple the wonder dog.
Annie Perkins
Senior Director, Green Building and Supply Chain
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Annie Perkins
Annie works to inspire and advance positive change by accelerating sustainable development by using certified wood products. Her experience in product transparency, climate change, and the circular economy, coupled with her passion to improve communities near and far, supports that mission. As an accredited LEED Green Associate, Chair U.S. Green Building Council MN, Middle St. Croix Watershed board member, and Council Member for the City of Afton, MN, Annie casts a wide net in efforts to improve the world. Her love for all living things fuels her work, and play—you’ll find her skiing or biking in the mountains or chillaxing along the banks of the Saint Croix National Wild and Scenic River.
Paul Robitaille
Senior Advisor, Indigenous Relations
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Paul Robitaille
Paul plays a central role in SFI’s partnerships with Indigenous communities. He is a citizen of the Métis Nation, with roots in the historic Drummond Island Métis community, and has a wealth of experience in supporting Indigenous rights recognition, relationship building and socioeconomic development. Paul’s work also has a specific focus on understanding the unique realities faced by First Nation, Métis and Inuit youth. As both a professional and an elected community official, Paul has worked to build greater understanding and collaboration between Indigenous communities across Canada and the industry actors operating within their territories. Paul holds a Master of Science in Forestry from Lakehead University and a Forest Technician Diploma and Certificate in Aboriginal‑Canadian Relations from Confederation College. Paul is a recipient of the Governor General’s Academic Medal and the J. Michael Waldram Memorial Fellowship, recognizing his work as an emerging young Indigenous leader in the natural resources field.
Darren Sleep
Lead Scientist
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Darren Sleep
Dr. Darren Sleep is SFI’s Lead Scientist and is responsible for providing scientifically technical insight and leadership across all of SFI’s pillars, partner collaborations, and relevant conservation issues. He serves on several regional, national, and international scientific advisory boards and brings expertise on wildlife management, species at risk, and forest science-policy integration to SFI, along with a passion for conservation, and communicating about science with the public. Darren holds graduate degrees from the University of Regina and University of Guelph.
Jerri Taylor
Senior Director, Diversity and Career Pathways
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Jerri Taylor
Jerri leads the career pathways work at SFI, including our mentorship programs and working with employers on supporting a diverse and resilient workforce. Jerri is a Professional School Counselor with an extensive background in creating and implementing comprehensive school counseling programs and building strong community partnerships, which have resulted in career pathways tailored to disenfranchised communities. Being raised with a horticulture and aquaculture background as a daughter of a Black tobacco and tilapia fish farmer, Jerri has over 15 years of formal and informal education around agricultural practices. Jerri holds a Master of Education and Human Development with a concentration in school counseling, from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science in family and consumer sciences from the University of Maryland, at College Park.
Conference Registration Questions:
events@forests.org
SFI Questions:
Amy Tauzin
Manager, Events and Logistics
Tel: 202-765-3609
