2023 SPEAKERS
Check back often as more speakers are confirmed!
Kathy Abusow
President and CEO
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Kathy Abusow
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.
Annica Bresky
President and CEO
Stora Enso
Annica Bresky
Annica has more than two decades of experience in advancing a sustainable business agenda. She believes long-term business success is possible only if the business is regenerative for the societies it operates in, socially and environmentally.
A global company, Stora Enso is one of the largest private forest owners in the world. In 2021, it had more than €10.2 billion in sales, with 22,000 staff working across 60 sites mainly in Europe, Latin America, and China. Part of the global bioeconomy, Stora Enso is a leading provider of renewable products in packaging, biomaterials, wood construction, and paper.
As a board member of the European association representing the paper industry (known as Cepi), Annica has special insight into the EU’s sustainability agenda. She is also a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), where she contributes to cross-industrial and global perspectives on sustainability.
Eduardo Rojas Briales
Chair
PEFC International
Eduardo Rojas Briales
Eduardo is presently Chairman of the Spanish Board of Foresters and coordinator of the Forest Platform of Spain (Juntos por los Bosques). He was previously Assistant Director-General and Head of the Forestry Department at FAO and Chair of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests.
Amongst his former duties, he acted as Director of the Catalan Forest Owner Association, as head of the forest policy area of the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia and as Vice-Dean of the Life Science Faculty of the Polytechnic University of Valencia where he is presently professor in forestry. While at FAO, he was UN Commissioner General for Expo Milan in 2015 and Co-Chair of UNREDD.
Eduardo holds an MSc in Forestry from the University of Freiburg and PhD from the Polytechnic University of Madrid.
Cassidy Caron
President
Métis National Council
Cassidy Caron
Cassidy Caron is a Métis woman with roots in the historic Métis communities of Batoche and St. Louis, Saskatchewan. She grew up closely connected to her Métis traditions, heritage and culture and is driven by her family and community values of respect, honesty, and responsibility.
Cassidy has previously served for four years as a provincially elected representative of the Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC,) as the Provincial Métis Youth Chair and MNBCs Minister Responsible for Youth. Through her role, she supported the coordination, design, resourcing, implementation and evaluation of innovative, culturally-grounded engagement and leadership development opportunities for Métis youth within all levels of MNBC’s governance. Cassidy has gained valuable experience as an advocate for the Métis people by working closely with cabinet ministers, senior officials, and ministerial special representatives to negotiate and design Métis youth-specific funding provisions and policy considerations at the provincial and national levels.
An ambitious and driven young woman, Cassidy brings with her years of professional research and program evaluation experience working with an award winning, all-Indigenous research and program evaluation firm. Her work as a consultant focused on researching and evaluating programs and initiatives implemented in, by and for Indigenous communities throughout Canada in areas such as Indigenous justice and crime prevention, women’s safety and wellness, education, cultural safety, Indigenous health and health promotion, reconciliation, youth programming, mental health, addictions and wellness, economic development, food security and Indigenous governance.
Dr. Lauren Cooper
Chief Conservation Officer
Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Dr. 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.
Michael P. Doss
President and CEO
Graphic Packaging International Inc., and
Chair, SFI Board of Directors
Michael P. Doss
Graphic Packaging is a leading provider of packaging solutions to a wide variety of companies in the food, beverage, and other consumer products sectors. With over $8.1 billion in sales, it is one of the largest global producers of folding cartons and it holds a market-leading position in coated-unbleached kraft and coated-recycled paper board.
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.
Dr. Tracy Farrell
Director
IUCN North America
Dr. Tracy Farrell
Tracy has more than 20 years of experience leading global conservation and sustainable development programs and projects. She believes it takes a village of partners to broaden how the private and public sectors work together to find the best long-term sustainability solutions.
At the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) North American program, she leads policy development and member engagement work in the US and Canada, fundraising and implementing new regional initiatives. Tracy’s role at IUCN allows her to focus on large landscape management and nature-based solutions, including incentivizing and unlocking financing for these solutions.
Her career also includes years of work designing and managing sustainable forested areas. Prior to her role at IUCN, Tracy spent 16 years working for Conservation International.
Angela Graham-Brown
Director, Forest Solutions Group
World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Angela Graham-Brown
Angela has worked with the members of WBCSD’s Forest Solutions Group for over 5 years to drive sustainability in the forest sector.
As part of this role she coordinated and co-authored several publications on topics ranging from net-zero strategies, SDG impact and metrics, the circular bioeconomy, social and environmental impact measurement. Prior to her time at WBCSD she worked as a strategy consultant where she gained her first experience in the forest sector on a large-scale forestry project in China.
She has also worked for the World Economic Forum and in strategic communications consulting. She holds a BA in International Relations and an MA in International Business.
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
Senior Director of Urban and Community Forestry
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.
Caitlyn Pollihan
CEO and Executive Director
International Society of Arboriculture
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.
Scott Robertson
Senior Associate
Nahwegahbow Corbiere LLP, Aboriginal Rights Lawyer
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.
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