Nick Andrews
CEO & Co-Founder
USA BioEnergy
Nick Andrews leads and delivers the performance of USA BioEnergy. Prior to founding USABE, he spent nearly 25 years as a senior executive in commercial real estate including 22 years as a project developer and founder/owner of a brokerage firm in Scottsdale, AZ. His experience in managing corporate growth, implementing complex multi-tiered financial strategies, both for his own organization and others, has enabled USABE to achieve an enviable record in the industry. Nick is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) which combined with his entrepreneurial acumen and creative instinct has been invaluable to the company’s ambitious growth trajectory.
Steve Baczko
Head of Business Development
Finite Carbon
Steve brings 20+ years of management, strategic consulting and business development experience working in carbon markets, natural climate solutions, renewable energy, climate policy and emerging markets. Steve currently serves as Head of Business Development, where he directs new market and program development, commercial engagements and strategic partnerships for compliance and voluntary markets. Prior to joining Finite, Steve was Managing Director for NatureBank, an international forest carbon project developer and technical advisory firm specializing in nature-based solutions. Steve started his career in the carbon markets as Head of New Markets and Senior Manager of Global Consulting services for EcoSecurities/JP Morgan, the largest developer of emission reduction projects for the global carbon markets. Steve also has worked at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment branch of the World Bank where he helped launch the Grassroots Business Initiative, a pioneering impact investment fund. Before joining the IFC, Steve lived in Vietnam where he worked in natural fiber manufacturing and supply chain development, principally for IKEA.
Steve holds a BA from Georgetown University and serves as a Director to BioSolutions, the Advisory Board for One Energy and is the former founding Director of Oregon Business for Climate.
David Brand
Chief Executive Officer
New Forests
David Brand founded New Forests in 2005 and leads the company’s investment programs. He is a member of New Forests’ Board of Directors and is the Chair of the company’s Investment Committees. David has over 40 years’ experience in forestry investment, forest management, science, and public policy. David is dedicated to innovative, responsible investment strategies in the forest sector and associated assets, including infrastructure, wood processing, and environmental markets. Previously, David was responsible for investment programs that integrated forest management with emerging environmental market opportunities at Hancock Natural Resources Group (HNRG). Prior to joining HNRG, David was the Executive General Manager of State Forests of NSW where he led pioneering transactions in the commercial development of environmental markets. From 1985-1995, David worked with the Canadian Forest Service as a scientist, director of scientific programs, and ultimately as national Director-General of Science and Sustainable Development. He serves on the Advisory Board of The World BioEconomy Forum, the Board of Directors of the Washington, DC-based non-governmental organisation Forest Trends, the Board of Trustees of Bangkok-based Intergovernmental Organisation The Centre for People and Forests, the Board of International NGO the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction, the Australian Government Ministerial Advisory Committee on Forestry and is Chair of wood processing business, Timberlink Australia. David has a PhD from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the University of Toronto in Canada.
Van Butsic
Senior Science Analyst
Carbon Direct
Dr. Butsic leads CD in combining forest science, geospatial analysis, and statistical modeling to improve the quality of nature based CDR. He works with clients to help them understand the principals for high quality CDR in the forestry sector and with CD’s tech team to integrate science, software and product.
Before joining Carbon Direct, Dr. Butsic was an Associate Professor and Cooperative Extension Specialists at UC Berkeley where he combined novel econometric methods with geospatial analysis to understand the causes and consequences of land use policy. Dr. Butsic has developed methods to look at diverse drivers of land use change including carbon offsets, protected areas, wildland fire, agricultural subsidies, war and the regulation of illicit drugs.
Renee Cheung
Managing Partner
Bonterra Partners
Renee is Managing Partner of Bonterra Partners, an investment consulting firm she founded in 2010 that helps clients develop pioneering agriculture, forestry and other natural capital investments that regenerate the environment and local communities. She was formerly Senior Vice President, Real Assets at New Island Capital, where she focused on investments in sustainable and regenerative agriculture and forestry in the Americas and the rest of the world. Previously, she was a private equity executive at RIT Capital Partners PLC and Pantheon Ventures. Renee received a BS in Computer Science and an MS in Management of Science & Engineering from Stanford University.
Eric Cooperström
Managing Director, Impact Investing and Natural Climate Solutions
Manulife Investment Management
Eric Cooperström is responsible for developing timberland and agriculture products that deliver on Manulife Investment Management’s sustainability and responsible investing priorities. In this role, he is directly involved in developing Manulife IM’s carbon and climate investment strategy, supporting new business development and providing market intelligence and leadership. Prior to joining Manulife IM in 2021, Eric was a Senior Director with NatureVest, the impact investing arm of The Nature Conservancy, where he led asset management and led investment committee review of new transactions. Before joining TNC in 2016, Eric was a Principal with The Skoll Foundation, a private foundation focused on social entrepreneurship, where he led program related and follow-on investments. Eric holds an MA in International Economics and International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Elizabeth Crouse
Partner, Power Practice Group Coordinator
K&L Gates
Elizabeth Crouse provides business-focused solutions for U.S. federal, state, and international tax problems in a variety of transactions and investment structures. Elizabeth works hand-in-hand with clients to create and implement practical and efficient international and domestic corporate structures, negotiate tax-focused and tax-informed provisions in a variety of contracts, and lead transactions, particularly in the renewable energy and fuels, hydrogen, carbon, and cryptocurrency industries.
In addition to supporting her clients, Elizabeth is the practice group coordinator of K&L Gates’ global Power practice, co-chair of the firm’s ESG practice, co-chair of the firm’s Sustainability Initiative, co-director of the Seattle chapter of Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy, chair of the Renewable Hydrogen Alliance’s Oregon Policy Subcommittee, and a member of the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association (PNWH2) Board Advisory Committee.
Elizabeth has been recognized by Best Lawyers for Energy and Tax law and Super Lawyers magazine as a “Rising Star”.
Angie Davis
President
Campbell Global
Angie’s responsibilities include implementing comprehensive client service plans for existing and future clients and the execution of Campbell Global’s growth strategy. She serves on the Allocation and Investment Committees. She also is a member of the Board of Directors for OneFortyOne Plantations and chair of the OneFortyOne Audit Committee.
Prior to joining Campbell Global, Angie was Vice President, Consultant for State Street Bank in the Performance and Analytics Division. She also served as the Assistant Director of Investments with the Oregon State Treasury. As the Assistant Director of Investments, Angie was responsible for the productive and prudent investment of all State of Oregon funds, including Oregon PERS. She began her career with KPMG Peat Marwick in the audit group.
Angie holds a B.A. in accounting from Linfield College.
Håkan Ekström
Director, International Forest Products Sector
ResourceWise
Mr. Håkan Ekström is the principal of Wood Resources International LLC (WRI), an internationally recognized consulting firm providing forest market analysis and wood price reporting for the forest industry worldwide. WRI publishes the Wood Resource Quarterly, a market report that has tracked prices, trade, and market developments of wood raw-material and forest products worldwide since 1988.
In April 2022, ResourceWise acquired WRI, and Mr. Ekstrom joined the company as Director of the International Forest Products Sector. ResourceWise was founded in 2021 to unify three companies – Forest2Market, Fisher International, and Tecnon OrbiChem. ResourceWise focuses on natural-resource-based industries, including wood products, pulp & paper, and chemicals. The mission is to provide current, reliable, and accurate data and analytics of forest products markets worldwide.
Matt Elhardt
Vice President, Global Sales
ResourceWise
Matt Elhardt is the Vice President, Global Sales for ResourceWise and leads the customer facing organization for all ResourceWise brands. He has two decades of experience in operating, consulting, sales, and marketing roles in commodity industries, especially paper and packaging. Using his experience in combination with his expertise in strategy, sales and commercial excellence, Matt helps clients utilize business intelligence to identify growth potential and achieve performance end-goals.
Prior to joining ResourceWise, Matt led Marketing and Strategy for Longview during its transformational turnaround, which was described by Wall Street as “the best turnaround in the past 25 years.” Matt earned his MBA from the University of Washington, where he was Valedictorian, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Washington State University.
Joe Furia
Executive Director
World Forestry Center
Joe Furia leads World Forestry Center, a Portland-based, 55-year-old nonprofit working
at the intersection of people and forests. In a world grappling with climate change, population growth, and catastrophic wildfire, Joe believes that how we manage our forests impacts all of us. Since joining World Forestry Center in September 2018, Joe has shifted the organization’s focus to driving social change in support of a more sustainable forestry future. He brings expertise in nonprofit executive leadership, natural resource law and policy, and business. He served as chair of the Mitigation Committee of the Oregon Governor’s Council on Wildfire Response, which provided Governor Kate Brown with recommendations on how sustainable forest management can help address catastrophic wildfires in Oregon.
Before World Forestry Center, Joe worked as General Counsel and Policy Director for The Freshwater Trust (the largest restoration-focused organization in the Pacific Northwest) and as a natural resource and environmental attorney for the law firms K&L Gates LLP and Landye, Bennett, Blumstein.
Joe earned his B.A. in Political Science from Yale College and a J.D. from Lewis &
Clark Law School.
Jim Gasperoni
Managing Partner
Ellis Square Capital
Jim Gasperoni serves as Managing Partner of Ellis Square Capital and has over 25 years of real assets investment and advisory experience. Jim previously served as Co-Head of Real Assets at Aberdeen Standard Investments where he directed a diversified private real assets strategy for discretionary and non-discretionary clients and was a member of the real assets investment committee. He was also a Partner at FLAG Capital Management prior to joining Aberdeen via the firm’s acquisition in 2015. Prior to FLAG, Jim was Managing Director of Real Assets and Private Equity for the Brown University Investment Office, where he was responsible for all real estate, energy, timber and commodities investments on behalf of the University’s endowment. Prior to Brown, Jim was part of a three-person real assets investment team at Princeton University Investment Company where he was involved in all due diligence, manager selection and portfolio construction on behalf of the University’s endowment. Prior to his tenure at Princeton, he worked at Nassau Capital, a private firm investing on behalf of Princeton University. He also worked for Corporate Realty Investment Company and started his career at his family real estate consulting firm. Jim holds an MS in Real Estate from MIT, an MBA from the University of Massachusetts (Lowell) and a BS in Accounting from Boston College. He is an Adjunct Lecturer at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management.
Eric Hallstein
Managing Director, Agriculture and Natural Assets Group, Macquarie Asset Management
Dr. Eric Hallstein is a Managing Director in Macquarie Asset Management’s Agriculture and Natural Assets Group. Previously as Managing Director in The Nature Conservancy’s NatureVest unit, he led a team leveraging TNC’s conservation finance, science and technical expertise to invest and advise on ~ USD $2.5 billion of institutional investments globally [direct and partnerships] in forestry and agricultural to deliver environmental impact alongside financial returns. Eric has served on and chaired multiple investment committees. Previously at TNC, as Director of Conservation Investments and Chief Economist, Eric led TNC California’s transaction, conservation finance, and economic functions. As Conservation Investments Director, Eric and his team closed 50+ real asset transactions and managed hundreds of real property interests, including TNC’s Conservation Farms and Ranches business, which managed TNC California’s revenue generating forest, rangeland and agricultural properties. Outside of TNC, Eric chairs the steering committee for the Conservation Finance Network. Prior to TNC, Dr. Hallstein was a principal with Imprint Capital Advisors (acquired by Goldman Sachs in 2014), a management consultant for the Boston Consulting Group, a venture investor and Kauffman Fellow with Imprint Capital, Omidyar Network and the CalCEF Clean Energy Fund, and a founding team member of GoodGuide (acquired by UL Environment in 2012). Eric has published in Science Advances, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, and Environmental and Resource Economics, among others. He and his team’s work has also been featured in a variety of news outlets, including NPR’s Planet Money, The New York Times, Fast Company, the Economist, Forbes and National Geographic. Dr. Hallstein earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group where he was a National Science Foundation Fellow, and his B.A. from Harvard University.
Tim Hartigan
Managing Director, Portfolio Management and Marketing
Timberland Investment Resources
Tim leads TIR’s Eastern Timberland Opportunities commingled-fund platform and is responsible for both its fundraising and portfolio management functions. Previously, he led the Portfolio Management team at TIR. He is also a member of TIR’s Investment, Information Systems Steering, and Human Resources committees and serves as an advisor to its ESG Committee.Tim joined TIR in 2010 after spending most of his career in the commercial real estate sector. He held several high-profile senior management roles with Lend Lease Real Estate Investments, a Sydney-based investment manager with more than $50 billion in assets under management. During his tenure with the firm, he was Senior Vice President of mergers and new business initiatives, leading the development of a new global investment product and the acquisition of a firm to bolster Lend Lease’s multifamily capabilities, as well as serving on the integration team after Lend Lease’s merger with Equitable Real Estate. He also led a 40-person team on a software-enabled business process redesign project. Just prior to joining TIR, he was president of Hartigan Ventures, which financed and developed residential properties in and around Atlanta. He previously was a senior vice president with The Cannon Company, one of the premier multi-family development firms in the region. Tim held positions earlier in finance and asset management with Prentiss Properties of Atlanta and Cambridge Development of Herndon, Virginia.
Jim Hourdequin
Managing Director and CEO
The Lyme Timber Company
Jim joined Lyme in 2005 and leads the Company’s investment and business strategies. Over the past 17 years, he has managed the acquisition of over 1.8 million acres of timberland throughout the US and Canada. With a background that combines forest ecology and business operations, Jim has led Lyme’s strategic focus on timberland opportunities that combine conservation transactions, climate strategies, and supply chain investments, including sawmills and logging operations. Prior to Lyme, Jim co-founded Long View Forest Inc., a logging and forestry services business based in Vermont, where he remains involved as an owner and member of the management team. He serves on the Board of the National Alliance of Forest Owners and the Finance Committee for the Montshire Museum of Science. Jim earned an M.B.A. with Distinction from the Harvard Business School and a B.A. cum laude in Biology from Dartmouth College.
Claire Huxtable
Paper & Forest Products Analyst
ERA Forest Products Research
Claire Huxtable is part of ERA’s equity research team, focused on North American paper and forest products producers. She previously worked in private equity with the Hancock Timber Resource Group, in Boston and Vancouver, Washington. Claire began her career with Western Forest Products on Vancouver Island. She holds an undergraduate degree in forestry from the University of British Columbia and Laval University, and an MBA from the University of British Columbia. She is a registered professional forester with the Association of British Columbia Forest Professionals and a CFA Charterholder.
Paul Jannke
Principal, Lumber
Forest Economic Advisors
Paul Jannke is a Principal of Forest Economic Advisors LLC, with a main area of expertise in North American lumber markets. Having spent more than 25 years’ analyzing lumber markets and providing reliable, insightful forecasts, Paul is the industry’s top economic analyst. Beyond North American lumber, Paul has co-authored numerous studies on the international and engineered lumber, timber, bioenergy, and panel industries. Paul holds a master’s degree in economics from Boston University and bachelor’s degrees in economics and German from the University of Connecticut. Prior to starting his career in the forest products industry, Paul was a research economist at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, specializing in econometric modeling.
Tracy Johns
Carbon Removal Specialist
Meta
Tracy Johns is a climate change and sustainable development expert with experience in climate policy, multi-stakeholder processes, and cross-sector climate and development. She leads Meta’s work on securing high-quality carbon credits to support its commitment to net zero emissions by 2030, and to invest in high-integrity carbon markets and high-mitigation potential carbon removal across natural and engineered carbon removal approaches.
Over the past 10 years, Tracy’s work has covered a range of climate and resource use issues at organizations such as the Climate and Land Use Alliance, The World Bank, and the Woods Hole Research Center. She has coordinated interdisciplinary policy teams in advocacy and policy development for UNFCCC climate negotiations, and coordinated research and implementation teams linking climate finance to sustainable agricultural supply chains. Tracy has also led private sector engagement in the design and implementation of carbon market-based environmental programs, and served as a US Government Expert Reviewer of UNFCCC national greenhouse gas inventories.
Charlotte Kaiser
Head of Impact Finance
BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG)
As Head of Impact Finance, Charlotte leads TIG’s efforts to source, structure and execute impact-focused transactions; builds and strengthens partnerships with the conservation community and other key stakeholders; leads impact-focused capital formation efforts; and supports impact-focused investment initiatives across TIG’s US $5 billion investment portfolio.
Previously, Charlotte was Managing Director of NatureVest, The Nature Conservancy’s conservation investing division, where she oversaw the development of a portfolio of $2.5B invested in conservation transactions.
A former community development banker, Charlotte holds a BA from Harvard University in Environmental Science & Public Policy, a Masters in Environmental Science from the Yale School of the Environment, and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. She lives in Missoula, MT with her husband and son.
Amanda Lang
COO and Vice President of Client Services
Forisk Consulting
Amanda Lang is a Partner and, as COO and VP of Client Services, leads all of Forisk’s operating, project management and Forisk Subscriber Support activities. She leads Forisk’s mill capital investment research program, and she teaches workshops and delivers presentations related to tracking and evaluating wood markets and forest industry capacity. In 2016, she was named one of the UGA Alumni Association “Forty Under Forty” and was named the Warnell “Young Alumni of the Year.” She serves on the Georgia Forestry Association Board of Directors and is a past chair of the Southeastern Society of American Foresters. She also serves on the Georgia Forester’s Hall of Fame Committee. Ms. Lang received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Forest Resources from the University of Georgia.
Chris Larson
Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer
Alder Point Capital Management
Chris Larson is co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Alder Point Capital Management LP, an investment firm established in 2022 to invest in climate-resilient farmland and timberland assets. Chris is an investor and executive who has been managing impact investing portfolios since 2010, previously serving as Chief Investment Officer and CEO of New Island Capital Management LLC. At New Island, Chris led a team of 21 investment professionals to create a multi-asset-class, institutional-scale, 100% impact portfolio, and pioneered strategies in real assets and commercial real estate. Earlier, Chris held investment research positions at Cambridge Associates and Imprint Capital. He was the Executive Director of the Mattole Restoration Council, a community-based watershed conservation NGO in rural northwestern California. He has an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a BS from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. Chris, his wife and daughter live on and operate a small farm in northern California focused on organic vegetable and fruit production.
Janelle Leafblad
Senior Director, Western Division
WoodWorks – Wood Products Council
Janelle Leafblad is a Senior Director at WoodWorks. Janelle has been an active building technology consultant since 2002, primarily in the area of wood technology, investigation and design of building envelope components, and construction for both historic and contemporary structures. She earned her BS in Architectural Engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and her MS in Wood Science and Technology from the University of California at Berkeley. Janelle is a licensed professional engineer in California.
Dale Lemmons
Owner and President
Interstate Wood Products and Signature Transport
Dale Lemmons has worked in the trucking industry for 43 years. Starting as a driver in the family business, he soon worked into dispatching, then safety and personnel. For the past 20 years, he has been Owner/President of Interstate Wood Products. In 2007, he purchased Signature Transport in Kelso, Washington. Together his companies have approximately 125 employees and 75 trucks.
He is currently the Chairman of the Washington Trucking Associations, a Vice Chairman of the National FRA, and is on the Executive Committee. He is past Chairman of the FRA Western Region, the Oregon Trucking Associations, the Kelso/Longview Chamber of Commerce, and the Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council.
Dale has been married for 41 years and has three grown children and 6 grandchildren. In his spare time, he enjoys a round of golf and riding his Harley.
Jeff Nuss
Senior Advisor and Impact Investor; Founder and Former President & CEO
GreenWood Resources
Jeff Nuss is a senior advisor and impact investor focused on sustainable working landscapes, green products and materials, renewable energy and fuels, and built environment after 22 years as Founder and former President & CEO of GreenWood Resources, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Jeff has over 28 years of business development, management and investment experience, and more than 20 years of experience in international business development. Under his leadership, GreenWood grew to over 150 professionals experienced in overseeing forestry assets and investments close to $2.0 billion in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia (China) and managing approximately 741,000 acres (300,000 hectares) in forestry operations certify under third party certification programs. As CEO, he was directly responsible for the leadership and strategic direction of the company and overall management of the business. He served as Chair of GreenWood’s Executive and Investment Committees as well as Chaired various Boards related to specific investments made by GreenWood.
GreenWood became an affiliate of TIAA’s Asset Management business (Nuveen) when TIAA acquired an ownership in 2012 and was responsible for overseeing timberland investments made on behalf of TIAA’s General Account and other global third-party Institutional Investors seeking the diversification, climate impact, and risk adjusted return value that timberland investments provide to a portfolio.
Jeff currently serves on Port Blakely’s Board of Directors, Board of Investors for Heartwood Biomass, World Forestry Center Board of Directors and was recently the Board Chair, Sustainable Northwest Board of Directors, and Sustainable Northwest Woods (for-profit arm of SNW) Board of Directors, National Forest Foundation, and California’s Board of Forestry’s Joint Institute on Wood Products Innovation Advisory Board. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the National Alliance of Forest Owners, past President and Board member of Agri-Business Council, and past President and Board Member of Western Hardwood Association.
Tim O’Hara
Vice-President, Government Affairs
Forest Resources Association
Tim O’Hara has worked for the forest products industry serving in leadership, budgetary and supervisory roles over the past 20 years. Most of those 20 years Tim worked with Minnesota Forest Industries as Vice President of Forest Policy. Most recently, Tim served as Woodlands Manager for Packaging Corporation of America. Earlier in his career he was a faculty member at Oklahoma State University, serving as the assistant state extension forester. Tim attended college at the University of Minnesota where he earned a BS in Forest Management and Administration, and a MS in Economics and Policy.
Todd Payne
President, Lumber
Sierra Pacific Industries
Todd Payne is President of Lumber at Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) which is headquartered near Redding, California. SPI is an industry leader in technology and innovation in its production facilities as well as being the largest private landowner in the US with over 2.3 million acres. This makes SPI one of the largest lumber manufacturers in North America. The value-added philosophy of SPI allows for the best use of wood fiber in a variety of products including lumber, millwork, windows, landscape materials, and renewable energy.
Todd began his career with Seneca, an Oregon based forest products company, in 1990 after graduating from Oregon State University with a business degree and minor in forest products. Throughout his 32-year career, Todd has held a number of leadership positions including Vice President – Timberlands, Vice President & GM, and President & CEO, all with Seneca. Upon SPI’s acquisition of Seneca at the end of September 2021, Todd accepted the President of Lumber role overseeing SPI’s 18-sawmills, 8-renewable energy facilities, 3-millwork/reman plants, and sales & marketing functions.
Tom Sarno
Global Head of Timberland Investments
Manulife Investment Management
Tom leads Manulife Investment Management’s institutional timberland investment program, overseeing investment underwriting and portfolio management, acquisitions and dispositions, resource planning and analysis, client account management, economic research, and property management. He’s a member of the senior management team for the firm’s timberland and agriculture businesses and serves on the executive committee. He also leads the timberland management team and serves on the timberland investment committee. Previously, Tom served as global head of timberland and farmland operations, where he developed and led large-scale, integrated, investor-owned, and third-party agriculture and forestry property management platforms. Prior to that, he served as director of global timber operations. Tom has also served as senior portfolio manager, where he was responsible for account management and portfolio development for individually managed timber accounts, as well as pooled investment vehicles; and general manager, Southern Division and Mid-Atlantic region manager. Prior to joining the firm in 2004, Tom was a procurement manager for International Paper’s Pensacola paper mill and McDavid sawmill enterprise. Among other roles, he served as forest operations manager as well as forest analyst for Champion International Corporation.
Alejandro Segura
General Manager, Offsets
Chevron New Energies
Alejandro is currently the General Manager for Offsets at Chevron New Energies. Both a Mexican and Brazilian national, Alejandro holds a J.D. from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and an LL.M. from Columbia University. Alejandro has over 25 years of professional experience in finance, oil & gas and carbon markets, where he has held different regional and global roles. Before joining Chevron New Energies in June 2022, he began his career at the Export-import Bank in Mexico (Bancomext) and the Inter-American Development Bank in D.C. He later joined BG Group as Deputy Chief Counsel and after Shell acquired BG in 2015, he served first as business development manager and later as General Manager for Nature-Based Solutions in Latin America. He is currently based in San Ramon (East Bay Area) where he lives with his wife, his teenage daughter, and his nine-year-old son. Alejandro enjoys spending his free time swimming and biking and going on long “nature walks” with his family and dogs.
Pete Stewart
President, CEO & Founder
ResourceWise
Pete Stewart is a 27-year veteran of the forest products industry. In 2000, he founded Forest2Market, the only transaction-based wood fiber pricing service in the industry. Twenty years later, Forest2Market is a provider of wood raw material pricing data and supply chain expertise to the forest products industry worldwide.
In 2019, when Battery Ventures partnered with Forest2Market and Fisher International, Stewart – a long-time trusted advisor to the executive management of major pulp and paper and other forest products companies globally – became President and CEO of both firms. Upon the acquisition of Tecnon OrbiChem in 2020, Stewart became the CEO of all three companies, which were subsequently rebranded into ResourceWise.
As the CEO of ResourceWise, Stewart identifies acquisition opportunities and works tirelessly to integrate new price-reporting companies and their employees into the ResourceWise family and culture. A Texas native, Stewart has a BS in Forestry from Texas A&M and an MS in Economics from the University of Georgia.
Tom Tuchmann
President
US Forest Capital
Mr. Tuchmann is President of US Forest Capital, LLC, a conservation finance advisory company based in Portland, OR. US Forest Capital helps clients identify, manage and finance natural resource transactions; create and improve governance structures; and resolve public policy and communication challenges. In this role, Mr. Tuchmann has helped raise nearly $300 million in conservation and ecosystem service funding that has conserved 165,000 acres of private working forestland. In 2016, Forest Capital’s carbon project received the Climate Action Reserve’s Developer of the Year award.
Prior to founding US Forest Capital, Tom was Western Director and Special Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. During his tenure, he directed negotiations and implementation of the $480 million Headwaters Forest Agreement and he was charged with designing and managing President Clinton’s Forum that resulted in the $50 million conservation management plan for Lake Tahoe.
In his public capacity, Tom also served as the Director of the U.S. Office of Forestry and Economic Development where he was responsible for developing and implementing the President’s 24-million-acre Northwest Forest Plan and the associated $1.2 billion economic assistance program.
Bret Vicary
Director
Sewall Forestry & Natural Resource Consulting /A Huber Company
Bret began his consulting forester career in 1977 at Sizemore & Sizemore, working in forest inventory, management, and appraisal. Following graduate school he joined The Irland Group where he focused on forest appraisal, economics, and policy. In 1989 he joined James W. Sewall Company where he led the forestry consulting team to international prominence in forest and conservation easement valuation, forest inventory, harvest scheduling, economic analysis, and acquisition due diligence. In 2021 Huber Resources Corp acquired Sewall Forestry, and Bret’s team continues to provide natural resource consulting services to private and public sector clients across five continents. Bret focuses on business development, due diligence, and litigation support.
Bret is senior author of the NCREIF Timberland Committee’s “Best Appraisal Practices,” co-author of the Guide for Plant Appraisal, 10th Edition, and a frequent speaker at timber investment conferences and seminars. He is a member of the Association of Consulting Foresters, holds the Appraisal Institute’s MAI designation, and is Faculty Associate at the University of Maine where he received the M.S. degree in Biometrics, an MBA, and a PhD in Forest Economics.
Bettina von Hagen
Co-Founder and CEO
EFM
Bettina von Hagen is co-founder CEO of EFM (efmi.com), an investment management and climate-smart forest management company based in Portland, OR and focused on natural climate solutions. In addition to general management, Bettina leads the firm’s acquisition and disposition activities and is a member of the Investment Committees and Board of Directors.
Previously, Bettina was Vice President at Ecotrust for forestry and ecosystem service programs and managed the Natural Capital Fund, a $40 million fund that invests in key businesses and initiatives in the conservation economy. Bettina has over 25 years of experience in fund management, impact investing, conservation finance, ecosystem service markets, commercial lending and forestry. Prior to joining Ecotrust, she was a vice president and commercial lender at First Interstate Bank of Oregon. Bettina has an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BA from the University of the Pacific. She was born and raised in Peru and holds Peruvian and U.S. citizenship. She currently serves on the boards of EFM and co-chairs the board of Forest Trends.
Cade Warner
Chief Sustainability Officer
The Westervelt Company
A native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Cade received a bachelor’s degree in commerce and business administration from the University of Alabama, a master’s degree in forest resources from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Alabama. In addition, Cade is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA®), and Financial and Modeling Valuation Analyst (FMVA®) professional designations.
His experience includes his most recent position as Chief Sustainability Officer, where he is responsible for leading Sustainability efforts across the organization, as well as responsibility for Westervelt Ecological Services, Westervelt Real Estate and Westervelt New Zealand businesses. Before assuming his current role, Cade was Director of Business Development and Improvement where he was responsible for the company’s strategic planning, business development and business improvement functions. He previously served as Continuous Improvement Manager where he oversaw the development and implementation of the company’s continuous improvement program, Growing Excellence. Prior to joining The Westervelt Company, Cade held multiple positions with Conservation Forestry, a leading conservation focused timberland investment management organization.
Mark Wishnie
Chief Sustainability Officer and Head, Landscape Capital
BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG)
Mark Wishnie is Chief Sustainability Officer and Head, Landscape Capital, at the BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group. Mark is responsible for sustainability across the firm’s nearly $5 billion global timberland portfolio and leads the firm’s climate-focused investment practice. Mark joined BTG from The Nature Conservancy, where he led the Global Forestry & Wood Products program and a portfolio of initiatives aimed at delivering on the massive climate mitigation potential of forests and the broader forest economy. Prior to his work with TNC, Mark co-founded and served as Managing Director of Equator, LLC, a timberland and environmental commodity investment company, co-founded and directed the Native Species Reforestation Project (PRORENA), a joint research program of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Yale University, and served as Program Director of the Yale Tropical Resources Institute. Mark’s research has been published in journals such as Forest Ecology and Management, Conservation Biology, New Forests and The Annual Review of Anthropology. Mark holds a BS in Forest Management from the University of Washington and a Master of Forest Science from Yale University.