CANOPY Speakers
Below are confirmed speakers for the 2026 CANOPY: Forests + Markets + Society conference at World Forestry Center.
Nicholas Baldwin
Vice President, Carbon Markets
MSCI
Nicholas Baldwin leads MSCI Carbon Markets' work on carbon credit pricing and market analysis. He was previously Head of Pricing at Climate Impact Partners, a carbon-credit project developer, where he led market analysis and credit-pricing efforts. Prior to that, he helped develop price benchmarks at S&P Global, including price assessments for environmental commodities. Nicholas holds bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry, with a focus on environmental chemistry.
John Cooney
Equity Research Analyst
ERA Forest Products Research
John Cooney is an equity research analyst with ERA Forest Products Research. ERA is a BC-based independent firm which provides economic and investment research on the forest-product industry to clients in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. At ERA, John’s work is primarily focused on solid wood markets.
John has a Bachelor of Arts in political science and economics from Mount Allison University, and a Masters of Management degree from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia.
Trevor Cutsinger
Vice President, Natural Capital Solutions
U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities
Trevor currently serves as Vice President, Natural Capital Solutions at the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities and is a timberland owner based in Aiken, South Carolina. His current work focuses on raising and deploying “impact first” capital to innovative forestry businesses in the U.S. He has worked in the forestry, conservation, and climate sectors for 20 years including roles in business development, forest management, forest acquisitions, carbon project development, and nature-based decarbonization investments.
Prior to the Endowment, Trevor worked at Pilot Travel Centers, where he led origination for the carbon team at the largest travel center company in North America. He previously held positions at Finite Carbon, The Conservation Fund, and the U.S. Army Environmental Command. He received a Master of Environmental Management degree from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.
Alex England
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Element Biocarbon
Alex England is Founder and CEO of Element Biocarbon, a company that converts forestry waste into advanced, engineered carbon products for industrial decarbonization. Founded three years ago, Element operates a commercial facility in Indiana, producing biocarbon from lumber waste, and is developing a second facility in the U.S. South to expand feedstock access and production capacity.
With a background in steelmaking and graphite, Alex leads Element's work across multiple decarbonization pathways, including biogenic carbon as a substitute for coal and coke in industrial processes like steelmaking, as well as durable carbon removal through stable, long-term sequestration in materials like concrete and asphalt. He holds leadership roles within the Association for Iron and Steel Technology (AIST), including Education Chair for its EAF Training Seminar.
Alex believes decarbonization only scales when approached like an ecosystem, with every part equally represented. He sees decarbonizing steelmaking as an opportunity to also strengthen forestry health and forest economics, turning underutilized wood residues into a new value stream for working forests. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Sheffield Hallam University.
Lawson Fite
Shareholder
Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt
For over 15 years, Schwabe lawyer Lawson Fite has supported clients in as they manage the complexities of environmental regulation, compliance, and permitting, as well as related litigation. He has significant experience helping clients navigate the complex legal intricacies associated with ports, forest products, and natural resource industries, and concerns related to endangered species and public lands. Lawson is a seasoned litigator who has argued numerous cases in state and federal trial and appellate courts, including ten cases before the Ninth Circuit. He has also testified before Congress on matters related to proposed reforms in resource management, the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
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.
Cees de Jager
President and Chief Executive Officer
Softwood Lumber Board
Cees de Jager began his forest products career at MacMillan Bloedel (MB) in 1995, holding progressively senior sales and marketing roles before moving to Weyerhaeuser after its acquisition of MB. In 2002, he founded Hunter Consulting International, advising building materials clients on across North America and abroad.
In 2008, Cees was recruited to lead the Binational Softwood Lumber Council (BSLC), created under the 2006 Softwood Lumber Agreement. Building on the BSLC's market development success, he helped establish the Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) as a new industry-funded organization and, in 2012, took on the additional role of its Chief Marketing Officer. In December 2018, he was appointed President and CEO of the SLB, with a mandate to expand its scope, influence, and impact.
Under his leadership, the BSLC and SLB have reshaped how buildings are designed and built, repositioning softwood lumber as the preferred choice for performance and sustainability. Since inception, funded programs have generated more than 16.7 billion board feet of incremental U.S. demand — an average return of 85 board feet and $43 in revenue for every $1 invested.
Dylan Jenkins
Vice President, Commercial Operations
Finite Carbon
Dylan serves as Vice President of Commercial Operations at Finite Carbon, where he leads project origination, credit marketing, and sales for family, corporate, and Indigenous landowner forest carbon projects. He previously directed The Nature Conservancy’s Mid-Atlantic Forest Conservation Program and Virginia Tech’s Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program.
A 20-year forest carbon market veteran, Dylan has served on the Society of American Forester’s National Committee on Forest Policy, chaired its Certification Review Board, and contributed to the Forest Steward Guild’s Membership and Policy Committee. His work has been published in Science, the Journal of Forestry, the Journal of Forest Economics, Forest Landowner, and the ACF Consultant.
Dylan is an SAF Certified Forester and a member of the Association of Consulting Foresters. He holds degrees in forest management and economics from Clemson University and Virginia Tech. Outside of work, he is married with four children, serves as an assistant scoutmaster, and enjoys mountain biking Appalachia’s rocky trails.
Jennifer Jenkins
Chief Science Officer
Rubicon Carbon
Dr. Jennifer Jenkins is the Chief Science Officer at Rubicon Carbon, responsible for ensuring the quality and integrity of the projects and products offered by the firm. In 2007, she was part of the IPCC team of scientists that won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work on climate, along with former Vice President Al Gore. Dr. Jenkins led the work that culminated in the "Jenkins Equations," the widely accepted method for estimating tree biomass from diameter in the US. She has a technical background in carbon cycling and ecosystem science and over 25 years of experience across government, academia and the private sector. She holds degrees from the University of New Hampshire, the University of Maryland, Yale University, and Dartmouth College.
Charlotte Kaiser
Senior Advisor
BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group
Charlotte Kaiser is an independent advisor in natural capital investing. As Senior Advisor to BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group, Charlotte supports TIG's impact and innovation efforts, including support for TIG's collaborations with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Conservation International, helping to design impact strategies across TIG's portfolios, and evaluating new technologies and strategic opportunities. She also serves on the board of Caddo Sustainable Timberlands. Charlotte is also the founder of Two Loops Advisory, a natural capital investment advisory practice supporting family offices and foundations. Previously, Charlotte served as Managing Director of NatureVest at TNC. NatureVest is TNC's impact investment team charged with creating and transacting deals that can deliver both conservation results and and financial returns for investors. During Charlotte's tenure, TNC grew its impact investment portfolio to more than US$ 2.5 billion of capital committed to conservation transactions aiming to deliver benefits for people and the planet. A former community development banker, Charlotte holds a B.A. from Harvard University in Environmental Science and Public Policy, a Masters in Environmental Science from the Yale School of the Environment, and an M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management.
Kurt Krapfl
Director of Forestry
ACR at Winrock International
Kurt Krapfl, ACR Director of Forestry, has served in roles at the intersection of climate policy, carbon market implementation, and methodology development for over a decade. Throughout this time, he has directly contributed to and overseen the registration, verification, and issuance of millions of high-quality forest carbon credits at ACR. He has led and supported the development and publication of innovative carbon crediting methodologies related to improved forest management, afforestation and reforestation, avoided conversion of forests, and wetland and grassland restoration.
Kurt’s primary areas of expertise are forest carbon quantification and methodology development, forest resource management, and silviculture. He holds a PhD in Forest Management from Mississippi State University and MS and BS degrees in Forestry from Southern Illinois University. Kurt has also worked for government entities, including the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service, as well as ecological consulting firms.
Kurt’s work has been published in peer reviewed academic journals as well as applied settings. He has given numerous presentations and testimonies in relation to the carbon market to stakeholders, policy makers, technical audiences, and the general public.
Julie Landry
Vice President, Government Affairs
American Forest and Paper Association
Julie Landry serves as American Forest & Paper Association’s Vice President of Government Affairs. Landry is responsible for leading the paper and wood products industry’s legislative agenda and driving advocacy efforts before Congress, the White House and state governments.
Landry joined AF&PA as Manager of Government Affairs in October of 2011 and has cultivated extensive experience on issues related to energy, environment, water and forestry. Over the past decade she has also led the Association’s Transportation and Tax Committees, serves as co-lead for planning and executing AF&PA Advocacy days in Washington, D.C. and oversees AF&PA PAC and grassroots activity.
Landry previously worked for the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), where she lobbied on a variety of key issues including food safety, taxes and energy. She began her career on Capitol Hill working for Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and later served as Special Assistant to the Policy Director for the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Originally from Columbus, Georgia, Landry holds a bachelor’s degree in International Business from Auburn University.
Amanda Hamsley Lang
President and Chief Operating Officer
Forisk Consulting
Amanda Lang is President & COO of Forisk Consulting. She is a Partner and oversees Forisk’s client support, research, and business development activities. She has twenty years of experience advising forest industry leaders and researching timber markets. She leads Forisk’s forest industry capital investment research program and delivers presentations related to evaluating markets and forest industry capacity. Prior to working with Forisk, she interned with International Paper and conducted award-winning forestry operations research at the University of Georgia under Dr. Dale Greene. In 2016, she was named one of the UGA Alumni Association “Forty Under Forty” and was named the Warnell “Young Alumni of the Year.” A Society of American Foresters Fellow, she serves on the Georgia Forestry Association Board of Directors. Ms. Lang received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Forest Resources from the University of Georgia.
Matthew Pelkki
Director, Arkansas Center for Forest Business, and Clippert Chair of Forestry, College of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources
University of Arkansas at Monticello
Matthew Pelkki is the Director of the Arkansas Center for Forest Business and the Clippert Chair of Forestry in the College of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Dr. Pelkki earned a BSF (1985) from the University of Michigan and an MS (1988) and PhD (1992) from the University of Minnesota. His experience spans 35 years of research in Minnesota, Kentucky, Arkansas, and internationally in Russia. He teaches forest economics, management, policy, biometrics, and optimization techniques. He has been at UAM since 2001. He has published more than 100 scientific articles and been part of research projects totaling more than $29 million. His current research and outreach focuses on sustainable forest-based economic development, strategic business clusters for the forest industry, and forest industry workforce development.
Joe Taggart
President and Chief Executive Officer
LandVest
Joe Taggart is President and CEO of LandVest, Inc., a specialty forestry, and real estate advisory firm serving private, institutional, and conservation-oriented landowners across the United States. As CEO, Joe is responsible for the strategic direction, management, and performance of LandVest's integrated businesses, which include forestland management, timberland brokerage, appraisal and consulting, land planning, and luxury real estate.
LandVest is a third-party certified manager of approximately 2.5 million acres of land across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Pacific Northwest, and is one of the leading advisors in the U.S. institutional timberland market. The firm's work sits at the intersection of forest management, real assets, conservation, natural capital, and long-term investment strategy.
Joe also serves as LandVest's Chief Economist, bringing a market-oriented perspective to the forces shaping land values, timberland investment, forest ownership, and real estate. Prior to joining LandVest, he worked in marketing and operations at Weyerhaeuser in Washington and Oregon, and held roles with Pacific Lumber and Shipping Companyin Seattle an Mistik Management in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan.
Joe earned a degree in Forest Management and Economics from the University of Washington and a Master of Forest Economics from Yale University.
Dave Tenny
President and Chief Executive Officer
National Alliance of Forest Owners
Dave Tenny is the founding President and CEO of NAFO, where he expanded the organization from 14 members in 2008 to 48 companies managing 46 million acres of private forests. Under his leadership, NAFO has become a leading advocate for sustainable forestry policies. Previously, Dave was Vice President for Forestry and Wood Products at the American Forest and Paper Association and Deputy Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment at the USDA. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and a law degree from George Washington University.
David Walters
Vice President, Acquisitions and Business Development
Green Diamond Resource Company
David serves as Vice-President of Acquisitions and Business Development at Green Diamond Resource Company, a private timber firm managing or owning approximately 2.3 million acres across the United States. In his capacity on the senior management team, David is responsible for overseeing forestland and other real estate transactions, conservation easements, forest carbon offset projects, renewable energy opportunities, and a range of additional strategic initiatives. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Forest Management from Oregon State University, an MS in Forest Biometrics from Virginia Tech, and a PhD in Biometrics from the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining Green Diamond in 2019, David held positions at Pope Resources, LandVest, Roseburg Forest Products, the University of Minnesota, and Boise Cascade. He currently serves on the board of several non-profit organizations.
Kyle Welborn
Co-Founder and General Partner
Cultivation Capital
Kyle Welborn is a co-founder and General Partner at Cultivation Capital, where he leads the firm's AgTech investments. He serves on the boards of Ascribe Bioscience, New West Genetics, and NanoGuard Technologies - startups advancing innovations in novel crop protection, seed genetics, and post-harvest microbial control - as well as the non-profit Yield Lab Institute, which supports the global commercialization of AgTech innovation.
A regular contributor to CropLife.com on AgTech investment trends, Kyle brings extensive experience in building and scaling ventures. His background includes leading operations for Cultivation Capital, founding Finserve Tech Angels, and serving on the board of data analytics pioneer Label Insight prior to its 2021 acquisition by NielsenIQ.
Kyle holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Studies from Loyola University Chicago. He resides in Philadelphia with his wife and two daughters.