Conference Schedule 2024 - Friday

FRIDAY, JUNE 7

ALL TIMES EDT

9:00 AM – 12:00 PM EDT | SFI CONSERVATION IMPACT WORKSHOP

The SFI Conservation Impact Workshop will focus on biodiversity data to support the conservation objectives of the SFI standards.

In Part I of the event, discussion topics will include access to and application of biodiversity data that underpins the standards, how to prioritize, collect, and share data, new knowledge products on species and habitats of concern, and improvements in tools for ease of data use and reporting.

Part II will provide an update on the evolving direction of the SFI Conservation Impact Project and include a participatory feedback session.

This event is open to all and free to attend! The event occurs immediately after the SFI Annual Conference but does not overlap. Participants are encouraged to attend both, but conference participation is not required to join the Conservation Impact Workshop.

Click here for more information.

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.

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.

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.