SFI adds three members to senior leadership team: Lauren Cooper as Chief Conservation Officer, Dr. Healy Hamilton as Chief Scientist, Christine Leduc as VP of Communications and Government Relations

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is pleased to welcome Lauren Cooper as Chief Conservation Officer, Dr. Healy Hamilton as Chief Scientist, and Christine Leduc, R.P.F., as Vice-President of Communications and Government Relations.

Lauren, Healy, and Christine will join SFI’s Senior Leadership Team, alongside Jason Metnick, Senior VP Customer Affairs, Nadine Block, Senior VP Community and Government Relations, Paul Robitaille, Senior Advisor Indigenous Relations, Brian Crowe, Chief Financial Officer, and Raj Perumal, Chief Technology Officer of WolfStrata Group, all under the leadership of Kathy Abusow, President and CEO.

“I’m proud to welcome Lauren, Healy, and Christine to this evolving team with diverse talents during an exciting time for SFI. This addition will amplify and scale SFI’s sustainability contributions with Lauren overseeing the Conservation Pillar, including impact work and conservation grants, Healy taking on the new role of Chief Scientist, and Christine spearheading efforts to promote the value of our forest-focused collaborations,” said Kathy Abusow.

Lauren will bring her experience in climate change and carbon to head the SFI Conservation Pillar and contribute across SFI pillars. Healy brings advanced expertise in global biodiversity science and will work in this new position across all SFI programs to incorporate this scientific expertise to the SFI mission. Christine will draw on her extensive professional experience in forestry to lead strategic communications and Green Jobs work in Canada.

SFI is also pleased to announce the following changes to the SFI team:

David Folkerson has accepted the position of VP, Sales & Business Development.
Cathy Galligos has been hired as Director, Indigenous Forest Certification.
Paul Johnson, Senior Director, Urban and Community Forestry, will lead Career Pathways work in the U.S.
Ana Leirner has been promoted to Senior Director, Professional Learning and Education Products.
Jerri Taylor, Director, Diversity in Career Pathways, will be leading SFI’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging’s Working Group.

SFI looks forward to continuing its commitment to education and will begin the search for a new VP of Education and is seeking candidates with a broad education network and strong government relations skills. The position will be based out of the Washington, D.C. office.

“I’d also like to acknowledge Jess Kaknevicius, outgoing VP Education transitioning to the role of CEO of Forests Ontario, as well as Bettina Ring, former Chief Sustainability & Diversity Officer as she starts in her new role leading The Nature Conservancy in Virginia,” said Abusow. “Best wishes to both as they start new leadership roles, and we’ll look forward to continued collaboration.”

The SFI Team looks forward to welcoming you at the 2023 SFI Annual Conference in Vancouver, B.C., held in collaboration with PEFC Week from May 14-18^th.

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.