Advisory Council

The Women’s Forest Congress Advisory Council will guide – and advise – the Steering Committee in planning, implementing, and delivering impactful outcomes from the Women’s Forest Congress.  This group of visionary, practical and supportive women will serve as advocates for the broader effort and ensure equal representation from a diversity of backgrounds, organizations and views. The Advisory Council brings unique knowledge and skills to augment the Steering Committee, with the goal of launching and building out the Women’s Forest Congress.

Ebonie Alexander
Ebonie AlexanderExecutive Director, Black Family Land Trust
Ebonie joined the Council because she thinks its work has value for all communities. On a personal level, she believes she will bring an important voice to the Council based on her cultural and programmatic experience. Ebonie lives on land that has been in her family for generations and when she walks in the woods she feels a spiritual connection with her ancestors.
Tia Beavert
Tia BeavertTribal Forest Manager, Yakama Nation Tribal Forestry
Tia accepted her role on the Council because she wants the opportunity to encourage other women to grow professionally and to enhance her ability to manage Yakama lands for her people. As an enrolled member of the Yakama Tribe, she brings a Tribal perspective to the Council.
Alicia Cramer
Alicia CramerSenior Vice President, U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities
Tia accepted her role on the Council because she wants the opportunity to encourage other women to grow professionally and to enhance her ability to manage Yakama lands for her people. As an enrolled member of the Yakama Tribe, she brings a Tribal perspective to the Council.
Asia Dowtin, PhD
Asia Dowtin, PhD Assistant Professor of Urban and Community Forestry, Michigan State University
Asia’s work explores the cross-section of nature’s role in urban development, specifically the relationships between forests and the development of urban forest management plans, regional water resource management, and hazard mitigation.
Ara Erickson
Ara EricksonVice President, Corporate Sustainability, Weyerhaeuser
Ara helps ensure the world’s largest private timberland owner looks to the future while being responsible today, loves to help put amazing ideas into motion, and thinks the world is a better place with sticky notes and dry erase boards.
Caitlyn Pollihan
Caitlyn PollihanCEO and Executive Director, International Society of Arboriculture
Caitlyn accepted her role on the Council because she feels that increasing the participation of women in the forestry sector is critical for the future of our forests. Caitlyns’s regular visits to her local park in Atlanta have highlighted the importance of using her work to guarantee access to trees and green space for everyone.

Past Advisory Council members

The Women’s Forest Congress would like to express gratitude to previous members of the Advisory Council for their leadership and guidance.

MaryKate Bullen, Director of Sustainability and ESG, Forest Investment Associates
Deborah Hawkinson, President, Forest Resources Association
Jessica Leahy, Henry W. Saunders Distinguished Professor in Forestry, University of Maine
Deborah Spalding, Co-Chief Investment Officer, Commonfund
Andrea Tuttle, Forest Policy and Climate Change Consultant
Tanya Wick, Associate Vice President, Human Resources, Safety and Environment at University of Alberta