ForestEthics is brought to you by...
The Executive Director
When Todd Paglia joined ForestEthics in 1999, he saw that major corporations in the office supply industry and the catalog industry were purchasing and selling millions of tons of paper—with no accountability for the environmental devastation that was feeding their demand. Now, as executive director of ForestEthics, Mr. Paglia can be credited with transforming the paper policies of multi-billion-dollar Fortune 500 companies, including Staples, Office Depot, Williams-Sonoma, Dell, Victoria’s Secret, and many more.
In terms of forest protection, the results have been inspiring. Under Mr. Paglia’s leadership, ForestEthics has saved more than seven million acres of Endangered Forests. Recycled pulp mills are operating at record-high capacity—and independent analysis has attributed the change directly to demand from companies that ForestEthics has transformed.
Mr. Paglia has also presided over an unprecedented period of growth for ForestEthics, from 15 staff members and an annual budget of one million to a staff of over 30 and a budget of $2.6 million in just two years. The network of people engaged with ForestEthics’ campaigns continues to grow exponentially as more activists and corporations recognize the power of its unique philosophy: individual people can be mobilized to create positive environmental change — and so can corporations.
In the last year, Mr. Paglia’s work at ForestEthics has been recognized with his selection to the annual “Hot 20 Under 40” list published by 7x7 Magazine, San Francisco’s glamour and culture publication. Mr. Paglia was the only environmental leader selected, as the article noted, because “few activists have succeeded in the practical business of hitting earth abusers where it really hurts—their wallets." Mr. Paglia has challenged some of the largest companies in the world to protect forests on the Today Show, NPR’s Marketplace as well as being quoted in the Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Business Week, and many other publications.
Before joining ForestEthics in 1999, Mr. Paglia was an attorney for Ralph Nader focusing on consumer protection issues such as environmental purchasing by governmental agencies to spur alternative markets, enforcement of antitrust laws, corporate welfare issues and corporate accountability.
Mr. Paglia received his Bachelor of Arts from Binghamton University, SUNY, his J.D. from the New England School of Law, and his LL.M. from George Washington University, National Law Center, in Environmental Law and Policy. He lives in San Francisco with his wife Shannon and two young sons, Nico and Luca.
Check out our Board of Directors >>
The Senior Management Team
Kristi Chester Vance
Communications Director 
Kristi is a Senior Fellow in the Environmental Leadership Program. Kristi has been working for social and environmental justice for 15 years through harnessing the power of art, design, media and advertising. She is a co-founder of Half-Full, (www.half-full.org), a design studio devoted to creating a louder, more powerful voice for environmental and social justice advocates, as well as MOMS, (www.safemilk.org,) a non-profit aimed at protecting children’s health of our babies by eliminating the growing threat of toxic chemicals and industrial pollutants. While pursuing her undergraduate degree in journalism and advertising at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Kristi founded a bi-lingual newspaper, Sin Barreras, for Latino youth, and was a co-creator of a campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. During a two-year post-graduate design and advertising program, she worked with Creating Pride, a nonprofit that creates stronger learning environments by helping teachers to make the arts a regular part of every child's learning. Kristi lives in San Francisco with her husband and two young
daughters.
Matt Westendorf
Chief Operating Officer
Matt joined the ForestEthics staff in June of 2008 with more than twelve years of development and nonprofit management experience. Most recently, Matt held the position of Managing Director for Frameline Inc., an LGBT film and media organization and producers of the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival. Prior to that, Matt held leadership positions in development and membership for the Stern Grove Festival Association, Stanford University Alumni Association and the National Writers Union. As Chief Operating Officer, Matt oversees ForestEthics’ Development, Finance and Operations/Human Resources departments.
Pierre Iachetti
Conservation Director
Pierre leads a talented group of campaigners involved in programs across Canada related to climate and forests. Pierre has over a decade of experience working on conservation science and planning projects - leading multidisciplinary and multi-jurisdictional teams involved in research and planning for Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alaska, Alberta, Idaho and Montana. Pierre has lead or co-authored numerous conservation science and planning reports and has served on many scientific panels including Biodiversity BC, conservation biology working groups and conservation joint ventures. Pierre previously held a fellowship with the Sustainable Development Research Institute, University of British Columbia and is currently a research fellow with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and serves as a member of the Commission on Ecosystem Management and the World Commission on Protected Areas. Pierre lives in Victoria, British Columbia with his partner Julia and two kids. When he is not working at ForestEthics, Pierre enjoys family cycling trips, mountain biking and camping. He also finds time to referee rugby games.
Director of US Campaigns
Building on 18 years of experience as a successful trial lawyer, Aaron launched his second career as an environmental campaign organizer in 1999. After completing the Green Corps Field Organizing Program in June 2000, Aaron joined ForestEthics and began working on the coalition campaign that led to protection for more than five million acres of temperate rainforest in coastal British Columbia. Aaron also founded, designed and led the ForestEthics Chile Native Forest Campaign that protected more than a million acres of forests in Chile. For his work in Chile, Aaron has been featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, Chilean publications such as El Mercurio's Revista del Campo and Que Pasa and international publications such as Americas, the magazine for the Organization of American States (OAS). To deepen his capacity for understanding, presenting and responding to scientific and technical claims that are often at the heart of environmental campaigns, Aaron completed a masters of science degree in scientific and technical communication at Oregon State University in December 2003.
Coila Ash
Executive Coordinator
Coila joined ForestEthics in March 2006 after seven years working in Santa Fe, New Mexico as the founder and director of Creative Commotion: Voices for Social Change, a small non-profit organization dedicated to building grassroots capacity toward environmental protection and social change. She was co-founder and steering committee member of the NM Environment & Health Coalition; the NM Environmental Legislative Working Group; the NM Department of Energy Accountability Working Group; and represented NM in national working group conferences to advance the implementation of the Precautionary Principle in the US. Prior to that, she worked in San Francisco with the Bay Area Nuclear Waste Coalition and the Five Colorado River Tribes for 5 years protecting sacred Desert Tortoise habit in Ward Valley, California from a proposed nuclear waste dump. While living in San Francisco, she was also employed for 11 years as a commodities and financial futures trader with Paine Webber and Bear Sterns respectively. Coila has sat on several nonprofit boards and brings strong organizational and capacity building, a rich history of non-violent social change, as well as deep experience in the corporate world to her work at ForestEthics. She currently lives in Bellingham, Washington.
Corinne Ball
Organizing Director
Corinne comes to ForestEthics with over a decade of experience connecting people with ideas and action. She combines a longtime love of technology with extensive on-the-ground field experience. Corinne has run statewide field campaigns, trained hundreds of community members to become leaders, and knocked on most doors in Portland, Seattle, and even Honolulu–nothing makes her happier than organizing. Corinne is absolutely honored to use her organizing experience to protect Endangered Forests.
The Staff
Alex Vanderweele
Web Manager & Communications
Associate
Alex
joined ForestEthics in 2006, bringing administrative and communications
experience from working long and tedious hours in the live music and
event production industry. A dedicated activist on many social and
environmental justice campaigns, Alex is also a professionally trained
graphic design and online communications staffer – earning him the
unofficial job title of “the web-dude” at ForestEthics. Alex studied
Journalism and Environmental Science at the University of Iowa and
graduated in 2006 from New College of California, with a B.A. in
Humanities focusing on Global Environmental Issues. He also works at a
famous music venue in San Francisco and loves getting out of the city
and into the forest.
Catharine Grant
Senior Boreal Campaigner
Before
joining ForestEthics, Catharine worked on a variety of social justice
and environmental issues. After moving to Toronto in 2001 to work on her
PhD. in history, she realized that she was actually much more
interested in grassroots political movements. She spent the next several
years teaching, and volunteering for a variety of environmental,
political and social justice campaigns (instead of working on her
dissertation!), and in 2006 she published a book about animal rights. In
2007, Catharine began working for Earthroots, a small Ontario-based
environmental organization. There, her passion for the boreal forest,
its resident woodland caribou, blossomed. She soon after connected with
Leah and Gillian from the ForestEthics Toronto office, and began working
on the boreal campaign for ForestEthics in April 2008.
Chuck Kapelke
Grant Writer
Chuck
joined ForestEthics in January 2010. He has written for a wide range of
publications, including Continental Inflight, Smart Meetings, and Let’s
Go Travel Guides, and he has worked as a writer and video producer for
diverse organizations. He lives in Alameda, California with his wife,
Cindy, and two kids, Dahlia and Benji. He enjoys playing drums and other
musical instruments, and he enjoys hiking, mountain biking,
snowboarding, and watching movies and television.
Claudia Li
Communications Officer
Claudia
comes to ForestEthics after founding Shark Truth, a nonprofit that
promotes awareness about shark fin soup the Chinese community. She holds
a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Simon Fraser
University with specializations in Marketing and International Business
and an Honours in Sustainability. After consulting start-ups from
Scotland, Hong Kong and Canada on marketing strategy, Claudia has come
to rely on the power of cross-cultural dialogue to find innovative
solutions - particularly when it comes to conservation issues. She
continues to discuss and promote dialogue about sustainability in her
own community and is thrilled to be a part of the ForestEthics team.
Dan Ross
Operations Manager 
Dan
joined ForestEthics in May 2008 with over 5 years of operations
experience. As the former Director of Operations for a Bay Area
test-prep company, he managed two full-time employees, over 100
part-time employees, and managed the courses that brought in over
$4,000,000 in revenue annually. He is a graduate of UC-San Diego with a
degree in Cultural Anthropology and is currently pursuing his MBA at San
Francisco State University to be completed in Sept. 2009. He enjoys
playing backgammon, competing in triathlons and various outdoor
activities.
Daniel Hall
Market Solutions Director
As
manager of our corporate relations department, Daniel helps companies
develop more sustainable supply chain and environmental policies,
publishes tools to reward corporate leaders and inform consumers, and
supports ForestEthics’ campaigns. An expert on forest certification, he
serves on the FSC US Standards Committee, has prepared definitive
evaluations of various programs, and served on the FSC US Board
(2000-2003). As a climate advocate, he has helped strengthen national
and private-sector offset programs, contributed to IPCC reports, and
developed model forest offset and low carbon fuel language. As a
biodiversity advocate, he reviewed “Habitat Conservation Plans” (HCPs)
covering over 13 million acres, reformed federal HCP guidelines,
developed the California Forest Legacy Program, and published in
Environmental Law and Endangered Species Update. Prior to joining
ForestEthics in 2005, he developed American Lands’ Forest Biodiversity
Program, and served as a policy analyst for the Pacific Forest Trust and
the California State Energy Commission. Daniel holds degrees in
Political Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the
University of California, Davis.
Eric Cleveland
Bookkeeper
Eric is
a graduate of San Francisco State University. He was co-owner of a
printing business for ten years, where he discovered the rewards and
challenges of running a ‘green’ printing press. He enjoys conceptual
art, sculptures made from found objects, and computer programming.
Joel Accathara
Financial Analyst
Joel
joined ForestEthics in May 2010 after moving from the Chicago area. He
previously worked as a Financial Analyst for ATI Physical Therapy, a
rapidly-growing physical therapy company. He joined ForestEthics to
contribute his skills to an organization involved with protecting the
environment. Joel graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago
with a B.S. in Economics and Finance and has intentions of pursuing the
CPA certification in the near future. Outside of the office, Joel enjoys
traveling, cooking, playing tennis, basketball, and golf.
Karen Tam Wu
Energy Campaigner, Forest Policy Advisor
Karen brings several years of experience working in different areas of
Forest Stewardship Council certification to ForestEthics. She was
Operations Officer at FSC International in Oaxaca, Mexico for two years,
working largely in accreditation. As an independent consultant for five
years, she conducted both FSC-accreditation and certification audits
worldwide, worked in Fiji developing an environmental management system
for a Fijian forest company interested in certifying its operations, and
developed policies and procedures for a group certification initiative
on Vancouver Island. Through this work, she has seen sustainable
forestry being practiced around the world. Karen is a Registered
Professional Forester in British Columbia. When not working, she loves
to be outdoors, backcountry skiing, whitewater kayaking, or rock
climbing. She also likes to feed her creative side, through pottery or
soap making.
Mark Schofield
Paper Campaigner
Mark
brings to ForestEthics a passion for forest protection and a background
in environmental education and community organizing. His most recent
work involved 6½ years supervising organizers and spearheading public
lands campaigns for the nonprofit Western Colorado Congress. Mark holds
a B.A. in environmental studies from Luther College and an M.S. in
environmental education from Lesley University/Audubon Expedition
Institute. Before joining the ForestEthics team, he and his wife
Michelle spent four months traveling and learning about environmental
and social struggles in South America. He’s excited to now contribute
to efforts that safeguard endangered forests and transform industry.
Marlene Cummings
BC Forest Campaigner
Marlene
has been active in campaigns for the protection of Canada’s old growth
forests since 1993, most notably in BC’s coastal temperate rainforests
of Clayoquot Sound and the ancient pines of northern Ontario. Marlene
has a MSc in environmental planning from UBC, with a focus on
biodiversity conservation in a changing climate. Her previous education
and experience includes a degree in nursing and 13 years as an RN,
environmental health diploma from McMaster, and more recently,
forests-climate contract work with Sierra Club of BC, an internship with
the Forest & Lands campaign at DSF, and sub-contract work with BC
Climate Change Branch. New to Forest Ethics, she plans to direct her
passion for forested ecosystems and knowledge of climate change
adaptation to ensure protection of old growth habitat of the inland
temperate rainforest region for the endangered mountain caribou.
Marlene plans to assist in the development of more effective endangered
species and ecosystem legislation, and to work toward the development of
climate-friendly forest policy and associated conservation of forested
ecosystems. She enjoys hiking, camping, music, gardening, and spending
time with her family and friends in Vancouver.
Michael Mullan
Office & Database Manager 
Mike
came to ForestEthics after stints in the labor movement and education
industry. He spent the first 18 years of his life in Northern California
before heading south to attend the University of California, San Diego.
At UCSD, Mike studied History and Urban Studies, which sparked his
interest in social justice issues. This led him to the Service Employees
International Union, where he worked as an Organizer in support of
campaigns in Massachusetts, Los Angeles, Bakersfield, and the San
Francisco Bay Area. After SEIU, Mike coordinated tutoring programs
across Northern California for a test preparation company. He is
definitely excited to be back fighting the good fight with a great
organization like ForestEthics.
Nikki Skuce
Senior Energy Campaigner
Nikki works out of Smithers, BC. Her current focus is in stopping the Enbridge tar sands pipelines, creating permanent solutions to Shell’s drilling of coal-bed methane in the Sacred Headwaters, and promoting green energy solutions provincially. For several years Nikki worked with One Sky on policy and practical programs in Canada, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Peru. She began to focus on energy issues after coordinating Canadian NGOs around the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. She has advocated for renewable solutions at the United Nations, Canadian, provincial and local levels, and has practical experience installing solar panels. Nikki sits on several Boards including the Canadian Renewable Energy Alliance, the Wetzinkwa Community Forest and the Smithers Sustainable Advisory Committee. Her passion is creating social and environmental change at multiple levels. She lives with her Argentine partner and daughter Lucia.
Paras Upadhyay
Senior Accountant
Paras has worked as an accountant for more than 20 years. Furthermore,
he has worked with community forestry projects, natural forest
conservation and social forestry issues at the grassroots level for more
than 10 years in Nepal. He was working with API Wellness Center in San
Francisco before joining ForestEthics and is happy to be back to work
for a mission that he loves.Shannon Unger
Administrative Associate
Sharon Rose
Development Associate
Sharon has contributed to development and fundraising for several non-profits around the world. While studying Political Science and Latin American Studies at Barnard College, she interned in the development departments of Human Rights Watch in New York City, and Tostan, a grassroots, women’s rights organization in Dakar, Senegal. Sharon spent 2 years working on events and fundraising for the Institute of the Americas, a public-policy non-profit in San Diego, CA, with programs throughout Latin America. Before joining ForestEthics, she was a World Partners Fellow with SAHAYOG, in northern India, and managed programming and donor relations for a youth sexual and reproductive health advocacy project. Sharon is originally from New Jersey, and loves to explore the great outdoors of Northern California and the Pacific Northwest.
Stephen Danner
Senior Development Officer
Stephen
joined the ForestEthics staff in January 2009 with more than 7 years of
development and nonprofit management experience. Most recently as the
Interim Development Director for Frameline Inc., he oversaw all
foundation, corporate and individual giving programs. Stephen also has
an extensive background in social justice work and a passion for the
environment, saving our forests and fighting climate change. He holds a
B.A in Latin American Studies and Literature from New College of
Florida, the honors college of the Florida university system. As Senior
Development Officer, Stephen plays a leadership role within the
development department and manages institutional fundraising activities.
Valerie Langer
Director of BC Forest Campaigns
Valerie
Langer has been engaged in forest conservation campaigns for over
eighteen years. She joined ForestEthics Great Bear Rainforest campaign
in 2006. As the Forest Campaign director for the Friends of Clayoquot
Sound (1988-2003) she pioneered the market campaign strategy of
influencing logging companies by engaging their commercial customer base
abroad. She was one of the founders of the coalition project that
evolved into ForestEthics and was on the founding committee of Markets
Initative. She initiated Second Harvest Paper Project in 2004 to
accelerate commercialization of pulp and paper made with agricultural
fibers.
As a freelance writer she has written feature articles
and reports on the topics of forestry and First Nations for the national
newspaper The Globe and Mail, for Paper Europe and for national
environmental organizations. She has worked professionally and
voluntarily teaching adult literacy. She holds a degree in Semiotics
from the University of Toronto.
Will Craven
Media Officer
Will "not related to Wes" Craven joined the ForestEthics Communications team fresh off a 150 episode run as producer for the nationally-syndicated radio show EcoTalk. From time to time he writes 'green' tips for CBS radio, and has written on LEED building incentives in San Francisco. Earlier in the decade Will could be found doing communications work and training pollworkers at San Francisco's Department of Elections, and also teaching ESL in SF and rural Japan. Born and raised in Durham, North Carolina, he graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2000 with a BA in English Literature, a far cry from his 1st grade remedial reading and writing class, where he'd been placed for his tendency to write from right to left.
