Keynote Speakers

Julian Elder

Julian Elder is the Chief Executive at Scion, a Crown research institute in New Zealand. His talk will cover why research and development is crucial to the future of forestry – both the risks it faces but also the opportunity.

Kenneth Er

Kenneth Er is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Parks Board in Singapore, the lead agency overseeing parks, nature reserves and greenery in the city. He will be presenting on The Science & Technology behind transforming Singapore into a City in Nature.

Dr Suresh Chandra Gairola

Dr Gairola is the Country Director of the Forest Stewardship Council India. Previously he was the Head of Forest Force Maharashtra in India. With 38 years of experience as a forestry expert, he provides valuable knowledge on the important topic of climate change and carbon sequestration.

Dr Shannon Hagerman

Dr Hagerman is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia. Her research examines the science-policy-management interface in the context of adapting conservation and resource management to climate and other drivers of change.

Dr John L. Innes

Dr John Innes is Dean of the Faculty of Forestry. He is actively involved with climate change research, particularly its effects on forest ecosystems. Dr Innes teaches in the field of international and sustainable forestry.

Dr Suzanne Mavoa

Dr Mavoa’s research addresses some of the newest and most topical issues of our time – the interplay between urban nature and human health and well-being.  Her talk will provide an overview of this exciting and rapidly growing area of research. 

Dr Harini Nagendra

Dr Nagendra is a distinguished ecologist who uses a wide-range of research methods to examine the social-ecological sustainability of forests and cities.  She is an acclaimed book author and will be presenting the topic, Urban forestry in the era of the Anthropocene: Science, education, action.

Michael Norton

Mike Norton is a wildfire and wildland fire expert with Natural Resources Canada. He will be presenting on Strategic Directions Towards Building Resilience to Wildland Fire in Canada.

Dr Chris Quine

Dr Quine is a Professor and Chief Scientist at Forest Research in the United Kingdom. He has conducted applied research in temperate/boreal forest systems on topics such as wind risk, biodiversity, decision support, resilience, and ecosystem services.

Dr Savita

Dr Savita  is a world-renowned forestry expert and trailblazer for women in forestry in India.  She chaired the 19th Commonwealth Forestry Conference and has agreed to share her outlook for the future of forests. 

Special Session Speakers

New Markets and Applications: Building Our Future
Monday, August 16, 9:00 PDT | 12 pm EST | 5 pm UK

  • Ian de la Roche, Recent Trends in Building with Wood
  • Neil Thomas, Building with Bamboo
  • Chunping Dai, Sustainable Material Developments with Bamboo
  • Michael Ramage, Growing the Future
  • J. Eric Karsh, Beyond the Case for Tall Wood
  • John Metras, The Evolution of Mass Timber Construction at the University of British Columbia

Forest Stewardship Council Session
Tuesday, August 17, 8 am PDT (TBC)

  • Alan Thorne, FSC’s Global Strategy
  • Pina Gervassi, Delivering Nature Based Solutions Through Forest Certification, Ecosystem Services and Restoration
  • Harrison Ochieng Kojwang, Using FSC Forest Certification to Promote and Incentivize Restoration in Africa
  • Francois Dufresne, Leadership in Caribou Conservation Through Voluntary Certification
  • Cindy Cheng, New Forest Based Products – Textile Sector in Asia