'Conservation Hero' Paul Trianosky Joins SFI to Lead Conservation Partnership Program

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) announced today that respected conservation professional Paul Trianosky has joined SFI as Senior Director of Conservation Partnerships.

Trianosky brings nearly 30 years of diverse leadership experience in forest conservation, nonprofit management and forest certification to SFI. In 2013, he was recognized as a "Conservation Hero" by The Nature Conservancy of West Virginia and he has served as a gubernatorial appointee to the Tennessee Forestry Commission since 2004. He most recently worked at the American Forest Foundation, where he served as Director of Southern Forest Conservation. In that role, he developed and implemented strategies to engage family landowners in AFF's programs and services across the southern region. 

Prior to joining AFF, Trianosky spent 18 years in various positions with The Nature Conservancy. He was a co-founder and first Chairman of the Partnership for Southern Forestland Conservation, a partnership to leverage the work of dozens of public, private and non-profit organizations to achieve conservation of 20 million acres of working forest by 2020. He has also worked as a county forester with the Virginia Department of Forestry and as a natural community ecologist with the West Virginia Natural Heritage Program.

"Paul has a proven track record in developing productive partnerships that promote conservation in our forests," SFI President and CEO Kathy Abusow said. "We are confident that Paul will help us grow and expand our conservation network, strengthen our partnerships with conservation organizations at the local, state and national levels and further the growth of our Conservation and Community Partnerships Grants program."

"I'm thrilled to join SFI, which is a leader in promoting conservation research and best practices in North American forests," Trianosky said. "By working together, we can ensure healthy and thriving forests for generations to come."

In 2010, SFI Inc. first invested $400,000 to create the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program to foster partnerships and conservation research that improve forest management in the United States and Canada, and responsible procurement globally. In a few short years, by leveraging partner contributions, SFI has achieved a total investment of $4.8 million in conservation partnerships and research, supporting more than 40 grants with 150 partners across North America.

About Sustainable Forestry Initiative

SFI Inc. is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that is solely responsible for maintaining, overseeing and improving the internationally recognized Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) program. Across the United States and Canada, more than 240 million acres/100 million hectares are certified to the SFI forest management standard. In addition, the SFI program's unique fiber sourcing requirements promote responsible forest management on all suppliers' lands. SFI chain-of-custody (COC) certification tracks the percentage of fiber from certified forests, certified sourcing and post-consumer recycled content. SFI on-product labels identify both certified sourcing and COC claims to help consumers make responsible purchasing decisions. SFI Inc. is governed by a three-chamber board of directors representing environmental, social and economic sectors equally. Learn more at http://sfiprogram.org/ and http://sfiprogram.org/community-conservation/.

SOURCE Sustainable Forestry Initiative