Keynote Speakers
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 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 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.
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