AS YOU’LL READ in this issue, we’re celebrating an exciting development in the world of forest conservation: the first-ever Women’s Forest Congress, to take place in 2022.

The Congress is the brainchild of American Forests’ Board Secretary Ara Erickson, a respected leader in forestry who envisioned this landmark event by drawing on our organization’s proud history of leading American Forest Congresses since the 1800s.

From this inspiration, an organizing committee of women leaders, which includes Rebecca Turner from American Forests, has held successful preparatory events and developed a powerful Congress program that will help consolidate women’s progress in forestry, break down remaining barriers, and project women’s unique leadership voice and perspective at a vital moment for America’s forests.

Along with a piece on the Congress, this issue of our magazine features many other stories highlighting the leadership of women in the forest movement. Such stories were not hard to find because the field of forestry and forest conservation, once dominated by men, has seen an incredible flourish of female leadership and participation at all levels, from governments to Girl Scouts.

This is great news: We urgently need women’s unique skills and perspectives in the forest movement. Women are bringing a new kind of collaborative and inclusive perspective and a fresh spirit for innovation. Whether building coalitions and organizing events like the Congress, or inventing new approaches to forest-climate science, the women in our field are pairing outstanding technical expertise with the kind of community-building energy that makes anything possible.

Examples of this leadership are everywhere. Vicki Christiansen just wrapped up a successful run as chief of the U.S. Forest Service, and Lisa Allen recently finished her term as president of the National Association of State Foresters. Women are leading august forest organizations such as the Council of Western State Foresters, International Society for Arboriculture, Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Hardwood Federation. And at the start of this year, Rita Hite, my decade-long collaborator in leading the Forest-Climate Working Group, took over as president and chief executive officer of American Forest Foundation — the nation’s largest association for family forest owners and a vital partner for American Forests.

I am extremely “forest proud” that American Forests is playing a role in fostering this stronger role for girls and women, including in our own organization. Here at American Forests, women occupy a majority of staff positions, touching every department and level of leadership. This is the result of an intentional effort to recruit women and create a supportive environment within our organization for women’s leadership at all levels.

It’s particularly exciting that women’s participation and leadership is not just occurring in the professional ranks, but in a range of contexts. Women’s participation in college and community college forestry programs is at record levels. We are helping to foster this trend: Eboni Hall, our senior manager of urban forestry education, is taking the lead in expanding forestry education programs at historically black colleges and universities.

Youth are also getting involved. In 2020, American Forests partnered with Girl Scouts of the USA to support the launch of the Girl Scout Tree Promise program. This exciting initiative, which grew up organically from Girl Scouts’ environmental concerns, is empowering scouts and volunteers across the country to plant 5 million trees over the next five years as a way to help combat climate change.

American Forests is helping make sure that the Girl Scout Tree Promise is a high-quality learning and career-exploration opportunity. We have developed an age-appropriate tree planting guide to encourage good forestry techniques and helped identify diverse tree-planting opportunities for the scouts, including partnerships with government agencies.

We need the benefits of forests everywhere for everyone, and we need to create opportunities for everyone to help make this happen. We are not done yet with removing barriers, but I am proud that we are becoming a country where women are leading in the White House, the boardroom, the woods or anywhere else they want to be. Our forest movement is immeasurably better for it.

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