Newsletter Stories


Tuesday, 20 September 2022
New Additions to the FSC US Board of Directors


The Forest Stewardship Council US has added two new members to its board of directors; Rachel Baker of Washington Environmental Council (WEC) joined as a representative of the Environmental Chamber and Amanda Mahaffey of Forest Stewards Guild joined as a representative of the Social Chamber.

The Forest Program Director at Washington Environmental Council, Rachel brings more than a decade of work at the intersection between forest management, sustainable development, and global supply chains. In her current role, she advocates for ecological management of Washington’s public and private forestlands. In previous work, she advocated for international financial institution investment and safeguard policies in support of forests and forest-dependent peoples, including for REDD+. Rachel holds a Master of Forestry and a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University. She lives in Seattle, WA with her partner and their two cats.

Amanda Mahaffey serves as deputy director of the Forest Stewards Guild, a professional organization that promotes and practices ecological forestry to sustain the integrity of forest ecosystems and the human communities that depend upon it. Through her leadership at the Guild, Amanda supports practitioners across the U.S. in adapting forests to the changing climate, engaging woodland owners in forest stewardship, and integrating fire science and management. Amanda is a licensed forester in Maine and holds degrees from Yale University and the University of Southern Maine.

Mike Houser of PotlatchDeltic Corporation was re-elected to a second term representing the Economic Chamber.

In addition, at a meeting in Portland, Maine earlier this month, the board of directors elected Stuart Hale, Forest Program Manager, US & Canada Carbon Markets Team at The Nature Conservancy to be co-chair with Sarah Billig, Stewardship Director at Mendocino Redwood Company.