Agenda
Meet our Keynote Speaker
Nalini Nadkarni
Tuesday, July 15
Registration Desk Open
1:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Nalini Nadkarni
Keynote Speaker
Opening Reception
5:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Ambassador Room
Keynote Speaker:
Nalini Nadkarni National Geographic Explorer at Large | Professor Emeritus, University of Utah School of Biological Sciences | Senior Research Fellow, Sorenson Impact Institute, National Geographic & University of Utah
With Remarks From
Sacha Spector, Program Director for the Environment, Doris Duke Foundation
Jad Daley, President and Chief Executive Officer, Emeritus, American Forests
Becky Turner, Chief Policy and Partnerships Officer, American Forests
Wednesday, July 16
Registration & Information Desk Open
7:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Buffet Breakfast
7:00 AM – 8:30 AM
Ambassador Room
Plenary 1: Healthy Forests, Thriving Communities
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Regency Ballroom
Welcome Remarks
Rita Hite, President and CEO, American Forest Foundation
Dr. Cristina Eisenberg
Fireside Chat with US Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz
Moderator: Terry Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Society of American Foresters
Conversation with Representative Bruce Westerman and Senator Alex Padilla
Moderator: David Tenny, President and CEO, National Alliance of Forest Owner
Break
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Plenary 2: Healthy Forests, Thriving Communities; Changing How We Think and Act
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM
Regency Ballroom
Congress Overview
Presented by: The Facilitation Team
Panel: Looking Back to Look Forward: Reflections from the 7th & 8th Forest Congresses
Moderator: Gary Dunning, Executive Director, The Forest School & The Forests Dialogue, Yale School of the Environment
• Tia Beavert, Tribal Forestry Program Manager, Yakama Nation
• Tony Cheng, Professor in Forest & Rangeland Stewardship and Director Emeritus, Colorado Forest Restoration Institute
• Katie Fernholz, President and CEO, Dovetail Partners
• Lynn Jungwirth, Founder, The Watershed Center
Transition Break
11:45 PM - 1:15 PM
Lunch + Communications Keynote
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM
Regency Ballroom
Panel: American Forests in the Public Mind
David Metz, President, FM3 Research
Lori Weigel, Principal, New Bridge Strategy
Transition Break
1:15 PM - 1:30 PM
Concurrent Sessions 1: Panel + Dialogues + Resolution Room
1:30 PM - 2:45 PM
Review Cvent App for Location
Panel: From Shared Stewardship to Shared Responsibility
Moderator: Cody Desautel, Executive Director, Colville Reservation and President of the Intertribal Timber Council
• Kristin Sleeper, Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Eva Vrana, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Interior
• Laura McCarthy, State Forester, New Mexico Forestry Division
• Phil Rigdon, Superintendent of Yakama Nation’s Natural Resources Department
• Marcus Selig, Chief Conservation Officer, National Forest Foundation
Dialogue: Co-Creating a Communications and Advocacy Campaign for the New Era
Host: Nigel Purvis, CEO, Climate Advisers
Dialogue: State and Regional Forest Sector Carbon Modeling to Inform Policy & Action
Host: Kendall DeLyser, Sr. Director, Forest Climate Science, American Forests
Principles & Resolutions Work Session
Transition Break
2:45 PM - 3:00 PM
Concurrent Sessions 2: Panel + Dialogues + Resolution Room
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Review Cvent App for Location
Panel: Perspectives on Integrating Resilient Conservation, Connectivity and Management Strategies Across Large Landscapes
Moderator: Sacha Spector, Program Director for the Environment, Doris Duke Foundation
• Susan Jane Brown, Principal and Chief Legal Counsel, Silvix Resources
• Jimmy Bullock, Senior Vice President, Forest Sustainability, Resource Management Service, LLC
• Brian Kittler, Chief Program Officer, Resilient Forests, American Forests
• Katy Shallows, Appalachians Forest Director, The Nature Conservancy
• Tim Vredenburg, Director of Forest Management, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians
• Abigail Weinberg, Vice President of Science and Conservation Policy, Open Space Institute
Dialogue: Indigenous Talking Circle
Host: Dr. Cristina Eisenberg
Dialogue: Leveraging Storytelling for Impact: Non-traditional Forest Stakeholders in Focus
Hosts: Vinamra Mathur, Director for the Biodiversity Indicators Program, The Colorado Natural Heritage Program, and Jennifer Hong, Global Ambassador, Youth4Nature
Dialogue: Putting Forests Firsts: How can the Mass Timber Industry Lead the Way?
Host: Sandra Lupien, Director, MassTimber@MSU, Michigan State University
Principles & Resolutions Work Session
Transition Break
4:15 PM - 4:30 PM
Plenary 3: Reflections and Principles Voting
4:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Regency Ballroom
Happy Hour
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Thursday, July 17
Registration & Information Desk Open
7:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Buffet Breakfast
7:00 AM - 8:15 AM
Ambassador Room
Plenary 4: Welcome and What's Ahead
8:15 AM - 8:45 AM
Regency Room
Transition Break
8:45 AM - 9:00 AM
Concurrent Sessions 3: Panel + Dialogues + Resolution Room
9:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Review Cvent App for Location
Panel: Frontiers in Forest Finance: Deploying Private Capital to Meet Emergent Forest Ownership, Restoration and Stewardship Needs
Moderator: Peter Stein, Managing Director, The Lyme Timber Company
• Zach Knight, Co-Founder and CEO, Blue Forest
• Tiffanie Starr, Managing Director of Acquisitions, Timberland Investment Resources
• Chandler Van Voorhis, Co-Founder and Manager, Acre Investment Management, LLC
Dialogue: Friends of the Forest Service Scoping Session
Host: Meryl Harrell, Friends of the Forest Service
Dialogue: Future Prospects for Bioenergy from Forests in the US
Host: Gary Dunning, Executive Director, The Forest School & The Forests Dialogue, Yale School of the Environment
Dialogue: Widening the Aperture of Forest Value in the U.S
Host: Jason Milks, Director, U.S. Reforestation Program, The Nature Conservancy
Dialogue: Addressing the Climate Crisis through US Forest Sector Partnerships, Assurances, and Innovation
Hosts: Lauren Cooper, Chief Conservation Officer, Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Greg Cooper, Director, Conservation Implementation, Sustainable Forestry Initiative
Principles & Resolutions Work Session
Transition Break
10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
Concurrent Sessions 4: Panel + Dialogues + Resolution Room
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM
Review Cvent App for Location
Panel: When Wildfire Transcends the Forest
Moderator: Tyson Bertone-Riggs, Managing Director, Alliance for Wildfire Resilience
• Sarah Altemus-Pope, Executive Director, Oakridge Air
• Genny Biggs, Program Director, Wildfire Resilience Initiative and Special Projects, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
• George Geissler, Washington State Forester, Washington Department of Natural Resources
• Bill Tripp, Director of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy, Karuk Tribe Department of Natural Resources
Dialogue: The Future of Urban Forestry Legislation: Innovative Ideas to Drive Action and Investment
Hosts: Danielle Watson, Senior Director, Policy, American Forests, and Matt Spitsen, Senior Program Manager of the Alliance for Community Trees Program, The Arbor Day Foundation
Dialogue: Beyond the Map: Building Resilient Forest Information Systems Through Shared Capacity
Hosts: Reed Van Beeren, Deputy Director of Technology, Environmental Policy Innovation Center, Peter Nelson, Principal, Overstory Strategies, and David Dreher, Senior Manager, Public Lands Policy, National Wildlife Federation
Dialogue: Appalachian Forests: Collaborating to Improve Landscape Resilience
Host: Sally Palmer, External Affairs Advisor, Central Appalachians, The Nature Conservancy
Principles & Resolutions Work Session
Lunch + Community Panel
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM
Regency Ballroom
Panel: Forest Stewardship Through Community-Based Innovation
Moderator: Heidi Huber-Stearns, Director, Ecosystem Workforce Program & Director, Center for Wildfire Smoke Research and Practice in the Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and Environments, University of Oregon
• Nick Goulette, Executive Co-Director, The Watershed Research & Training Center
• Matt Spitsen, Senior Program Manager of the Alliance for Community Trees Program, The Arbor Day Foundation
• Bethany Wilkinson, Executive Director, Sustainable Forestry & African American Land Retention Network (SFLR)
Transition Break
1:15 PM - 1:30 PM
Concurrent Sessions 5: Panel + Dialogues + Resolution Room
1:30 PM - 2:45 PM
Review Cvent App for Location
Panel: Rooted in the Future: Cultivating Young and Emerging Talent in the Forest Sector
Moderator: Terry Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Society of American Foresters
• Lillian Dinkins, PhD Candidate and Graduate Assistant, Human Dimensions of Urban Forests, University of Florida
• Stephanie Fuller, Director of Promotions and Economic Development, Forest Workforce Training Institute
• Justin Kunkle, Academic Affairs and Recruitment Coordinator, Michigan State University, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Institute of Agricultural Technology
• Joe Majewski, Acting Director of Wildland Fire, U.S. Department of Interior
• Michael Summers, Director of Grants Management, The Corps Network
Dialogue: Reducing Risk of Destructive Wildfire
Hosts: Zander Evans, Executive Director, Forest Stewards Guild and Esmé Cadiente, Deputy Director, Forest Stewards Guild
Dialogue: Securing the Future of U.S. Forest Carbon Science and Policy
Hosts: Chad Papa, Director, Forest Carbon and Climate Program, Department of Forestry, Michigan State University, Sara Kuebbing, Director of the Yale Applied Science Synthesis Program, The Forest School at the Yale School of the Environment, and Chris Woodall, Director of U.S. Forest Science and Policy, CTrees
Principles & Resolutions Work Session
Transition Break
2:45 PM - 3:00 PM
Concurrent Sessions 6: Panel + Dialogues + Resolution Room
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Review Cvent App for Location
Panel: Markets for Sustainable Forest Products and Ecosystem Services
Moderator: Ann Bartuska, Senior Advisor and Senior Contributing Scientist, Resources for the Future and Environmental Defense Fund
• Christine Cadigan, Executive Vice President, Carbon Origination, American Forest Foundation
• Rachael Jamison, Vice President, Markets & Sustainability, American Wood Council
• Jonathan Lowery, Vice President, Sustainability and Government Relations, The Westervelt Company
Panel: Multisector Strategies for Research and Innovation
Moderator: Emily Silver, Associate Chairperson, Director of Graduate Studies, and Associate Professor, Forest Policy and Social Science, Department of Forestry, Michigan State University
• Jane Alonso, Founder and CEO, Alonso Strategic Consulting LLC
• Jennifer Newmark, Western Conservation Coordinator, The Wildlife Management Institute
• ShiNaasha Pete, Director, Tribal and Indigenous Partnerships, Forest Restoration, American Forests
• Patrick Roberts, Senior Political Scientist, The RAND Corporation
• Chris Woodall, Director of U.S. Forest Science and Policy, CTrees
Dialogue: Engaging and Leveraging the Recreation Community towards Forest Conservation
Host: Marcus Selig, Chief Conservation Officer, National Forest Foundation
Dialogue: Ask Me Anything: Investing in Young Forest Professionals and Career Development
Hosts: Vinamra Mathur, Director for the Biodiversity Indicators Program, The Colorado Natural Heritage Program, and Jennifer Hong, Global Ambassador, Youth4Natur
Principles & Resolutions Work Session
Transition Break
4:15 PM - 4:30 PM
Plenary 5: Reflections and Resolutions Voting
4:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Regency Ballroom
Friday, July 18
Information Desk Open
7:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Regency Gallery
Buffet Breakfast
7:00 AM - 8:30 AM
Regency Gallery
Plenary 6: Resolutions Voting
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Regency Ballroom
Break + Check Out
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Plenary 7: Continuation of Work Post Congress
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Regency Ballroom
Panel: Moving the Work of the Congress Forward
Closing Fireside Chat
Adjournment
12:00 PM
Session Descriptions:
Plenary Sessions and lunches will engage top leaders—senior executives, members of Congress, leaders of former Congresses—in delivering inspiring, informative, and relevant content to spark big-picture discussion.
Strategy-Focused Panels are conversations built around enabling strategies like finance, workforce, research, partnerships that support systemic change across topics.
Dialogues are participant-led conversations where attendees connect on shared interests, co-create ideas, and work across sectors—increasing collaboration and building ideas from panels.
Principles & Resolutions Work Sessions are spaces to roll-up your sleeves with others to identify and refine goals and next steps for long-term impact.
Dialogues:
Dialogues will span a wide range of timely and forward-looking topics—from forest carbon science, wildfire risk, and Indigenous knowledge-sharing, to urban forestry, recreation partnerships, and innovations in bioenergy. Whether exploring data-driven forest resilience, non-traditional storytelling, or future-proofing the forest sector, these sessions offer opportunities for collaboration across disciplines and perspectives.
Below are some of the dialogues in the works:
- Putting Forests Firsts: How can the Mass Timber Industry Lead the Way?
- Indigenous Talking Circle
- Beyond the Map: Building Resilient Forest Information Systems Through Shared Capacity
- The Future of Urban Forestry Legislation: Innovative Ideas to Drive Action and Investment
- Reducing the Risk of Destructive Wildfire
- State and Regional Forest Sector Carbon Modeling to Inform Policy & Action
- Engaging and leveraging the recreation community towards forest conservation
- Appalachian Forests: Collaborating to improve landscape resilience
- Securing the Future of U.S. Forest Carbon Science and Policy
- Non-traditional forest stakeholders in focus: Leveraging storytelling for impact
- Ask Me Anything – Future-Proofing the Forest Sector
- Friends of the Forest Service Scoping Session
- Widening the Aperture of Forest Value in the U.S.
- Future Prospects for Bioenergy from Forests in the US
- Addressing the climate crisis through US forest sector partnerships, assurances, and innovation