Conference Video 2024 - Tuesday

TUESDAY, JUNE 4: PRE-CONFERENCE SESSION

TRADITIONAL WELCOME AND OPENING SESSION: CREATING FORESTS FOR THE FUTURE

The importance of forests for the well-being of people and the planet is clear. We are looking to the future and the change we want to make through forest-focused collaboration. Join us to kick off the 2024 SFI Annual Conference with forest sector leaders and local representatives.

Kathy Abusow

President & 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. Read more here.

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.

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.

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.

Watch the session recording:

SOLUTIONS TO AVOIDING DEFORESTATION AND FOREST DEGRADATION

Numerous public and private initiatives are focused on the topic of avoiding deforestation and forest degradation, including the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Learn about SFI and PEFC standard developments that provide opportunities to align with the EUDR and solutions to geolocation requirements.

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.

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.

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.

Watch the session recording:

ROLE OF FOREST CERTIFICATION IN GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS

Certified forests and products are powerful tools for addressing global sustainability priorities and building transparency and trust in the marketplace. Speakers will highlight tools and solutions that demonstrate progress on key sustainability issues in forest supply chains.

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.