New SFI Position Promotes Value of Certification

Barry Graden loves being a forester – and he loves to tell people about his work.

So he's well suited to the new position of SFI Director, Southeast United States Community Outreach, where he will build on both his passion and SFI community activities to promote and strengthen forest certification throughout the United States, with emphasis on the south.

A registered forester in South Carolina, Graden joined SFI Inc. from AbitibiBowater Inc. where he worked for the past 31 years, most recently as Manager, Sustainable Forestry. He has been involved with SFI since its inception, and was responsible for making sure his company operations met the principles of sustainability that became the nucleus of the SFI Standard.

"I am honored to be part of the SFI program because I know how much SFI and its partners have achieved for forests and communities across North America – and I am confident we can do a lot more," he says. "I have seen first-hand how both markets and customers are becoming more attuned to the drivers and trends supporting sustainable forest management. As a result, there is a need for more certified forests, and SFI with its science-based, consensus-based program is in a strong position."

Graden says he looks forward to supporting the work of SFI Implementation Committees, forestry associations and family forest owners, as well as working with customers who want to support forest certification. He welcomes the opportunity to spread the word that foresters – and the SFI program – understand and support responsible forest management.

Graden's office is in Greenville, SC, and he can be reached by email or telephone at 864-451-7958.