2025 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.
Rebecca Barnard
Forest Certification Manager
Sappi
Rebecca Barnard
Brian Brashaw
Assistant Director
Wood Innovations, USDA Forest Service
Brian Brashaw
Sam Cook
Executive Director of Forest Assets, North Carolina State University, and
SFI Board Member
Sam Cook
Sam oversees more than $150 million in foundation assets to meet all the needs of the college and to provide funding support for an environmentally and economically sustainable natural resource sector. With a forestry career spanning more than four decades, Sam is deeply committed to ensuring that our forests are managed in a way that not only meets the needs of the present but also preserves these vital resources for future generations. Sam was president of the Society of American Foresters in 2023 and vice president in 2022. He served on the SFI Resources Committee, the SFI-MANRRS Journeys of Black Professionals in Green Careers Advisory Committee, and is featured in Black Faces in Green Spaces: The Journeys of Black Professionals in Green Careers.
Kathryn Fernholz
President and CEO
Dovetail Partners
Kathryn Fernholz
Kathryn is a forester by training with over 25 years of experience in the forest sector. She has worked on environmental issues in a range of roles, including environmental assessments, permitting, and GIS analysis. Her career has focused on sustainability concerns, including leadership on small-holder and family forestry, community-based decision making, supply-chain assurances, and standard setting. She is an experienced lead auditor for forest certification assessments having served on audit teams for industrial, Tribal, public, and family forest lands. She has led projects addressing urban forest management and urban wood utilization. Since 2010, Kathryn has been an author addressing policy and green markets in the Forest Products Annual Market Review prepared by the FAO/UNECE. Kathryn served as Chair of the Minnesota Society of American Foresters and was appointed to the Minnesota Forest Resources Council in 2002 and 2019. Kathryn served on the Advisory Board for the Blandin Foundation’s Vital Forests/Vital Communities Initiative. She served on boards of the Minnesota Environmental Partnership, Forest Stewards Guild, North American Forest Partnership, and Sustainable Furnishings Council. She is past Chair for the board of the American Forest Foundation and served on the board of the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture. Kathryn has a B.S. in Forest Resources from the University of Minnesota and also studied at the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, MN and Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, AK.
Lennard Joe
Chief Executive Officer, BC First Nations Forestry Council, and
SFI Board Member
Lennard Joe
Lennard Joe is a registered professional forester with more than 30 years of natural resources and business experience. His traditional name Suxwsxwwels means Grizzly Man. In 2012, Lenny joined SFI’s Resources Committee, which directly oversees the work of the SFI Standards Review Task Groups. In 2018, he was elected to the SFI Board of Directors, where he brings his perspective to the decision-making table. Lenny was instrumental in providing opportunities for Indigenous representation throughout the SFI standards revision process, and successfully enshrining Respect for Indigenous Rights and Traditional Knowledge as a standalone Objective in SFI’s Forest Management Standard. He has consistently shared his perspective, and allowed opportunities for other Indigenous voices to be heard regarding how SFI can better align with and service the interests and priorities of Indigenous communities. He is actively involved in developing new businesses and resource sector opportunities within his territory as well as throughout Canada and the world. Lennard Joe is from the Nlaka’pamux Nation and a member of the Shackan Indian Band.
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.
Derek Nighbor
President and CEO
Forest Products Association of Canada
Derek Nighbor
He is proud to represent Canada’s forest products sector and its workers, families, and communities nationally and internationally.
Prior to joining FPAC, Derek served for over 7 years as Senior Vice President with Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC), the country’s leading voice for consumer goods manufacturers like Coca-Cola, McCains, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever.
Derek served for over 3 years as Senior Vice President of Public Affairs with Retail Council of Canada (RCC) representing over 45,000 retail storefronts across Canada, including leading retailers like Canadian Tire, Home Depot, Staples, and Home Hardware.
Derek has also held senior political positions with the Government of Ontario, including two years as Chief of Staff to Ontario’s Minister of Consumer and Business Services.
Derek’s global roles include his recent appointment as the industry representative and advisor to the United Nations Forum on Forests and his involvement as a Steering Committee member of the International Council of Forest & Paper Associations (ICFPA) – an organization of forest sector leaders from 28 countries around the world. He served as ICFPA’s President of from 2019 to 2022.
Derek also represents Canada’s forest products industry on the Steering Committee of the United Nations’ Food & Agriculture Organization’s Advisory Committee on Sustainable Forest-based Industries (ACSFI) and is a member of the Board of Directors of FPInnovations, Canada’s leading forest sector research institute.
Derek has a keen personal interest in community-based health care and sport and serves on the Board of Directors of the Sandra Schmirler Foundation, an organization dedicated to raising funds to save the lives of babies born too soon, too small, or too sick. He recently served as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada and is a past Board Member of the Ontario Curling Association, the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s Grant Review Team for the Greater Toronto Area, and the Ottawa Sports & Entertainment Group’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee.
Larry Selzer
President and CEO
The Conservation Fund
Larry Selzer
As President and CEO of The Conservation Fund, Larry Selzer guides strategic direction and growth for one America’s largest organizations focused on both conservation and economic opportunity. TCF is in the business of conservation, creating innovative solutions that drive nature-based action for climate protection, sustainable economies and vibrant communities.
Under Selzer’s leadership, TCF has protected nearly 9 million acres of wilderness, recreation areas and working lands valued at almost $8 billion, shaping ambitious partnerships and financial models to deliver one of the greatest returns on investment of any conservation effort in American history. Selzer is also leveraging TCF’s conservation expertise to advance initiatives to address climate change and support the clean energy transition, restore working farms facing development threats, protect Native American cultural sites and African American heritage sites, and build connections between communities and urban green spaces.
Prior to joining TCF, Selzer was a marine biologist at the Manomet Center for Conservation Science. He holds an MBA degree from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and a Bachelor of Science in environmental studies from Wesleyan University. He serves on the board of the Weyerhaeuser Corporation and is chairman of the board of the American Bird Conservancy and Leading Harvest.
Patty Thielen
State Forester and Director, Division of Forestry,
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Patty Thielen
SFI Staff Moderators
Josh Brankman
VP Education
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Josh Brankman
Josh leads the education team at SFI advancing Project Learning Tree’s environmental education, forest literacy, and career pathways programs while growing the scale, reach, and impact of PLT. He is responsible for establishing and delivering on PLT’s strategic direction as well as for developing, integrating, and implementing US government stakeholder relations. Josh also oversees national program operations and governance, while developing and nurturing relationships at state, national, and global scales. Josh works collaboratively with the SFI Career Pathways team to scale the reach of educational materials to grow the green job sector. He has over 20 years of experience in education including executive-level positions with a national organization confronting systemic barriers to higher education and a leading experience-based outdoor education non-profit. Josh has also worked as a high school teacher and principal. He holds a Master of Arts in educational administration and leadership from the University of California, Berkley and a Bachelor of Arts in history from Princeton University. A 25-year resident of San Francisco, outside of work, Josh enjoys spending as much time as possible outdoors with his family camping or playing at the beach.
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.
Christine Leduc
VP, Communications and Government Relations
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Christine Leduc
Christine leads SFI’s binational communications team, which also includes Project Learning Tree and Project Learning Tree Canada. She oversees strategic communications while also developing and implementing a range of government and public relations activities. Christine is a Registered Professional Forester with a decade of experience in forestry, policy, communications, public affairs, issues management, and more recently Indigenous relations. She is fluent in English and French and holds a Master of Forest Conservation from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto. Christine is also a Forests Ontario board member, and she was recognized as a Top 10 Under 40 by Canadian Forest Industries magazine. Outside work, Christine spends as much time as she can enjoying the forests of northern Ontario.
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.
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