Speakers/Instructors: listed alphabetically by last name

Biographical Information About Speakers/Instructors: A-C, D-I, J-Q

Tom Randall is a member of the Save Our Species Alliance, is a senior partner in the public policy consulting firm, Winningreen LLC. Prior to that he was a director of the John P. McGovern Center for Environmental and Regulatory Affairs. He also served as managing editor of Environment and Climate News, a publication of the Heartland Institute in Chicago. Source: Personal Résumé, 6/05.

Charles F. Raper, Professor of Forestry, Auburn University, School of Forestry, received a BS in Forest Management from North Carolina State University and an MBA in Finance and Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from the University of Connecticut. His teaching responsibilities include Appraisal of Commercial Timberland, Forest Law, and Forest Policy. Charles worked for thirty years with the Real Estate Investment Department of Travelers Insurance Company where he specialized in timberland loans and investments. His research interests include: Forest bare land market values in the Southeast; Investment returns from timberland ownership, and Timberland as a portfolio asset. He is a director of Resource Management Service, Inc., Birmingham, AL and South Alabama Land and Timber Company, Inc., Jackson, AL and Chairman of the Investment Committee, North Carolina Forestry Foundation, Inc., Raleigh, NC.  Source: Personal Résumé and Auburn University, Faculty of the School of Forestry, 7/98.

Teddy Reynolds is President of Reynolds Forestry Consulting based in Magnolia, Arkansas. He received a B.S. Degree in Forestry with a Wildlife Minor from the University of Arkansas at Monticello and is a registered forester and a registered appraiser. Teddy hosts the weekly radio show Timber Talk which is broadcast from 99.5 FM in Nashville, Arkansas and 100.5 FM in Magnolia, Arkansas. He is Vice-President of Reynolds Forestry Products, Inc., which does research and development work with new technology, such as weight and volume software, marking paint tracers, and voice activated computer inventory systems. He lives on a small cattle farm in McNeil, Arkansas and is a timberland owner. Source: Personal Résumé, 3/02.

Jack Rhodes is a native of Tallassee, Alabama, who graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Accounting. Retired from Sears, Roebuck & Company, Jack has served as a Controller in retail stores, served in staff capacity in Territorial Headquarters in Atlanta, and has opened a number of stores in managerial capacities and Logistical units. Jack has commercial real estate experience, with brokers licenses and instructors licenses, including the opening of Legends Ltd., Inc. in Birmingham and Keller Williams Realty (associated). He has been married to Janice Spigener Rhodes for 44 years and they have 2 sons, Mike and John Rhodes. Mike is an attorney in Jackson, Mississippi, and John is a sales representative with Central Paper Co. in Birmingham. Jack and Janice own timber property in Elmore County which they enjoy. Source: Personal Résumé, 10/05.

Beth W. Richardson is an area forester for the Clemson University Extension Service. Her work responsibilities include the education of non-industrial private landowners on forest management to include wildlife benefits, forest economics, forestry taxation, and other related forest issues. She holds a B.S. in Education with emphasis in Music from Georgia Southwestern College at Americus, a B.S. in Forest Management from Auburn University, and an M.S. in Agricultural Education from Clemson University. Beth was born and raised in Anniston, Alabama. Source: Personal Résumé, 6/02.

Robert A. Rimer is Manager of Westervelt Realty, Inc., a subsidiary of Gulf States Paper Corporation. Rob is responsible for the acquisition and disposal of company lands, including the real estate appraisal of those lands. He also does fee appraisals/brokerage services for external customers. Rob is a Registered Forester in Alabama, a Real Estate Broker in Alabama and Mississippi, and a Certified General Real Property Appraiser. He received a B.S. degree in Forest Science from Penn State University. Source: Personal Résumé, 11/02.

Danny W. Roberts received his Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Alabama in 1976 and joined the firm of Jamison, Money, Farmer & Co., PC in 1987. He was admitted as shareholder in 1998. Danny brings with him a great deal of expertise in the timber industry, with over ten years of previous experience with a regional firm in Birmingham. Danny co-manages the Tax Department with Janet Moore. His expertise lies in individual and business taxation, taxation of foreign-owned businesses, Alabama sales tax and family partnership taxation. He serves clients in timber-related industries along with clients in construction, oil and gas and farming. One of his contributions to the firm is in understanding and monitoring the complex and constantly changing nature of tax laws and keeping our clients informed of the impact of new regulations. His expertise has led him to give numerous speeches to various organizations on related taxation topics.    He currently serves on the Tax Technical Committee for CPAmerica. A member of the Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Danny is also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. He has participated in various fundraisers for United Way, Muscular Dystrophy and The American Heart Association and has been a member of various PTA/booster organizations. He served as Treasurer for The Northwood Lake Homeowners Association and has participated on the board of The Institute for Management Accountants. Danny and his wife, Linda, have two children, including a son who recently married. He and his wife like to travel, and they enjoy involvement within their church where Danny has taught Sunday School and Royal Ambassadors. He has also served as a Deacon at various churches. Source: Jamison, Money, Farmer & Co., PC, 3/04.

Tance E. Roberts, LL.M., is a Florida Bar Board Certified Tax Attorney in private practice with Clark & Roberts, PLC in St. Augustine, Florida. Ms. Roberts concentrates her practice in the areas of federal and state taxation and estate planning and administration. She is a frequent speaker at Florida forestry events on estate planning and timber taxes and represents many forest owners in the State of Florida. Source: Personal Résumé, 03/05.

Kate Robie is an independent consultant providing forest business and instructional services since 1994. She previously served as one of the founders and owners of a timberland investment firm, where forest investment analysis and modeling were central to her work. Kate also worked in land management for the paper industry and in forest policy for the federal government and U.S. Congress. She is a forest landowner and adjunct assistant professor in the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forest Resources. Source: The University of Georgia Continuing Education Course Description, 2/00. 

Walter G. Robillard, Attorney, Walter G. Robillard and Associates, Atlanta, Georgia. Walt is a graduate forester and a licensed surveyor who has consulted with private organizations and governments throughout the world. He has taught numerous workshops on the subject of property, boundary, and contract law. Source: Préceda Education & Training Course Description, 2/00.

S. Marvin Rogers is an Alabama assistant attorney general assigned to the Alabama Oil and Gas Board. Marvin represents the State in litigation involving oil and gas and environmental matters. After graduating from the University of Alabama Law School in 1978, he worked for several oil companies in New Orleans and Houston. Marvin has written a number of oil and gas publications, including a Landowners' Guide to Oil and Gas in Alabama. He is originally from Butler, Alabama. Source: Personal Résumé, 3/02.

Lori B. Rose is a Major Case Specialist for Southeastern Claims Services, a Davis-Garvin Company. She oversees all claims filed in connection with the hunt club insurance program offered by AFOA. Ms. Rose has 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, and enjoys many outdoor pursuits including hunting and fishing. Source: Personal Résumé, 7/07.

Robert J. Ross is a Project Leader with the USDA Forest Service - Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin.  His research focuses on developing non-intrusive field testing methods to evaluate the quality of wood in standing timber, buildings, and historic structures. Source: Personal Résumé, 8/04.

Richard Louv is a futurist and journalist focused on family, nature and community. He is the author of seven books, including, most recently, "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder" (Algonquin). Among his other books are "Childhood's Future" (Anchor), "The Web of Life," (Conari), "Fly-Fishing for Sharks: An Angler's Journey Across America" (Simon & Schuster), and "America II" (Houghton Mifflin). He is a columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor and other newspapers and magazines. He also served as a columnist and member of the editorial advisory board for Parents magazine, and as a commentator on Monitor Radio. He is an advisor to the Ford Foundation's Leadership for a Changing World award program and the Scientific Council on the Developing Child, and a Visiting Scholar at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. He is also a partner in The Frameworks Institute and a member of the Citistates Group, an association of urban observers. He helped found Connect for Kids, the largest child advocacy site on the World Wide Web. Louv has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, The Morning Show on CBS, Good Morning America, Today, Bill Moyers' Listening to America, NPR's Fresh Air, Talk of the Nation, PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, the CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News and many other programs. The United Nations commissioned his monograph on fatherhood for the U.N. Year of the Child, and he has spoken before the National Policy Council in the White House. He speaks frequently around the country. He is married to Kathy Frederick Louv and is the father of two young men, Jason, 23 and Matthew, 17. Source: www.thefuturesedge.com , 11/05.

Timothy A. Rowell, Vice President for GIS & Mapping Technologies, FORS Institute. As a geographer, Mr. Rowell has a diverse background in GIS and Remote Sensing. Trained by ESRI in ArcView and Avenue programming, Tim is an ESRI Authorized Instructor. Source: The University of Georgia Continuing Education Course Description, 6/99.

George Rowland is employed by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and currently serves as Coordinator for the North Central Resource Conservation and Development Council they refer to as "RC&D". The Council serves 10 counties in north Mississippi that include Benton, DeSoto, Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Pontotoc, Tate, Tippah, Union, and Yalobusha counties. His office is located at New Albany, Mississippi. Source: Personal Résumé, 02/06.

Dr. Greg Ruark has been the Director of the USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC) since 1998. The Center is a partnership between the Forest Service and the Natural Resources Consservation Service. In January 2005, the headquarters for NAC was moved from Nebraska, where most of its staffing still resides, to the campus of Alabama A&M University in Huntsville. This move increases NAC effectiveness as a national center and better positions it to address the interest of landowners in the southeast for more agroforestry, especially silvopasture. Source: Personal Résumé 5/06.

Robert B. Rummer is the Project Leader for the US Forest Service, Forest Operations Research Unit in Auburn, Alabama. His research group studies many aspects of forest operations including productivity, costs and site impacts in order to find a better match between systems and modern forest management objectives. Bob has a BS degree in Forest Management and an MS degree in Logging & Engineering from the University of Idaho, and a PhD in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University. He has been with the Forest Service in Alabama since 1983. Bob spoke to AFOA members at their 2000 Annual Meeting on the problems of cutting timber in the growing conflict with ecological awareness. Source: Personal Résumé, 4/00.

David Runyan is a wildlife biologist who specializes in Bobwhite Quail. He recently won the 2003 Progressive Farmer/Rural Sportsman Upland Game Management Farm of the Year award for Uphapee Plantation, one of the privately owned properties he currently manages. He has achieved ground-breaking success restoring populations of quail to areas under his management by combining textbook habitat improvement with his own quail liberation methods. Source: Personal Résumé, 11/03.

Arthia W. "Billy" Rye is a native of Sulligent, Alabama. He received his Bachelor of Science in Forest Management from Mississippi State University in 1988. For eight years, Billy coordinated the forest management activities for the Alabama Forestry Commission's Northwest District. While with the Forestry Commission, he assisted landowners in a seven county area with the management of their forest resources. In June, 1996, Billy left the Forestry Commission to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning his own business. The company that he founded, Forest Management Specialists, Inc., assists with the management and marketing of timber for private landowners throughout the Mid-South region. Mr. Rye is a Registered Forester in Alabama and Mississippi, a member of the Society of American Foresters, and is a member of the Association of Consulting Foresters. He has also served as the local Chairperson for the 1994 Treasure Forest Landowner Conference, was elected Chairperson for the Northwest Alabama Chapter of the Society of American Foresters three times, has received two commendations from the Governor of Alabama, and currently serves as a deacon at Forest Hills Baptist Church in Florence, Alabama. Billy, his wife Mary-France and daughters Taylor and Anna Grace reside in Florence. Source: Personal Résumé, 6/01; updated 8/07.

Lisa Samuelson, Associate Professor of Tree Physiology at the School of Forestry, Auburn University, received a BS and MS in Forestry from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. in Forestry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Lisa has been at Auburn University for the past five years where she teaches Dendrology and Tree Physiology. Research interests include: stress physiology and water relations of trees; scaling physiological processes; and ecophysiology of forest vegetation management. She is the author of Guide and Key to Alabama Trees and is currently constructing a website entitled Trees of Alabama and the Southeast. Source: Personal Résumé and Auburn University, Faculty of the School of Forestry, 7/98.

Jeff Sanford is the director for Program Development and Quality Assurance for The University of Georgia Business Outreach Services. Mr. Sanford has served The University of Georgia Business Outreach Services/Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in several capacities, including Rural Economic Consultant and area director of the Augusta SBDC office. Many of his innovative approaches have evolved into special SBDC programs. Source: The University of Georgia Continuing Education Course Description, 1/01.

Ken Schmidt is president of SteelintheAir, a communication tower consulting company. He has been instrumental in the formation of two tower companies and has negotiated/reviewed hundreds of leases for ground space on the behalf of wireless carriers such as T-Mobile and Nextel and numerous tower companies. He has a law degree and is familiar with the legal and technical sides of tower leases and construction plans. Using his background on the other side, Mr. Schmidt and SteelintheAir now provides comprehensive review of proposals for ground leases for towers and can assist landowners in determining the true fair market value of such proposals. Contact Ken Schmidt here. Source: Personal Résumé, 7/04.

A. F. ("Rick") Schober is a consulting forester with Schober Forestry and Land Companies, a forestry consulting and contracting business established in 1984 and located in Orrville, Alabama. Rick and his father Al have over 50 years of combined experience in the forest industry. The company serves private landowners of all sizes, providing services in ALL aspects of forest management, including forest management plans and implementation, timber appraisals, timber sales, site preparation, planting, prescribed burning, and GPS mapping. In addition to forest management, Rick is a licensed real estate broker who works with clients on land sales and acquisitions throughout the state and surrounding areas. Source: Personal Résumé, 6/07.

Al Schuler received his doctorate in Forest Economics & Marketing from Iowa State University and B.S. in Forestry from SUNY Syracuse. Since 1999, he has been a Research Economist with the USDA Forest Service at their Princeton, WV Research Laboratory. Prior to his work with USDA, for nearly ten years Al was Manager of Economics and Market Planning at Norbord Industries in Toronto, providing the company with economic forecasts used in strategic planning, demand/supply and resource analyses. He succeeded to this position after spending approximately nine years as Manager of Market Research at the Forintek Research Lab in Ottawa, Canada. Over the past eight years with the USDA Forest Service, Al has been responsible for studies on the impacts of the economy, globalization, technological change, and demographics on solid wood product markets including framing lumber, structural panels, and engineered wood products. In addition, Al has studied the impacts of globalization trends on the domestic furniture industry and its supply chain. Source: Personal Résumé, 3/08

Bob Schumacher, Atterbury Consultants. A 1973 graduate of the University of Missouri, Bob began his career in Louisiana with International Paper Company and later held forest management positions in Texas and Arkansas. He presently manages Atterbury Consultants' office in Perry, Georgia. Source: The University of Georgia Continuing Education Course Description, 7/98.

George Screpetis, has over 40 years of forestry experience and currently serves as the President and Chief Consultant of George Doyle, Inc. He helps lead the annual Hardwood Log, Lumber and Tree Grading Workshop sponsored by Louisiana Tech University.
   After receiving his B.S. in Forestry from Louisiana Polytechnic Institute and his M.F. from Duke University, George spent 14 years at the UDSA Forestry Service as a Forester and, later, a Timber Quality Specialist. Leaving the USDA in 1979, he spent two years operating a cross-tie sawmill and ten as a Forester and Wood Products Consultant. Since 1991 he has been with George Doyle, Inc.
   George is a member of ACF and the Southern Hardwood Forestry Group and is a Registered Forester in Mississippi. He is also a member of the Louisiana Tech Forestry Alumni and past member of SAF and the Forest Products Research Society. Source: Personal Résumé 2/08.

Barry D. Shiver is Emeritus professor of Forest Management with the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources of the University of Georgia. Since his retirement in 2005 Dr. Shiver has focused on forestry consulting through ForesTech International, a company he co-founded eight years ago, and teaching forestry short courses through the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. As a faculty member, Shiver developed and taught the forest inventory course. He and Bruce Borders wrote the forest inventory text, "Sampling Techniques for Forest Resource Inventory", that is widely used in forestry curricula across the country. He was director of the Plantation Management Research Cooperative (PMRC) at Georgia for ten years and is widely recognized as an expert on southern pine responses to silvicultural treatments and growth and yield. His company designs inventories and works with landowners to insure that information collected in forest inventories is sufficient for use not only in estimating current value, but also in projecting future values. Source: Personal Résumé 8/08.

William Alex Shumate, CFS, is with Strategic Financial Consultants in Charlotte, North Carolina. Alex is a graduate of Appalachian State University with a degree in Business Administration. After graduation he managed his family's furniture manufacturing company in Hickory, North Carolina. He started his financial planning career after the family business was sold in 1980, in recognition of the need for professional financial planning for closely held businesses. Alex focuses his practice on business succession, exit strategy, estate, investment and fringe benefit planning for closely held businesses and timberland owners in the Southeast. Alex is dedicated to the preservation of his clients' wealth.  Source: Saving the Family Tree brochure, 7/00.

William C. (Bill) Siegel is one of the nation's foremost authorities on forest tax matters. He is a practicing attorney, a timber tax consultant in private practice, was national president of the Society of American Foresters in 1995. He has retired from the U.S. Forest Service where he served as research project leader for forest resource law, taxation and economics and now manages his own tree farm. He serves as adjunct professor of forest economics and policy at Louisiana State University and has testified before Congress on pending tax legislation.
    Siegel has written over 200 technical publications on forest economics, taxation and law and authors a timber tax article in each issue of National Woodlands. Siegel co-authored Forest Owner's Guide to the Federal Income Tax and Estate Planning for Forest Landowners: What Will Become of Your Timberland?
    He received his bachelor and master degrees in forestry and forest economics from Michigan State University, and his juris doctorate from Loyola University of the South's School of Law. Mr. Siegel is a member of Louisiana State Bar Association and American Bar Association and serves on the boards of the Louisiana Forestry Association and the Forest Landowners Tax Council (of which, he is currently Chairman of the Board). Source: Mississippi State University Continuing Education Course Web Page, 4/99.Updated 4/03.

Ron Simmons is the area director of the Gainesville office of The University of Georgia Business Outreach Services/Small Business Development Center. Before he joined UGA in 1990, Mr. Simmons was a retail site manager for the British Petroleum Oil Company in Pittsburgh, PA and Cleveland, OH. He also served as district sales manager for Stone Construction Equipment Company for the southeastern United States. Prior to that, he was the district sales manager of Kennametal, Inc. for a ten state area after working in industrial management with the Milliken Companies. Source: The University of Georgia Continuing Education Course Description, 1/01.

Robert S. Simpson is Senior Vice President, American Forest Foundation, Center for Family Forests. He was elected to that position in January 2004 after ten years as Vice President and Director, American Tree Farm System.
     His responsibilities at AFF include developing long-term forestry program visions, strategic planning and elevating AFF’s forestry program profiles both domestically and internationally. The American Forest Foundation hosts three Centers; Center for Environmental Learning, Center for Conservation Solutions and Center for Family Forests.
     Prior to joining AFF, Mr. Simpson enjoyed a 16-year career as a procurement and land management forester. From 1984 to 1994, he was employed with Chesapeake Corporation, located in Richmond, Virginia. Simpson acted as coordinator for Chesapeake's landowner assistance program and external communication program.
     From 1979 to 1983, Simpson worked for Champion International, Timberlands Division, in Missoula, Montana. While there he worked as District Forester and helped manage the company's 600,000-acre regional ownership.
     Currently, Mr. Simpson is elected to the Board of Directors for the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Systems (PEFC) and is co-founder and chairman of the International Family Forestry Alliance, an organization of 22 countries in Europe and North America working to develop information and policies regarding family forest ownership and its value to the global community.
     Simpson received his BS in Forest Resource Management in 1979 from Virginia Tech's College of Forestry and Wildlife.
     AFF is an independent 501c3 foundation dedicated to improving the active stewardship of America's natural resources through education and landowner outreach. Source: Personal Résumé 8/08.

Peter J. Smallidge works for Cornell University as the New York State Extension Forester and the Director of the Cornell University Arnot Teaching and Research Forest. Pete’s primary job is to coordinate Cornell’s Forest Resources Extension Program by providing leadership for education to enhance the sustainability and stewardship of private forest lands in New York. In this role he works with Cornell Cooperative Extension educators and numerous partners and audiences. His applied research addresses sugarbush management and forest production, and vegetation management. He also teaches a course in forest management and maple syrup production. Pete has a B.S. in Forestry from Purdue University (1986) and a M.S. (1989) and Ph.D. (1993) in forest ecology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. Source: Personal Résumé 6/07.

Mathew Smidt is the assistant extension specialist in forest operations with School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University. Mathew's primary responsibility is working in logger education through the Alabama Professional Logging Manager (PLM) Training Program. Mathew has worked in logger education and training for about ten years. Prior to coming to Auburn in July 2000, Mathew held a similar position at the University of Kentucky. He earned a Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota in 1996, a Master of Forestry from Duke University in North Carolina in 1989, and a B.S. from Doane College in Nebraska in 1987. Nebraska is Mathew's home state where his family owns and operates a diversified farm. How do you get from the cornfields of Nebraska to the plains of Alabama? As they say in Kentucky, 'You can't get there from here', at least not without some stops in between. Source: Personal Résumé 10/01.

Brian Smith is the Chilton County Manager of the Alabama Forestry Commission. As a county manager, his job is to oversee all the county operations. This includes prescribed burning and installing permanent firebreaks. Other activities include management plans, cost share programs offered by the state and federal government, Southern Pine Beetle, BMP complaints, school programs, and individual stand management recommendations. He graduated from Auburn University with a Bachelor's Degree in Forestry in 2001. Source: Personal Résumé 9/07.

Joseph K. Smith is the Director of the Forest and Wood Products Institute at Mount Wachusett Community College. He has a bachelor’s degree in Forest Management (University of Massachusetts, 1977) and twenty-eight years experience in the forestry field. He began at the Institute in 1996 as the Associate Director and became Director in 2001. At the Institute Joe created and administers the successful Southern New England Logger Education Program that serves three states, and assisted with the creation and operation of a wood products cooperative. In addition to providing training to all facets of the wood products industry, the Institute also promotes the greater utilization of our local forest resources, particularly through the development of biomass energy. Previous to working at the Institute Joe was a Service Forester with the Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Management, and in that capacity assisted with the writing of the current state forest cutting regulations. He has also worked as a forester with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in California and with the Peace Corps in Micronesia. Joe is also a published author of fiction and non-fiction, and an artist whose drawings have appeared in a number of publications. Source: Personal Résumé 09/05.

Pat Smith is owner and operator of Sandy Creek Forestry, Inc. of Demopolis. A Registered Forester in Alabama and Mississippi, he graduated from Auburn's School of Forestry with a Master degree in Forestry in 1998. He is also experienced in dealing with the Red Hills Salamander. Source: Personal Résumé, 4/04.

David South is Professor of Forestry in Auburn University's School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences. He received BS & MS degrees in forestry and a BS degree in Wildlife Biology from North Carolina State University and PhD in forestry from Auburn University. He served seven years as director of the Southern Forest Nursery Management Cooperative. His teaching responsibilities include plantation establishment and management and forest nursery management. Dr. South's research interests include nursery management, weed control, effects of seedling size on survival and growth, seedling dormancy, and artificial regeneration practices. Source: Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Faculty Directory, 12/99.

Holt Speir is a partner with the law firm of Capell & Howard, P.C. in Montgomery, Alabama. He received his J.D. Degree from the University of Alabama in 1988 and his LL.M. in Taxation from New York University in 1989.   He is a member of the Montgomery County Bar Association, the Alabama State Bar, and the American Bar Association. He is also a former Instructor in Estate Planning at Jones School of Law, a member and former President and Director of the Montgomery Estate Planning Council, Chairman of the Tax Section of the Alabama State Bar, a member of Estate Planning Committee of Alabama Bar Institute for Continuing Legal Education, and a trustee of the American Federal Tax Institute. He practices primarily in the fields of taxation, corporate law, securities, and estate planning. Source: Personal Résumé, 6/99.

Paul D. Spillers is a tax attorney who practices with the law firm of Theus, Grisham, Davis and Leigh in Monroe, Louisiana. Paul has an extensive income and estate planning practice and litigates tax disputes in the United States Tax Court and Federal District Court. He also owns and manages his own timber tracts located in Louisiana and Mississippi. Paul's clients include many forest landowners. He is president of the Northeast Louisiana Forestlandowners' Association. Source: Personal Résumé, 8/01.

Dwight Steedley is a graduate of the University of Alabama, Mississippi State University, and Auburn University. Dr. Steedley is currently a Professor of Mathematics and Chairman of the Mathematics and Natural Sciences Departments at the University of Mobile. He is president of the Mobile County Landowners Association and a member of the board of directors of the association for the past three years. Dr. Steedley has been a landowner for the past 15 years and his family's property is designated a Treasure Forest. He has served two terms as president of the Faculty Council at the University of Mobile and is the author of two mathematics textbooks. Source: Personal Résumé, 3/03. Updated 04/04.

Ellen B. Steen is a partner with the law firm Crowell & Moring LLP in Washington, D.C. She specializes in environmental law, particularly environmental legal issues affecting forestry and agriculture. She has worked closely with the American Forest & Paper Association and other forestry groups in responding to efforts by environmental interests groups to increase the regulation of forestry and other land use activities through Clean Water Act permitting. She took part in the opposition to EPA’s 1999 proposal to revise its “silvicultural point source” regulation to allow Clean Water Act permitting for certain forestry-related “storm water discharges.” Since that proposal was withdrawn by EPA in 2000, Ellen has assisted in defending against several environmental group lawsuits seeking to re-define forestry activities as Clean Water Act “point sources” and to require Clean Water Act permits for storm water runoff from forest lands.
Ellen is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Law and of Tulane University. She serves as a vice-chair of the American Bar Association’s Forest Resources Committee and its Committee on Agricultural Management. Source: Personal Résumé, 10/03.

Taylor V. Stein is an Assistant Professor in Natural Resources Management – Ecotourism for the School of Forest Resources and Conservation at the University of Florida. He teaches ecotourism courses and conducts research focusing on how to best incorporate ecotourism planning and management into rural landscapes. (webpage) Source: Personal Résumé, 02/03.

Frank M Stewart III, is the contract lobbyist for the Forest Landowners Association, Executive Director of the Forest Landowners Tax Council, and is principal of Washington Resource, an association management and professional services firm that is located in Alexandria, Virginia. Stewart grew up in a forestry family, began working in the woods of Southwest Alabama at the age of 13, became a forest landowner, and later earned a BS in Forest Management from Auburn University and a MF in Resource Economics & Policy from Duke University. After college he rose through the ranks to become president of a timberland investment and management firm in his hometown of Vredenburgh – where he was also a four-term mayor. In 1990, Stewart left forest management to begin work in government affairs for the Southern Forest Products Association. There he initiated a number of new programs, which included one to coordinate forestry-community communicators throughout the South. In 1996, he was asked to come to Washington, DC to work with the American Forest & Paper Association as Director of Communications. Then, in 1998, he began Washington Resource.
     Throughout his career, Stewart has been fortunate to be chosen by his peers to hold positions of responsibility in various professional and scientific organizations and to participate in, and help to build, professional leadership development programs. He is a Registered Forester, has earned the ACF designation from the Association of Consulting Foresters of America, and has served as an advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture as Vice Chairman of USDA's Forest Research Advisory Council. Stewart publishes, or regularly contributes to, eight separate forestry-community publications; including the Washington Resource Report, which AFOA members receive monthly. Source: Personal Résumé, 04/03.

Peter J. Stewart is President, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder of Forest2Market, Inc. (F2M). Stewart created F2M in 2000 when he began collecting transaction-level timber pricing data, which has helped F2M emerge as the front-runner and industry standard for pricing timber in the South. As an industry expert, Stewart continues to develop new products, statistical bidding and market behavior models for the forest products industry. Before he founded F2M and developed its real-time pricing service, Stewart led the development of the industry's first Web-based forest inventory management and mapping system. Prior to these leadership roles, Stewart was responsible for planning and harvest schedules for $350 million of institutional forestland and led acquisition projects in Argentina and Brazil. He was actively involved in many of the major Southern timberland transactions between 1994 and 1999. Stewart received his bachelor's degree in forestry from Texas A&M University and his master's degree in forest economics from the University of Georgia. Source: http://www.forest2market.com/opencms/opencms/f2m/management.html,  7/07.

John R. Stivers is a self-employed registered forester with major clients being large shooting plantation owners in Southeast Alabama, including Enon and Sehoy plantations. He serves as the Chair of the Alabama Prescribed Fire Council. Stivers is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Monticello (BS in Forest Management), 1982, and received the Outstanding Young Forester of the Year in 1990 (Soc. Of Amer. Foresters AL Division). Stivers has worked for USDA Forest Service in Arkansas, Alabama, and Georgia, and also the Type 1 National Incident Management Team, working in over 35 states and thousands of wildland fires. He has crafted forest management plans and portions of environmental documentation reports for three conservation easements since late 2002 (10,517 acres, 7446 acres, and 3100 acres). He and his wife of 22 years, Bekki, have two sons, Matthew 17 and Luke 15. He is a member and ordained deacon at Hatchett Creek Baptist Church in Clay County Alabama, and he enjoys hunting, fishing, and the practice of forestry. Source: Personal Résumé, 03/05, updated 01/08.

Richard Straight is originally from Iowa where he received his B.S. and M.S. in Forest Management. He has served as a City Forester in Iowa, a Field Service Forester, a State Staff Forester for the NRCS, both in Nebraska and for the last 7 years as the Technology Transfer Lead for the USDA National Agroforestry Center. The Center is a 3-way partnership of two divisions of the USDA Forest Service, those being Research & Development and State & Private Forestry, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
    His primary focus at the Agroforestry Center is to promote the understanding and adoption of agroforestry in the U.S. This is done by providing information and training to natural resource professionals who in turn work with private landowners. Working as a forester in the land of corn, beans, and cows, and he has learned many lessons on the benefits and power of partnerships. Even his favorite past time of upland bird hunting is dependent on a partnership with his dog. Personal Resume 02/2008.

Dr. Lee Stribling is a game management expert and an Associate Professor at Auburn’s School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences. He graduated with a BS in Biology from the University of South Carolina in 1973, an MS in Wildlife Biology from Clemson University in 1978, and a PhD in Zoology from North Carolina State University in 1983. His professional interest involves applied wildlife management with a focus on upland Gamebirds (bobwhite quail and turkey) and white-tailed deer. Source: http://www.forestry.auburn.edu/directory/directory_search.asp?Name=Stribling, 06/04.

Richard Stroup is a professor of economics at Montana State University and a PERC senior associate. He received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Washington. From 1982 to 1984, he was director of the Office of Policy Analysis at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Stroup is a widely published author and speaker on economics, including natural resources and environmental issues, and he has written many articles for professional journals and popular media outlets.  His work helped to develop the approach to resource problems known as the New Resource Economics or Free Market Environmentalism. Stroup is coauthor with James D. Gwartney of a primer on economics, What Everyone Should Know About Economics and Prosperity; as well as a co-author with James D. Gwartney, Russell S. Sobel and David Macpherson of a leading college economics textbook, Economics: Private and Public Choice, now in its tenth edition. His recent publications have focused on the Superfund program and on alternative institutional arrangements for dealing with endangered species, regulatory takings, and other regulatory issues. Source: Personal Résumé, 05/03.

Patrick Sweeney, Curator of the University of Georgia Herbarium. Mr. Sweeney's expertise is in plant taxonomy and systematics and he is the coordinator of The Vascular Plant Atlas of Georgia Project. He has been a laboratory instructor for plant taxonomy and plant anatomy courses and received a graduate student teaching award from the University of Georgia. Mr. Sweeney has experience in teaching two aquatic vegetation identification courses. Source: The University of Georgia Continuing Education Course Description, 7/99.

Chuck Sykes has been hunting since the age of six. He took his passion for the outdoors and earned a degree in wildlife biology from Auburn University. While in school, Chuck worked as a guide for some of the finest lodges the south has to offer. He assimilated the hands-on knowledge from the field with the scientific instruction from the classroom to create his own successful full-service management consulting firm. The Circle N Lodge which is under exclusive lease to Bill Jordan and Realtree Outdoors is among the many properties Chuck has managed. He is a member of the NRA, NWTF, QDMA, Buckmasters, and AWF. Chuck is the producer and creative director for The Management Advantage. Chuck also writes wildlife articles and gives seminars on his management practices. The Management Advantage won "Most Informative Show for 2001" during its first season. Source: Personal Résumé, 08/02.

Jay Taffet is owner/operator of Affordable Aerials. He specializes in perspective or "oblique" aerial photos that show off a farm or business. Jay has flown small airplanes since he was 18. He served as an Air Force pilot for five years after graduating from Vanderbilt in 1990. Jay is a third-generation pilot following both his father and grandfather who served as career military pilots. He also grew up in a “photography” household and learned from an early age how to capture special moments and places on film. Jay is convinced he has the best profession in the world bringing unique aerial perspectives back to earth for today’s collection and tomorrow’s memory. Source: Personal Résumé, 3/03.

Tom Tanton is a Senior Fellow with the Institute for Energy Research, joining the group in 1997. Mr. Tanton is also Principal of T 2 & Associates, a firm providing consulting services to the energy and technology industries. T 2 & Associates are active primarily in the area of energy and interconnected infrastructures, analyzing and providing advice on their impacts on energy prices, environmental quality and regional economic development. Principles and associates of the firm have well over a half-century of experience in technology and legislative interface, having been central to many of the critical legislative changes that enable technology choice and economic development at the state and federal level. Tom is a strong proponent of free market environmentalism and consumer choice, and frequently publishes and speaks against alarmist and reactionary policies and government failures. As a General Manager at EPRI, from 2000 to 2003, Mr. Tanton was responsible for the overall management and direction of collaborative research and development programs in electric generation technologies, integrating technology, market infrastructure, and public policy. Mr. Tanton has over 35 years experience in the energy, economy, and environmental fields. Until 2000, Mr. Tanton was the Principal Policy Advisor with the California Energy Commission (CEC) in Sacramento, California . He developed and implemented policies and legislation on energy issues of importance to California, and U.S. and International markets, including electric restructuring, gasoline and natural gas supply and pricing, energy facility siting and permitting, environmental issues, power plant siting, technology development, and transportation. Mr. Tanton has been recognized for raising awareness of the connection of electricity to other important industries including agriculture, petroleum production, electronics, biotechnology, water supply, Internet, and finance. Mr. Tanton served as a team member of California Governor's Office task force on critical infrastructure security, coordinating with national effort lead by White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He served as lead advisor on energy and infrastructure to California's task force on 21st Century development (and provided unique leadership relative to California's electric transmission needs), recommended positions and actions on major items before the California Energy and Public Utilities Commissions, and provided representation with external top-level management Boards, Commissions, Legislature and Congress. He has testified before several State legislatures and Congress, and provided expert witness testimony in power plant siting cases. Mr. Tanton is affiliated with the West Coast Region-Petroleum Technology Transfer Center (PTTC)-(University of Southern California), Urban Utility Center; New York Polytechnic Institute (Senior Research Associate), and is Co-Chair of the Pacific Southwest Region Initiative, US Combined Heat and Power Association. Source: Personal Résumé, 10/05.

Charles M. Tarver, President, Forest Investment Associates, Atlanta, Georgia. In the early 1980s, Mr. Tarver pioneered the timberland investment business for tax-exempt institutions beginning with the development of the country's first pooled timberland investment fund while employed at a major Atlanta bank. He has been in the timberland investment business since 1979 and has acquired and managed many thousands of acres of timberland during this period. Charley is a registered forester, a member of the Society of American Foresters and the Association of Consulting Foresters. He is chairman of the Forest Landowners Tax Council and a director of the Forest Landowners Association. He has authored numerous forestry investment and appraisal articles and has been a featured speaker at numerous forestry investment seminars and workshops. He serves on the Advisory Council for the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences at Auburn University where he received a BS degree in Forest Management in 1968. Source: Personal Résumé, 10/00.

Al Tate, M.S., Wetland Ecologist. Mr. Tate's expertise is in wetland vegetation, wetland ecology, and wetland restoration. As a former wetland ecologist for the Georgia Department of Transportation, he pioneered techniques for assessing and methods of minimizing impacts of highway construction on wetlands. Mr. Tate currently instructs students in wetland ecology and does consulting work in wetland delineation, functional assessment, and restoration projects. Source: The University of Georgia Continuing Education Course Description, 3/00.

David P. Tenny is the president and CEO of the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO). Tenny came to NAFO from the American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA), where he served as vice president for forestry and wood products from March 2007 to May 2008. Prior to his service at AF&PA, Tenny served for six years as deputy undersecretary for natural resources at the United States Department of Agriculture.
     Tenny came to USDA from the Committee on Agriculture in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served as Counsel and Policy Advisor on natural resources and related issues from January 1997 to January 2001. He served as Counsel for U.S. Representative Wally Herger of California from January 1995 to January 1997.
     A native of Boise, Idaho, Tenny earned a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and a law degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He is married with three children. Source: NAFO Résumé, 10/08.

Dwayne Tew is a 1997 graduate of the Auburn University School of Forestry. He worked as a consultant forester for Southern Forestry Consultants in Enterprise for over five years. Dwayne is currently working for Wolf Creek Timber, Inc. in Pell City as a procurement forester. Source: Personal Résumé, 4/03.

Lindsay Thomas, Jr., is the director of publications and managing editor of the Quality Deer Management Association's flagship publication, Quality Whitetails, and works out of Bogart, Georgia. He is one of the authors of the book, Quality Food Plots - Your Guide to Better Deer and Better Deer Hunting, a comprehensive guide to good plots and wildlife. Thomas comes to the QDMA from Georgia Outdoor News, a monthly hunting and fishing news magazine, where he served as an editor for nine years. He grew up in Wayne County in southeast Georgia, where he honed his hunting and fishing skills at an early age. An avid deer hunter, Thomas spends as much time as possible in the woods each fall. Thomas and his wife Anne have two children, Jacob, age five, and two-year-old Laurel. Source: www.qdma.com

Mark W. Thomas is a Registered Forester in Alabama (#1467), Georgia (#2185), and Mississippi (#1471), a Society of American Foresters (SAF) Certified Forester, a member of the Association of Consulting Foresters (ACF), and a Certified Wildlife Biologist through The Wildlife Society (TWS). He has earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Wildlife Management and Conservation Education from Southwest Missouri State University - Springfield, and a Master of Science Degree in Forestry from the University of Missouri - Columbia. Post-Graduate education includes environmental and wildlife toxicology, statistics, calculus, plant physiology, trigonometry, and organic chemistry. He won the 2001 Presidential Field Forester Award from the Society of American Foresters. Past employment history includes 8 years as a laborer on the St. Louis - San Francisco Railroad (Frisco), Resource Forester with the Missouri Department of Conservation, Research Scientist at the Environmental Trace Substances Research Center, Pharmacy Technician with the University of Missouri Hospital and Clinics, and Research Associate at Auburn University School of Forestry. He was employed with American Cyanamid (American Home Products/BASF) for 11 years, five as a Forest Management Specialist for Alabama, North Georgia and East Tennessee and the last six as the Business Relations Manager for forestry and wildlife in the United States. He won the Circle of Excellence Award, Outstanding Performance Award, Outstanding Service Award, and Innovator of the Year Award (twice), was a Q Performer for 5 years and a Q+ Performer for 6 years. As a lobbyist with the American Cyanamid Agricultural Legislative Communicators, he was active in various lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., in support of private property rights, estate tax relief, Endangered Species Act reform, and also performs as an Expert Witness. He was past SAF Program Chairman (Cahaba Chapter) and immediate past SAF Chairman - Alabama Division, and served a two-year term on the Board of Registered Foresters - Oral Examination Board (Alabama). He holds full membership in the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and is a peer reviewer in the American Society of Testing and Materials. He is a noted author with over 100 scientific publications. As a degreed and certified wildlife biologist, he is a member of and is active in the National Wild Turkey Federation, Quality Deer Management Association (Board Member - Board of Directors), Quail Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Izaak Walton League, National Rifle Association, Ruffed Grouse Society, The Wildlife Society, The Wildlife Management Institute (Committee Member) and Safari Club International. He is also a member of and is active in the Society of American Foresters, Association of Consulting Foresters, American Forest Foundation, Alabama Forestry Association, Virginia Forestry Association, North Carolina Forestry Association, Mississippi Forestry Association, Georgia Forestry Association, Alabama Forest Council, Alabama Forest Owners Association, Forest Landowners Association and the National Woodland Owners Association. He currently serves on two committees with the American Forest & Paper Association (Landowner Assistance Program Committee and Wildlife Committee) and is on the Editorial Board of the Alabama Wildlife Federation. He presents approximately 85 - 90 seminars and symposiums annually pertaining to forest and wildlife habitat management. He works closely with private industrial forestry companies in the United States, State and Federal foresters, consulting foresters, hunting preserves, wildlife habitat managers, institutional foresters, trust officers, timber management companies, pension fund managers, nontraditional forestland owners, and nonindustrial private forest landowners. Mr. Thomas recently formed a forest and wildlife management company called FORESTRY/WILDLIFE INTEGRATION, LLC. Services offered include Wildlife Management, Recreational Property Development, Endangered Species Management, Forest Management, Seminars & Symposiums, Expert Witness Testimony, and Hunting Guiding/Outfitting trips to Alaska, Russia, Tasmania, Quetico Provincial Park (Canada), Unites States, and Newfoundland. He likes canoeing, kayaking, camping, fishing, hunting and gardening. He is a husband (Vikki), father (Abby, Brooke) and grandfather (Jacob, Sam). Source: Personal Résumé, 4/03.

Alex Thomasson - Assistant Professor, Agricultural and Biological Engineering. Source: Mississippi State University Continuing Education Course Description, 3/00.

 Johnny Thompson is the Gulf Regional Sales Manager for LandMark Systems, a technology-based company that provides GPS, GIS, and Forest Inventory Solutions to over 400 companies throughout the United States. Johnny, a native of Nashville, TN, studied languages at Furman University in Greenville, SC and Agriculture at Mississippi State University in Starkville, MS. After graduating, he worked 10 years as a research assistant in the Plant and Soil Science Department at MSU where he helped develop GPS and GIS solutions for Precision Agriculture. Along the way, he completed a Master’s in Agronomy and opened his own GPS/GIS sales, training, consulting, and mapping business that brought him into contact with LandMark Systems. In 2003, he joined LandMark and now works with hundreds of the biggest and smallest forestry companies located from AL to TX. LandMark’s mission is to develop and provide technology-based solutions to field foresters so that they can collect more accurate acres in canopy situations and be more efficient in how they cruise timber and calculate their results back in the office. They accomplish this with a patented field data-collection process called RealTime Inventory (RTI) that allows the forester to create cruise grids in polygons, navigate to plots, and enter in field inventory information. In-depth training courses and a top-notch tech support team are also an essential part of the LandMark solution. Johnny and his wife, Inger, are blessed with 10 children whom they homeschool on a farm outside of Starkville, MS. Source: Personal Résumé, 6/07.

Bob Lee Tjaden, Jr., is Regional Extension Specialist-Natural Resource, at the Wye Research and Education Center, Queenstown, Maryland. He received a BS and AS degrees in Forestry and Wildlife Management and Forest Management Technology from the University of Maine, a MF degree in Forest Management and Economics from Duke University, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Environmental Management & Policy from the University of Maryland. He has been a very active Tree Farm Inspector and was named Forester of the Year in 1999 by the Maryland/Delaware Chapter of the Society of American Foresters. Source: Personal Résumé, 02/01.

Charles E. Tomlinson has been a forest manager and consultant since 1957. His clients include individuals, partnerships, corporations, estates, trusts, and government agencies. He has served as an expert witness in Federal and State Courts. Charles is a graduate of The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee and was a pilot in the US Air Force. He is the author of A View From My Stump and many essays dealing with forestry issues.  He is Past Chairman of the Alabama Board of Registration for Foresters and presently serves as Editor of The Registered Forester. Charles serves on the boards of directors of the Forest Landowners Association and South Alabama Land and Timber Company and is chairman of the boards of directors of The Foundry of the Shoals, Inc., Tomlinson Forest, Inc., and Tomlinson Group, Inc. Source: Personal Résumé, 4/99.

Jeff Toorish has a broad and varied communications background including radio, television and print. His specialty is strategic communications for industry. He is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Atlanta based Alliance for Southern Forests, a regional grass roots advocacy group for the forestry industry. ASF membership is open to a wide range of people, organizations and companies engaged in the forestry and logging industry in thirteen Southern states.         Prior to assuming the presidency of the alliance, Mr. Toorish was the President of the Maine Pulp & Paper Association in Augusta, Maine, where he successfully fended off anti-forestry and anti-industry legislative and referendum assaults. During the 2000 election cycle, he was the chief political and media strategist battling anti-forestry Referendum Question #2 in Maine. At the ballot box voters defeated Question #2 by a 72 to 28 percent margin. At the time, many experts agreed that Question #2 would have effectively shut down forestry in Maine. Before working for the forestry industry, Jeff was a distinguished political journalist. He has won a multitude of journalism awards from many major journalism organizations, including the Associated Press, the Maine Association of Broadcasters, the Montana Association of Broadcasters and others. He is also an award winning television commercial producer with Tellie, Pollie and WorldFest awards to his credit. In 2000, Papermaker Magazine recognized Jeff's contribution to the industry and awarded him the prestigious Vision 300 Award as the single person who has done the most to improve the image of the pulp & paper industry in the US.  Jeff is also a contributing writer to Solutions Magazine, published by the Technical Association of the Pulp & Paper Industry. In addition to his work for the Alliance for Southern Forests, he is working on a book about environmentalism and the forestry, pulp & paper industry. Source: Personal Résumé, 11/01.

John F. Tourtellotte, Sr., President of Tourtellotte and Associates LLC, has fifty years experience in manufacturing, engineering, and construction for the chemical, petrochemical, pulp and paper, and metallurgical industries. Specializing in all aspects of process equipment design, Tourtellotte holds ten U.S. Patents and provides many services to hazardous waste management, including asbestos and toxic chemicals.
    Tourtellotte and Associates' goal is to construct the "first of a kind" process that will convert low-commercial-value forest biomass into an environmentally clean, high BTU synthesis. This would create a fuel free from Alkaline earth metals that have a tendency to poison SCR catalyst that are used to control NOX emissions from power plants. This process would net zero CO2 emissions to the atmosphere,  and could be mixed with natural gas or other fuels in order to provide an economically acceptable fuel blend. The synthesis gas would also reduce the consumption of fossil fuel, increase the use of renewable fuel, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and enhance the value of local forest biomass.
    Tourtellotte holds a Master of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering, and is an Alabama Registered Professional Engineer. He has held many positions in all aspects of process equipment design, including Process and project engineer, consultant, project manager, and even director of marketing. Source: Tourtellotte and Associates LLC's Credentials, 10/03.

Ed Travis is principal of the Edward F. Travis, Company, Inc., a full service forestry consulting, timberland brokerage and real estate appraisal firm located in Mobile, Alabama. Ed is a 1969 graduate of the University of Alabama with a BS degree in Commerce & Business Administration with a major in real estate. Ed began in the real estate appraisal business in 1971 after service in Vietnam as an Army artillery officer. In 1992, Ed completed a Master of Forestry degree (MF) from Duke University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in Durham, North Carolina. Ed's varied appraisal experience as an MAI, ARA and licensed real estate broker enhanced the creation of a niche practice exclusively oriented to forest appraisal and brokerage, which then expanded to forest and land management consulting as a Registered Forester and ACF member. He currently serves as board chairman of the Alabama Forest Resources Center, which is a land trust seeking working forest conservation easements. Travis was recently elected to serve as the state chairman of the Alabama chapter of ASFMRA. He is the past chairman of the Alabama Chapter of the ACF and past president of the Alabama Jubilee Chapter of the SAF (Society of American Foresters). Ed also served as past chairman of the Alabama-Northwest Florida Chapter of the Appraisal Institute and was appointed to Alabama's first Real Estate Appraiser's Board for a three year term ending in 1994. Ed has also been involved in forestry and appraisal instruction on a local and national level. He has instructed courses in appraisal, forest and timber appraisal and in conservation easements. Source: http://www.edwardftravis.com/index.htm, 11/05

George Tremblay taught biochemistry and was active in biomedical research at the University of Rhode Island for thirty-four years before retiring as professor of biochemistry in December 2000. He lives with his wife and two dogs on twenty-eight acres of woodlot in Charlestown, Rhode Island, near enough to the ocean to dig his own clams and satisfy the family's penchant for fresh seafood. Source: Sawmill & Woodlot Management Magazine August/September 2004: Issue No. 46, p. 16.

Shelley Tschida is the CEO of Quality Services, Inc. QSI has been providing access and recreation management services to private industrial forestland owners for the past eight years. Currently, QSI has over 1 million acres of forest land involved in custom designed active access management programs. Source: Personal Résumé, 7/08.

Wayne Tucker graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in Forest Management. He worked in many positions with Georgia-Pacific Corp for 28 years, mostly in forest management. He then spent 3 years with Forest Resources Association in the SouthCentral Technical Division. In January 2004, he started to work with the Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory, which is working toward accomplishing a statewide forest inventory. Source: Personal Résumé, 7/04.

Robert A. Tufts is an Attorney and Associate Professor in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences at Auburn University. Robert has earned a B.S. and M.S. in forestry from Louisiana State University; a Ph.D. in forestry from Virginia Tech; a J.D. from Jones School of Law, Faulkner University; and an LLM (taxation) from the University of Alabama. Robert teaches courses in surveying, forest road design and construction, timber taxation, estate planning and property law. His current research is focused on estate planning for landowners, business entities and property law issues for landowners. Robert also has a part-time law practice limited to tax planning, estate planning, business entities and property issues. Source: Personal Résumé, 11/06.

T. Adam Tullos currently serves as the North Mississippi Wildlife Associate for the Natural Resource Enterprises Program. His position is housed at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Verona, MS where he covers the Northern 41 Counties of Mississippi. Adam holds a Bachelor of Science, 1993, in Marine Biology and Environmental Science form Livingston University, and a Master of Science from Mississippi State University, 2000, from the College of Forest Resources in Forest and Wildlife Management. During his past working experience Adam has held various positions dealing with environmental monitoring, habitat restoration, and wildlife ecology. He has also worked in industry as an environmental specialist with Entergy Operations and later with Geo-science Engineering. He has also worked as a planner and field forester with two national conservation organizations, The Great Outdoors Conservancy & Ducks Unlimited, Inc., and prior to working for the Extension Service he served as a District Wildlife Biologist with the Mississippi Dept. of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks. His current position was formulated to provide technical assistance for private landowners in the areas of wildlife and fisheries and natural resource enterprise development. Adam routinely provides expertise for the development of wildlife enterprises on private lands and assists with other topics relevant to integrating forestry, agriculture and wildlife management. Source: Personal Résumé, 4/08.

Tom Urban began his professional career in banking with Goldman, Sachs & Co. in 1988. He subsequently spent 14 years in the agricultural seeds business with Pioneer Hi-Bred and E.I. DuPont de Nemours. In May of 2004, Urban left DuPont to become the CEO of CellFor Inc. Tom received his undergraduate degree from Middlebury College and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard University. Source: Personal Résumé, 8/04.

Charles A. "Buck" Vandersteen is Executive Director of the Louisiana Forestry Association, a private non-profit trade association promoting forestry in Louisiana. His duties also include the management of the Louisiana Forestry Foundation and the Forestry Political Action Council, ForPAC. Mr. Vandersteen is a professional forester. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in forestry from the University of Massachusetts and a Masters in Business Administration from Louisiana Tech University. He is a graduate of the Institute of Organizational Management in Association Management from Oklahoma University. Buck has served in the forest products industry in various capacities – growing, harvesting, and utilizing forest resources. He has served with the Peace Corps in Liberia, West Africa as an advisor to that government in forestry related matters. In his current activities with the Louisiana Forestry Association, Mr. Vandersteen is involved in membership development, governmental affairs, education programs, and public awareness. Mr. Vandersteen serves as secretary/treasurer of the Southern Forest Heritage Museum. On the national scene he serves as Regional Director, and Treasurer of the Alliance for American and is on the Board of Trustees for the Forest Products Industry National Labor Management Committee. He has served on the National Operating Committee of The American Tree Farm Program. Mr. Vandersteen is also active in community affairs. He currently serves on the Board of the Louisiana State University Agriculture Development Council. He represents LSU on the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching (CARET) of the National Association of State Universities. He serves on the Governor’s Task Forces on Environmental Protection and Preservation and Oversize Vehicles. He serves as Treasurer of the Louisiana Society of American Foresters. He has served on the Boards of the Central Louisiana YMCA, United Way, Louisiana Society of Association Executives, Agricultural Leaders of Louisiana, Bolton Avenue Lions Club, Dixie Girls Softball and President of the Rapides High School PTA. Mr. Vandersteen received the Distinguished Service to Forestry Award in 1996 from the Louisiana Society of American Foresters. Mr. Vandersteen is married and has two children. Source: Personal Résumé, 8/02.

Allen E. Varner is Registered Forester #1982. He has twenty-seven years forestry experience working in private industry and state government service. Twenty-four (24) years were spent with forest industry supporting the manufacturing process for a pulp and paper mill and the last several years managing state wide programs to assist private landowners achieve their forest management goals. His responsibilities with industry included: Forest Management, Landowner Assistance, Wood Procurement, & Support Staff. Varner served in both field and staff capacities managing field activities with the emphasis on site preparation and reforestation. He provided analytical and technical assistance to the forest management and paper/pulp manufacturing processes for a mill in central Alabama. Allen has been with the Alabama Forestry Commission since 9/2005. His principle program responsibilities include: Legacy, Stewardship, & Accomplishment Reporting. Source: Personal Résumé, 9/08.

Ian Vásquez is the director of the Cato Institute's Project on Global Economic Liberty. His articles have appeared in newspapers throughout the United States and Latin America.  Vásquez has appeared on CNBC, NBC, C-SPAN, Telemundo, Univisión, and Canadian Television as well as National Public Radio and Voice of America discussing foreign policy and development issues. He received his bachelor's degree from Northwestern University and his master's degree from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He is the editor of Global Fortune: The Stumble and Rise of World Capitalism (2000) and coeditor of Perpetuating Poverty: The World Bank, the IMF and the Developing World (1994). Vásquez is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the Mont Pèlerin Society.  Prior to joining the Cato Institute in 1992, he worked on inter-American issues at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Caribbean/Latin American Action. Source: Personal Résumé, 5/04.

Neil Waer, Associate Director, Préceda Education & Training and Wildlife Biologist, Préceda Wildlife & Forest Management Services, received a BS in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from Texas A&M University and a MS in Wildlife Science from Auburn University, and will receive a PhD in Wildlife Science from Auburn University Summer 2000. Neil is a Certified Wildlife Biologist and has worked as a private wildlife management consultant for eight years, specializing in the development and management of wildlife and timber resources on private hunting lands.  Source: Préceda Education & Training Course Description, 3/00.

Ernest Whatley was born and raised in Beauregard, Alabama. He is a retired dairy farmer who held the honor of having the highest producing herd of dairy cows in the state in 1989. He is married with three children, one of whom is a son who does woodworking and furniture, mostly out of Alabama wood. He runs a 4-wheeler track in Opelika in addition to leasing land to hunters.

Frank Walburn is currently employed as Vice President and Chief Forester, Mossy Oak Properties, Camden, Alabama. Mossy Oak Properties is a land brokerage, land management and forestry/ wildlife management consulting company affiliated with the Mossy Oak Camouflage products companies. The President and Qualifying Broker for Mossy Oak Properties is Chris Hawley, Livingston, Alabama. Frank is a Registered Forester in Alabama and Mississippi. He has 20 years experience in land management, consulting, real estate, and forest product manufacturing. Frank is a 1979 graduate of Auburn University School of Forestry. He is past President and Board Chairman of the Alabama Forestry Association. Frank currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Nature Conservancy of Alabama and is a member of the Society of American Foresters, the Forest Products Society, and a Candidate Member in the Association of Consulting Foresters. Source: Personal Résumé, 8/00.

Noreen Walsh is the Deputy Assistant Regional Director for Ecological Services with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Southeastern Region. The Fish and Wildlife Service is a Federal agency within the Department of the Interior whose mission is to work with others to conserve fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. Ms. Walsh received a B.S. and M.S. in wildlife biology from Michigan State University and Colorado State University, respectively, and has worked for the Fish and Wildlife Service for 13 years. She has been involved with Endangered Species Act policy issues for the past eight years, and was in the Service's headquarters office in Arlington, Virginia before coming to the southeast. In addition to endangered species issues, Ms. Walsh's program responsibilities within the Ecological Service's Division include working with States and other Federal agencies to review impacts of projects on fish and wildlife and providing technical advice and assistance to private landowners. Source: Personal Résumé, 5/03.

Dr. Linda Wang is a forest taxation specialist with the USDA Forest Service, a national resource located in Atlanta, Georgia. She is responsible for timber tax education to foresters, landowners, loggers and tax professionals and attorneys. She is the co-author of the frequently used Tax Tips for Forest Landowners for the 2006 Tax Year. She is also involved in timber tax policy studies and assessment. She has a Ph.D. degree in forest economics, master and undergraduate degree in taxation and a CPA certificate from Washington State. Source: Personal Résumé, 8/07.

Mike Ward: "I am a native Mobilian, a local business owner and an avid outdoorsman. It is my love for the great outdoors that ultimately led me into the real estate business, specifically, land and timber.
     "In 1976, my dad, Fred Ward and I opened Ward's Sporting Goods. It has been a successful business and has served Mobile with the best hunting and fishing products for 30 years. Owning this business gave me the opportunity to meet people who enjoy hunting and fishing as much as I do, like Mike and Sheree Dees. I learned how to be of service to our customers and give them products that would make hunting and fishing enjoyable. It also gave me the opportunity to be associated with organizations like: the National Wild Turkey Federation, Coastal Conservation Association, Alabama Wildlife Federation, Southern Kingfish Association and the Mobile Big Game Fishing Club and others.
     "From 1989 until 1996, I co-hosted a weekly one hour live television show called the Mobile Sportsman. We traveled around the local area filming hunting and fishing events, aired it on the show and then answered callers' questions. Now, every Thursday at noon, I co-host a weekly radio show on WNSP 105.5FM, with Wayne Gardner and Sean Sullivan.
     "I really enjoy everything I do and do everything I enjoy with determination and commitment. That is why when you do business with SOUTHERN TIMBERLANDS, you'll be doing business with people who are dedicated to our profession and; who like myself, have that same spirit of commitment and determination to help you obtain that perfect piece of property to suit your family or business plan." Source: www.southerntimberlands.com 7/08.

Bob Warren is a Certified Wildlife Biologist who serves as Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management in the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forest Resources. Since 1974, Bob has conducted research on wildlife physiology, reproduction and nutrition, mostly focused on wildlife populations in parks and urban/suburban areas. Source: The University of Georgia Continuing Education Course Description, 7/00

Richard Watson is an international expert in electronic commerce. He has authored several books including Metamorphosis: A Guide to the World Wide Web & Electronic Commerce, Data Management: Databases and Organizations, and Electronic Commerce: The Strategic Perspective. His work has been translated into Portuguese, Chinese, German, and Dutch. Dr. Watson is a Professor of MIS in the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. His research interests include electronic commerce, management of the information systems function, and national culture and MIS. He is the inaugural chair of the Academic Advisory Committee of ezgov.com, on the board of advisors of SelfhelpWeb.com, and Director of the Terry College's Center for Information Systems Leadership. In ten years at the University of Georgia, Dr. Watson has been recognized eight times for the quality of his teaching. He has given invited presentations in more than a dozen countries for companies such as IBM, 3M, PowerGen, Telenor, and Apple. Source: The University of Georgia Continuing Education Course Description, 5/00.

Paul D. Wellborn: In 1962, my brother, Doug Wellborn, and I founded Wellborn Cabinet, Inc., in Ashland, Alabama. The company began in a small service station where we began manufacturing low-cost cabinetry for contract sales of government-financed housing. In 1986, I purchased the company to become sole owner and changed the marketing strategy to focus mostly on residential kitchen and bath dealers and distributors. The company is family owned and operated. My wife and 5 children all work for Wellborn Cabinet, Inc. Each bring success to the business. Wellborn offers 2,757 door style and finish combinations and the facility size has grown to 2 million square feet. Source: Personal Résumé, 6/08.

Gene Wengert has been active in the forest products industry for over 40 years and is well known for his ability to translate the complex into easily understood, practical operating procedures. He has managed a mill in Virginia and has taught practical hardwood sawing, edging, and trimming for 15 years. He has written numerous texts and magazine articles and columns (including monthly contributions to Southern Lumberman and to Sawmill and Woodlot Management). He is also the technical advisor to the Sawing and Drying Discussion Board at www.woodweb.com. Prior to starting The Wood Doctor's Rx, LLC, Gene was an extension specialist at the University of Wisconsin and Virginia Tech for 25 years and with the US Forest Service for 15 years. Source: LSU AgCenter Research & Extension Continuing Education Course Description, 7/00. 

E. P. "Buck" Whatley, Jr. is a landowner, real estate developer, and retired Episcopal Priest in Hale County, Alabama. He and his son own and operate the Magnolia Restaurant, Greensboro. In 1989, he successfully organized fellow landowners under the title, "North Hale County Landowners Association", a group representing 64,000 acres and successfully leased to ARCO and Victory Resources for methane/oil exploration and drilling. That same group was successful in having internet services brought to North Hale County, opposed and prevailed in an attempt to annex farm land into town limits - an action which would have raised taxes and provided few, if any, benefits - and today is working with part of same group in getting better deal from gas/oil leases. Source: Personal Résumé, 8/05.

Ernest Whatley was born and raised in Beauregard, Alabama. He is a retired dairy farmer who held the honor of having the highest producing herd of dairy cows in the state in 1989. He is married with three children, one of whom does woodworking and furniture, mostly out of Alabama wood. He runs a 4-wheeler track in Opelika in addition to leasing land to hunters. Source: Personal Résumé, 6/04.

Jaime White is Administration Officer of The Ridge Riding Club. Happily married for 13 years to Jason White (one of the 2 owners of The Ridge), mother of 2 children. Enjoys outdoor activities such as ATV riding, snow skiing, hiking, boating, and most recently gardening. Quiet times include a good cup of coffee and a great book. Source: Personal Résumé, 5/08.

George F. Will is one of the most widely recognized, and widely read, writers in the world. With more than 450 newspapers, his biweekly Newsweek column, and his appearances as a political commentator on ABC, Will may be the most influential writer in America.
    Will began his syndicated column with The Writers Group on January 1, 1974, just four months after The Writers Group was founded by Ben Bradlee and Katharine Graham. Two years later Will started his back-page Newsweek column.
    In 1977, he won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary, for his newspaper columns, and garnered awards for his Newsweek columns, including a finalist citation in the Essays and Criticism category of the 1979 National Magazine Awards competition. He was also the recipient of a 1978 National Headliners Award for his "consistently outstanding special features columns" appearing in Newsweek. A column on New York City's finances earned him a 1980 Silurian Award for Editorial Writing. In January 1985, The Washington Journalism Review named Will "Best Writer, Any Subject." He was named among the 25 most influential Washington journalists by the National Journal in 1997.
    Today Will serves as a contributing analyst with ABC News and has been a regular member of ABC's "This Week" on Sunday mornings since 1981.
   Will was born in Champaign, Illinois, and was educated at Trinity College in Hartford, and Oxford and Princeton universities. Prior to entering journalism, Will taught political philosophy at Michigan State University and the University of Toronto, and served on the staff of U.S. Sen. Gordon Allott. Until becoming a columnist for Newsweek, Will was Washington editor of the National Review, a leading conservative journal of ideas and political commentary.  Copyright 2007, Washington Post Writers Group, 1150 15th St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20071

Ellen Williams is a retired secondary English teacher and author of a political novel, "Bedford, a World Vision." She has done rather extensive speaking to historical organizations across the state. She is a political activist who generally opposes raising taxes and believes state government should be more accountable. Source: Personal Résumé, 4/04.

Ed Wilson is educated in Forestry with a Bachelor of Science in Forest Resource Management and a Master of Science in Forestry Economics from West Virginia University and a Ph.D. in Industrial Forestry Operations from Virginia Tech. He is currently employed by the Davis-Garvin Agency in Columbia, South Carolina, and specializes in timber and landowner insurance programs. Source: Personal Résumé, 8/00.

Amanda Wood acquired a B.S. in Wildlife Management from the University of Georgia and a M.S. in Wildlife Science from Auburn University. Amanda owns Woodlands & Wildlife Consultants, LLC providing wildlife and timber consulting services to private landowners. Source: Personal Résumé, 8/04.

Grant Woods was raised in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri. Grant was schooled at Southwest Missouri State, University of Georgia, and Clemson University. For the past 15 years, Woods has directed a wildlife research and management consulting firm that serves corporate, university, agency, and private clients throughout the white-tailed deer’s range. Grant recently coauthored a book titled Deer Management 101 - Manage Your Way to Better Hunting. Source: Personal Résumé, 11/04.

Lois Cason Wooten was reared on her father's  farm in Dooly County, Georgia. The farm was engaged in tree farming, timber harvesting, and had a mill operation. Her father was also a merchant and owned a cotton gin. Lois attended local schools and graduated from the University of Georgia. She served as a trustee of the University of Georgia Foundation and is currently an emeritus trustee. Lois is married to Frank Wooten, who was president of Kaiser Agricultural Chemical Company and founder of G & C Fertilizer Company. Lois  manages their farms, which are all in natural forests or planted pines. Lois is associated with Four Seasons Travel in Savannah, and she and Frank have one daughter and two grandchildren. Source: Personal Résumé, 2/04.

Robert C. Wright is a 1969 forestry graduate of the University of Tennessee. Bob worked as a service forester, area forester, and district forester with the Tennessee Division of Forestry until 1975. For a brief period Bob was employed as a farm and acreage real estate auctioneer (1975-76). Since then he has been employed by the Tennessee Division of Forestry as a staff forester working in forest products utilization and marketing. Source: Personal Résumé, 11/01.

Russell A. Wright: Rusty Wright received an undergraduate degree from University of North Carolina – Asheville, Masters from NC State. Rusty worked on fish interactions in the estuaries for his thesis research. For his PhD he attended the University of Wisconsin - Madison where he worked on largemouth bass growth and recruitment. After finishing the PhD, he spent some time in a post-doctoral research position at Ohio State until he joined the faculty in the Fisheries Department at Auburn University in 1997. His position is split 3 ways among extension, teaching, and research. As an Extension Specialist he provides information to the public about a variety of areas including fishing, recreational fish pond management, and aquatic natural resources in general. He teaches 2 courses and his research program involves projects in ponds, reservoirs, and the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. Faculty webpage: http://www.ag.auburn.edu/fish/directory/faculty/wright.php Source: Personal Résumé, 5/08.

Mark Wyatt is employed as a geologist in AmSouth's Natural Resources and Real Estate Department in Mobile, Alabama where he manages over 1.5 million acres of mineral rights located primarily in the Southeastern U.S. for private landowners, corporations, estates, trusts and foundations. His responsibilities include the leasing, development and appraisal of mineral rights. He earned a Bachelors of Science degree in geology from the University of Alabama and has 27 years of experience in the mining and petroleum industry. He is a Certified Professional Geologist and licensed in the states of Alabama and Mississippi. He is a member of AIPG, AAPG, AAPL and the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Source: Personal Résumé, 02/03.

G. Kenneth Xydias is a quantitative silviculturalist who joined Resource Management Service in 1989. He is responsible for creating economic models of timberland acquisitions and for making performance projections for forestland managed by Resource Management Service. He is also responsible for the technical aspects of timber inventory, as well as growth and yield systems and silvicultural technology transfer. Ken has written at least 15 scientific articles for a variety of publications, including The Consultant, Forest Science, USDA General Technical Reports, the B. W. Baruch Forest Science Institute of Clemson University, School of Forest Resources at the University of Florida and American Pulpwood Association Technical Papers. Ken was a division research forester with Continental Forest Investments and a technical services supervisor with Stone Forest Products before joining RMS. He holds a B.S. and M.S. from the State University College of Forestry in Syracuse, New York. Source: Personal Résumé, 8/01.

Weihuan Xu is the Principal Economist of Texas Forest Service. He has been working for Texas Forest Service since 1998 and coordinates the economic development and forest inventory and analysis program of the agency. He holds a Ph.D. in Forest Resource/Economics and M.A. in Economics from the University of Washington, and a Master in Forest Economics from Chinese Academy of Forestry. He was a research scientist at the Chinese Academy of Forestry in 1991-1993 and a forester in Anhui province of China in 1983-1988. Source: Personal Résumé, 1/03.

Bob Yates received a degree in Animal Science from Auburn University and worked as a researcher, a teacher, a 4-H agent and a farm journalist. Upon the death of his father in 1970, he returned to the family farm near Woodland, Alabama. His farm interests include timber, cattle and poultry. He farms 2,000 acres, owned and leased. Source: Personal Résumé, 4/02.

Noel S. Yoho is a forest ecologist with degrees in forest management, wildlife management and forest ecology from West Virginia University and The University of Tennessee.  In 1985, following an eighteen-year career with International Paper Company, Mr. Yoho established a forest consulting business providing a range of services to forest landowners and specializing in herbicide technology, prescribed burning, and optimizing timber/wildlife productivity.  He has authored numerous publications in these areas of expertise. Source: Personal Résumé, 4/04.

Douglas Ziebach is a procurement forester with Ziebach & Webb Timber Co., Inc. Ziebach grew up in the timber business with his father, a Registered Forester in Alabama who has been owning and actively working in a wood dealership since 1979.  Ziebach was born in Mobile in 1969, but was raised in Monroeville, where he lives today. He is a 1995 graduate of Auburn University with a B.S. in Forest Resources.  He is a Registered Forester in Alabama, and shares responsibility for procuring, supervising logging, & marketing privately owned timber in Central & South Alabama, & North West Florida. Source: Personal Résumé, 4/04.

Biographical Information About Speakers/Instructors: A-C, D-I, J-Q

Contact Information:
Alabama Forest Owners' Association, Inc.
P. O. Box 361434
Birmingham, Alabama 35236
Phone: (205) 987-8811
Fax: (205) 987-9824
Email: Click Here