The Guild’s Leadership
Written by Colleen Robinson
The Guild benefits from two leadership teams. Our Board of Directors bears the fiduciary responsibility for the organization and oversees budgets, investments, and other financial matters. The Membership and Policy Council writes policy and position statements for the Guild and sets membership guidelines. Both teams are made up of Guild members and help ensure the Guild is meeting the needs of stewards across the country. Both of the Guild’s leadership teams added new members in December.
The Guild’s Board of Directors
The Forest Stewards Guild has been fortunate to have an effective and thoughtful board. Over the last three decades, they have guided the Guild through challenges and kept the organization on a firm foundation. At their December meeting, the Guild’s board elected Austin Himes, Assistant Professor at Washington State University’s School of the Environment, to join their ranks. Austin has been an active Guild member, serving on the Membership and Policy Council as well as helping with the Northwest Innovative Forestry Summit. John Galvan, forester at Jemez Pueblo Natural Resource Department, was reelected for another term on the board. John has been active on the board. He joined staff on a policy trip to Washington, DC, at the Northwest Innovative Forestry Summit, and the recent Ponderosa Pine Utilization Summit – in addition to co-authoring an article in the most recent issue of Forest Steward.
At the same meeting, The board elected Amber Ellering, Forest Policy and Planning Supervisor at Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, as chair and Tony D’Amato, professor and director of the Forestry Program at University of Vermont, as vice-chair. Peter Hayes, president at Hyla Woods, and Kaarsten Turner, forester at Earth Force Technologies, will continue as Secretary and Treasurer, respectively.
Al Sample, professor at George Mason University, will serve as past chair. It is worth highlighting Al’s service on the board so far. Al was a founding member of the Guild and has served on the board for almost the Guild’s entire history (with a short sabbatical from 2005 to 2007). Over that time, he served as the board chair for 12 years. Al led the Guild’s board during turbulent times such as the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID pandemic. The board will continue to benefit from his institutional memory and panoramic knowledge of forestry and conservation.
Membership and Policy Council elections
Professional (including those retired) and Lifetime Guild members elected three new members to their representative Membership and Policy Council (MPC), for terms running January 2026 through December 2028. Thank you to those who voted. A Guild-wide thanks to all candidates who ran for our MPC this year.
Please welcome our new MPC members: Stephen Montgomery, Kristen Pelz, Alexandra Kosiba. Your MPC is arranging a virtual meet & greet with new members soon, so you can learn more about the council overall, and how you, as Guild members, can engage with them. In the meantime, check out MPC member bios and contact information on our MPC webpage.
Thank you to Tish Carr, Clint Patterson, who stepped down from the MPC at the end of their terms in December, and to Austin Himes, who shifted his service to the Board of Directors. Your insights, dedication, and contributions over the past three years+ have been more valuable than we can express.
A note from Colleen Robinson (Guild Communications Manager and the staff liaison to our MPC): I keep noticing how the MPC’s collaborations and contributions happen both formally and more informally. Ideas and comments or feedback that are casually mentioned in MPC meetings end up enriching a project, or opening up an entire new realm of thought about a policy. Also, detailed, collaborative discussions and edits improve Guild policy statements. The feedback MPC provides to Guild staff and members, and the assistance they provide at key times of the Guild’s membership calendar, are appreciated, and help make us an ever-stronger community. Thank you to all who have served and who will serve the Guild’s MPC! It’s truly a delight to work with you.