Participant Bios

WWiW participants come from: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia.

Arizona and Colorado ~

Robert H (Rob) Davis, Founder / Owner of Forest Energy Corporation, Show Low, AZ, Pellet manufacturer founded 1991. Forest Energy also owns Forest Energy Systems a biomass boiler system supplier. Founding partner of Future Forest, LLC. The prime contractor for the White Mountain Stewardship Project. Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest with a goal of treating 150,000 acre over ten years - forest restoration, fire mitigation project. Mr. Davis is serving on the following forest / renewable energy related Committees: Governor of Arizona Forest Health Council; Governor of Colorado Forest Heath Advisory Council; Colorado Bark Beetle Collaborative; Founding member and Director of BTEC, Biomass Thermal Energy Council; Past President / Current Director, Pellet Fuels Institute.

California ~

Betony Jones, represents the Sierra Business Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to pioneering innovative approaches that promote economic prosperity, environmental quality, social fairness, and community vitality in the Sierra Nevada. Betony's work focuses on developing innovative Conservation, Sustainable Forestry, Ecosystem Services, Energy Efficiency, and Relocalization programs.  In programmatic management and development, she blends her strong science background with passion for sustainable development and social justice. Betony moved westward after five years on the east coast. She worked in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under both Clinton and Bush administrations on environmental science and then moved on  to the US Global Change Research Program to improve the nation’s understanding of climate change science. While in DC, she also worked with the Grameen Foundation, helping to develop a program to expand micro-credit in Latin America.  Prior to joining Sierra Business Council, Betony worked with the League of Conservation Voters as a field organizer managing a campaign office in Salem, Oregon for the 2004 Presidential election. Betony earned her Masters degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where she studied social ecology and forestry. She earned a B.S.  in plant biology from the University of Michigan. Additionally, Betony has conducted extensive research in India, Borneo, and Panama on social justice and environmental issues emerging from development policies. She has published several articles on her research.

Lynn Jungwirth is the founding Executive Director of the Watershed Center in Hayfork, California.  She has been working at the nexus between healthy forests and healthy communities since 1992 and has been a leader in the Community Forestry movement in the US.   Lynn has served as the Chair of the Communities Committee of the 7th American Forest Congress, in the Core Group of The Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition, on the Board of Directors of the Forest Guild, and the Board of Directors of the Sustainable Northwest Wood Distribution Center.  Her organization has participated in the programmatic monitoring of USFS and BLM Stewardship Contracting since 1999 and continues today.  She has testified before congress on various issues over the years, including workforce and labor on public lands, forest collaboration, the future of the USDA Forest Service, forest restoration, and climate change.

Carl Wilmsen is the Executive Director of the Alliance of Forest Workers and Harvesters. In his work he focuses on helping to create a forest sector that treats forest workers and harvesters with dignity and fairness regardless of cultural background, country of origin, immigration status, race, gender or any other social category; permits workers and harvesters to participate in decisions that directly affect their lives and livelihoods; respects the skill and ecological knowledge workers and harvesters contribute to forest stewardship; and restores and/or maintains forest health. For eight years prior to joining AFWH, he was Program Director of Community Forestry and Environmental Research Partnerships. Holding a Ph.D. in geography from Clark University with a focus on social justice issues in the management of U.S. public lands, Carl has published several book chapters and journal articles on the role race plays in shaping opportunities for marginalized people in the management of public lands. He has also published on oral history methodology and participatory research. Recently he was co-editor of Partnerships for Empowerment: Participatory Research for Community-Based Natural Resource Management (Earthscan, 2008).

Idaho ~

Joyce Dearstyne, Joyce Dearstyne is the Executive Director of Framing our Community (FOC), a grassroots nonprofit organization founded in 1999 whose vision is a "Healthy Forest, Healthy Community."  FOC’s mission is to provide an integrated program that creates jobs, improves forest and watershed conditions, and increases educational opportunities.  FOC is located in Elk City, Idaho-- a small rural community surrounded by national forest and wilderness. Joyce has oversight of the “Jobs in the Woods” program for Forest and Watershed Restoration, Water Quality Improvement and Hazardous Fuels Reduction – Defensible Space programs, FOC's Elk City Small Business Incubator and new Artists in the Woods E-commerce program.  Future plans include a Biomass Power Cogeneration facility, expansion of the Small Business Incubator and a Traditional Skills/Natural Disaster Response Team School.  Joyce and FOC work closely with Federal and State Agencies (USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Clearwater R C & D, Idaho Department of Lands, Labor and Commerce), the Idaho County Commission, tribal and community leaders and private land owners to aggressively address the hazardous fuel loads identified in Idaho County's Wildfire Protection Plan, diversify the economic base and improve water quality issues as identified in the South Fork Clearwater River TMDL Implementation Plan.  She serves on Clearwater Basin Collaborative, Ida-Lew Economic Development Council, North Central Idaho Eastern Washington Workforce Development Planning Group.  She works with leaders from 13 western states on national issues and federal agency policies that directly impact the welfare of rural natural resource based communities in the Pacific Northwest, Inland Northwest and the West as a whole. Her liberal arts undergraduate studies were at Monmouth University and community development studies at the Northwest Community Development Institute, Boise State University.

Gina Knudson, Gina Knudson is director of Salmon Valley Stewardship. Gina has a B.A. in journalism from Whitworth University. Her interest in conservation issues deepened through her work as Mountain Home Air Force Base’s environmental public affairs officer. As a Department of Defense employee and private consultant, her career focused on involving the community in environmental issues, going above and beyond National Environmental Policy Act and Superfund requirements. As a freelance writer, Gina was a regular correspondent for the Idaho Falls Post-Register, and has contributed to publications such as High Country News, Big Sky Journal, Sun Valley Magazine, and Wildland Firefighter. She served on the Salmon City Council and has worked for Salmon Valley Stewardship since July 2006. She coordinates the Lemhi County Forest Restoration Group, promotes sustainable agriculture efforts, and has managed public involvement efforts for the Sacajawea Center Master Plan and the Bureau of Land Management Travel Plan. The mission of Salmon Valley Stewardship is to promote a sustainable economy and a healthy environment in Idaho’s Salmon River region.

Maryland ~

Mary Cox has served as Executive Director of the Communities Committee since October, 2006, where her work has focused community-owned forests and community-based forestry policy. Prior to joining the Communities Committee, Mary was a Program Manager with Parks & People Foundation, a grassroots urban forestry organization in Baltimore, for more than five years. She worked with residents, researchers and local agencies to develop pilot programs and applied research projects to improve the local environment. Mary also worked as an independent consultant with the World Wildlife Fund’s Biodiversity Support Program on a review of the capacity-building impact of their international community-based conservation programs. Before working in the environmental field, Mary was a litigation attorney for the City of Chicago. She has a B.A. and J.D. from Northwestern University, and a M.S. in Resource Policy and Behavior from the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment.

Montana ~

Maureen Hartmann is Program Director and Student Coordinator for Northwest Connections.  Maureen received her Master’s of Science in 2004 from the University of Montana’s Environmental Studies Program and was selected as a Doris Duke Environmental Fellow. Her graduate work focused on the divestment of corporate timberlands and the conservation strategies being utilized to maintain rural landscapes and working forests.  Prior to her graduate work, she spent 5 years working for various government agencies (USGS, USFS, NPS, Nez Perce Tribe) doing wildlife and forestry related fieldwork. She has been working for Northwest Connections for the past 6 years coordinating NwC’s student educational programs and assisting with land conservation projects on both public and private lands. Her passion in the conservation field lies with protecting rural places – working towards balanced solutions that sustain the abundant natural resources while simultaneously sustaining local economies and protecting rural culture. Maureen grew up in the Adirondack Mountains of New York and has lived in Montana for 12 years.

New Mexico ~

Mike DeBonis is the Southwest Region Director of the Forest Guild. Mike’s work at the Guild is focused on the development and implementation of community-based forestry projects in the Southwest, providing technical assistance to rural communities engaged in forest restoration, and support of the Guild’s regional and national education, forest policy, and membership initiatives. Prior to working for the Guild, Mike was employed by the Maine Forest Service as the state’s urban and community forestry coordinator. Mike has also spent time as an environmental consultant in CT, a park ranger in VT, and a Peace Corps Volunteer in Jamaica. Mike holds a Master’s degree in Forestry from Yale University.

Oregon ~

Alden Boetsch the Senior Policy Associate at Sustainable Northwest where she works on public land management and rural economic development issues. In addition to her work on policy, Alden is also involved with multiple community-based collaborative groups in the region. Before joining Sustainable Northwest she researched and analyzed collaborative planning efforts on Western state trust lands with the Sonoran Institute. Alden's previous experience also includes working as a coordinator of the Bureau of Land Management's citizen-based Resource Advisory Councils, and on legislative and public affairs issues for the agency in Washington, D.C. In addition, she has worked on public relations campaigns at Fenton Communications in Washington, D.C. Alden holds a Master's Degree in Natural Resource Policy from the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment and a Bachelor's Degree in Geology from Carleton College.

Phil Chang is lead staffer for the Central Oregon Partnerships for Wildfire Risk Reduction(COPWRR), a community-based, multi-stakeholder collaboration project aimed at reducing wildfire risk, restoring forest ecosystems, and providing local jobs and income in Central Oregon’s forest communities.  Phil has also led renewable energy development efforts at the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC) since 2005.  This work has included feasibility analysis, fuel supply development, marketing support, financing assistance, and other technical support for a range of bio-energy projects.  Woody biomass thermal energy applications, from densified wood fuel manufacturing to installation of wood-fired boilers for public buildings and manufacturing facilities, have been a major emphasis of this work.  Phil holds a masters degree in public policy and natural resources management from U.C. Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management. 

Chad Davis is the Program Manager for the Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities Partnership.  Chad supports HFHC Members by administering financial and technical assistance on a variety of fronts, and is the Group Coordinator for HFHC's Forest Stewardship Council Group Chain of Custody certification.  Chad also is the co-chair of the Biomass Working Group with the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition and serves as the co-chair of the Oregon Forest Biomass Working Group.  Before coming to Sustainable Northwest, Chad was employed at Oregon State University in the College of Forestry as a Research Assistant.  His research focused on working with forest contractors and investigating alternative harvesting mechanisms to decrease cost of treatment in forest restoration projects.  The resident Southern transplant, Chad has also worked in North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida in a host of forest management roles.  Chad holds a Bachelors degree in Environmental Policy and Sciences from Duke University and a Master's degree in Forestry from the University of Tennessee.  In his spare time Chad enjoys pedaling past the hopfields and vineyards of the Willamette Valley, strapping on his backpack and visiting the alpine country of central and eastern Oregon, and dabbling in small-scale chemistry with barley, hops, and yeast as mediums.

Maia Enzer is the Director for the Policy Program at Sustainable Northwest. In that capacity she works on issues related to forest restoration and community economic development, with a focus on federal lands policy. She has more than 13 years experience in bringing diverse stakeholders together to identify common ground around federal lands management issues. Previously, she served as Sustainable Northwest's Director of the Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities Partnership (HFHC), a regional collaborative working to market the byproducts of forest restoration. Prior to joining Sustainable Northwest, Maia was the Director of Forest Policy at American Forests in Washington, D.C. (1993-2000). She has also worked as an organizer for MASSPIRG and NYPIRG on state and local environmental issues.  Maia has a Masters degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (1993) and a BA in Political Science from Union College (1989). She currently is serving on the Western Governors' Association Forest Health Advisory Council. She served on the board of the Communities Committee of the Seventh American Forest Congress and was the Co-Chair of the Policy Task Group for the (1997-2002); she served on the board of the National Network of Forest Practitioners (2000-2005).   She is one of the editors on the book entitled, Understanding Community Based Forest Ecosystem Management, published by the Journal of Sustainable Forestry.

Wendy Gerlitz works on research and project management focused on environmental sustainability. Her current areas of work include community forestry and energy issues. Specifically, Wendy conducts research centered on social and ecological well being in communities and forests across the nation, including Federal agency program administration, federal budget analysis and a GIS based research project illustrating connections between wildfire and poverty for Sustainable Northwest. She also works on energy issues related to environmental responsibility in the areas of climate change, air emissions and corporate footprint monitoring and reduction for Portland General Electric located in Portland, Oregon. Wendy has also worked as a management planner in local community development and conservation in Central America. She holds a B.A. in Political Science and Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin and a master’s degree from the Yale School of Forestry.

Brian Kelly Brian Kelly is the Restoration Coordinator for Hells Canyon Preservation Council in La Grande, Oregon.  For ten years prior to that, he was the Urban Forestry Consultant to the City of La Grande and was responsible for the planting of over one thousand new landscape trees the throughout the community.  He is a Certified Arborist.  Brian has worked extensively throughout the Hells Canyon-Wallowa region as a natural resource consultant and contractor and he has lived in La Grande since 1982.  Brian is a graduate of Cornell University where he studied Plant Sciences and Forestry.

George McKinley is a non-industrial forest owner and Coordinator of the Southern Oregon Small Diameter Collaborative.  He grew up on a Christmas tree farm in the midwest, and following adventures in higher education, established new roots in Oregon.  He has worked as an outdoor guide and educator, owned and operated a small wood shop, and been a long-time participant in collaborative efforts and demonstration projects aimed at generating support for forest restoration and forest health treatments.  He recently received an NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant to assess the feasibility of non-industrial participation in carbon markets through a sequestration pilot project, and works with the Collaborative to improve forest health by promoting small diameter removal and utilization as a common ground approach to improved and expanded public lands management. 

Cassandra Moseley is the director of the Ecosystem Workforce Program and a senior research associate in the Institute for a Sustainable Environment at the University of Oregon.  At the EWP, she developed applied research and policy education programs focused on community-based forestry, federal forest management, and sustainable rural development. She is co-editor of People, Fire, and Forests: A Synthesis of Wildfire Social Science (2007) and is co-author of Collaborative Environmental Management: What Roles for Government? (2004). Prior to joining EWP in 2001, she was an assistant professor of political science at the University of Florida and program development director at the Rogue Institute for Ecology and Economy in Ashland, Oregon. She is a core group member of the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition, and a former board member of the Flintridge Foundation and the Applegate Partnership. Currently, she is also an associate editor of the Journal of Forestry. She has testified before Congress about rural green jobs in economic stimulus and the working conditions of forest workers. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University in political science, and her B.A. from Cornell University, where she majored in mathematics and government.

Alaina Pomeroy is Program Assistant for the Policy, Klamath, and Ranches and Rangelands Programs at Sustainable Northwest where she helps her colleagues work on a wide range of issues.  Alaina was introduced to the community based forestry movement as research assistant at the Ecosystem Workforce Program in Eugene.  Her previous work experience includes tutoring for the American English Institute, three weeks in Bulgaria as a research assistant for the INTREU program and landscaper extraordinaire for Pomeroy's Organic Landscape and Design in Portland.  Alaina holds a bachelors degree in Environmental Studies and Spanish from the University of Oregon Clark Honors College.  During her senior year she completed an Honors thesis, Science and the Klamath Project, where she researched the role of science across the history of the Klamath case to see if and when science influences the policy process, and by what processes it does so.  Alaina is a 7th generation Oregonian, born and raised in Portland.  She is an avid fan of ultimate frisbee.

Shiloh Sundstrom is a native of Deadwood, Oregon and currently serves as Senior Researcher and Program Assistant for the Siuslaw Institute, Inc.  Shiloh recently obtained a Master of Science Degree in Forest Resources at Oregon State University where his research focused on how privatization of rangeland resources has affected traditional land use and wildlife conservation opportunities among Maasai livestock herders in southern Kenya.  Prior to being at Oregon State University he received a B.A. in History and Environmental Studies from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachussets where his senior research focused on the history of federal water use obligations in the Klamath River Basin in southern Oregon and Nothern California.  Shiloh has also worked for the Siuslaw Watershed Council in Mapleton, Oregon where he was involved in watershed restoration planning, landowner outreach, and coordinating natural resource education programs in local elementary, middle, and high schools.  He also trains horses and co-manages a small cow-calf and sheep operation in Deadwood, Oregon.

Tennessee ~

Whitney Kimball Coe is a program associate with the Center for Rural Strategies and contributes to the facilitation and organization of the National Rural Assembly, a rural movement made up of activities and partnerships geared at building better policy and more opportunity across the country.  Since 2007, Whitney has also been involved with the work of the Rural Development Philanthropy Collaborative, a coalition of rural philanthropy practitioners, funders, and intermediaries from all over the world who have developed, practiced, and refined the fundamentals of rural development philanthropy.  Before joining the Rural Strategies staff, Whitney served as assistant editor of Appalachian Journal, an academic regional journal based in Boone, North Carolina. She recently received her masters in Appalachian Studies from Appalachian State University. Whitney and her husband now live in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Vermont ~

Andrea L. Colnes, Policy and Development Director of the Biomass Energy Resources Center.  Andi Colnes has spent much of her career working on natural resource public policy and coalition building throughout New England and elsewhere in the country, where she has held a variety of positions focused on large-scale land conservation, sustainable forestry, and energy issues across the Northeast. Her background in energy issues began with her work on Vermont's first Comprehensive Energy Plan under Governor Madeleine Kunin, and more recently working closely with BERC and partners in launching and implementing the Northern Forest Biomass Energy Initiative. Andi served as founding executive director of the Northern Forest Alliance, policy director of the Northern Forest Center, and deputy director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council. She co-founded Americans for Our Heritage and Recreation and the Eastern Forest Partnership and helped launch the National Rural Assembly. Immediately prior to joining BERC, Andi served as the policy leadership director for the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire, where she worked with nonprofit leaders throughout northern New England. Andi has a master’s in Wildlife Conservation from the University of Maine and a BA in Political Science from Williams College.

Washington ~

Jay McLaughlin, Executive Director of Mt. Adams Resource Stewards. Jay is the founding director of Mt. Adams Resource Stewards, and has been involved with sustainable forestry and community-based conservation efforts for twelve years.  Past positions include the Bureau of Indian Affairs, US Forest Service, Yale Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry and Program on Forest Certification, Wallowa Resources and the Peace Corps in addition to his own consulting business.  Jay also worked as a high school teacher for two years when he first moved to Glenwood, WA.  Jay has a Master in Forestry with an emphasis in watershed management and restoration from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and a BA in Biology from Whitman College.

District of Columbia ~

Gerry Gray is Vice President for Policy and oversees the Forest Policy Center at American Forests.  He has extensive experience working on policy issues related to the restoration, protection, and management of public and private forests. Since the mid-1990s, his policy work has focused on advancing community-based forestry and helping to bring the voices of local and regional partners to the national policy arena.  In addition, Gerry has worked on issues related to forests and climate change and forest-based ecosystem services. Prior to joining American Forests in 1988, Gerry worked as a state forest resource planner with the Division of Forestry, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and with the U.S. Forest Service, Northeastern Area, State and Private Forestry.  He holds a Doctor of Forestry degree from the University of Minnesota (1987), a Master of Forest Science from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (1982), and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University (1978).

Jake Reilly is a Program Associate with the Forest Policy Center at American Forests in Washington, DC where he provides tracking and analysis of emerging policy issues, along with administration support for the organization’s advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill.  Much of Jake’s research and analysis is centered on the design and implementation of climate change policy, with a broader focus on markets for ecosystem services.  Jake holds a bachelors degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park with a concentration in environmental economics and policy.  He is a native of the Washington, DC area, having grown up just north of the city in suburban Maryland.  Beyond his exploits as a budding policy wonk, Jake enjoys running, hiking, cooking, and playing everything from the bass guitar to the baritone horn.

Laura Schweitzer works as the Director of Forest Policy at American Forests, based in Washington, DC. Since 2004, her work has focused on strengthening the participation of community-based forestry groups in national policy discussions. Additionally, she has advocated for legislative and administrative policies seeking to jointly achieve forest restoration and community wellbeing. Prior to joining American Forests, Laura worked at the Blodgett Forest Research Station in Georgetown, CA as a forest technician. Laura also worked in government affairs with Ball Janik LLC in Washington, DC. Currently, she is serving on the board of the Communities Committee. Laura holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the University of California at Berkeley.