February 27-28, 2025, at Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Washington
Hosted by Washington State Society of American Foresters
The Washington State Society of American Foresters is hosting this year’s PNW Leadership Conference at Skamania Lodge. Local and state SAF chapter leaders are encouraged to attend, along with students in forestry and natural resources and early- to mid-career professionals interested in developing leadership skills and building professional networks. SAF members and non-members are welcome.
With the theme of “Growth and Resilience” we’ll focus on insights from leaders in forestry on how to handle conflict and build collaborative relationships, how our personalities and perspectives influence our interactions, how to manage stress and support mental health, and how serving as a volunteer leader can create long-lasting benefits.
The agenda and CFEs will be updated as speakers are confirmed.
Online registration is now closed. Please contact info@forestry.org for questions or assistance with registration.
Early bird registration is available through January 27. After January 27, registration prices will increase by $50 for SAF members and non-members. Student member pricing will remain at $50.
SAF members Early bird, $235
Non-members Early bird, $325
Student members $50
Registration includes breakfast, lunch, and evening social on February 27; breakfast on February 28; and break refreshments.
Day 1 7-8 AM Breakfast 8-9:00 Keynote speaker – Bettina Ring, SAF President 9-10:00 Conflict and Relationships in Natural Resources-Casey Macauley, Forest Professionals BC 10-10:30 Break 10:30-12 PM Panel: Collaboration and Partnerships – Matt Comisky, AFRC; Stephanie Gutierrez, Ecotrust 12-1 Lunch 1-2:30 Workshop: How Culture, Worldviews, and Basic Underlying Assumptions Affect Leadership – Dr. Shawn Morford, Portland State University 2:30-3:00 Break 3:00-4:30 Dr. Shawn Morford, continued 4:30-5:30 Panel: Leadership and Volunteerism – Brady Dier, WSSAF Chair; Ed Morgan, District 1 Board Rep., Jenny Knoth, WSSAF Past Chair, Quinn Kawamoto, Past Young Professional Board Rep. 5:30-6 Break 6-8 Evening Reception
Day 2 7-8 AM Breakfast 8-9:30 Changing our Mental & Emotional Trajectory (COMET) – Debbie Fredricks, WSU Extension Farm Stress Program 9:30-10 Break 10-11 QPR Suicide Prevention Training – Debbie Fredricks, WSU Extension 11-12 PM Mental Health and Resilience in Wildland Fire – Brian Pew, ODF
A discounted group rate is available at Skamania Lodge for the nights of February 26 and 27. The room rate is $136 per night plus tax, plus resort fee of $19 per night plus tax. The group rate is available until January 27. Reservation requests after January 27 are subject to availability at the rates available at that time.
if you prefer call 844-432-4748, option 1. The code to book through the reservations team is 1YX3BX. When using the link, please click on the arrival date and the departure date. The Lodge can hold a maximum of 5 rooms under one name, and they will need specific names for those rooms by January 27th.
If you would like to extend your stay outside of the group rate dates, please contact Skamania Lodge and let them know you are a registered attendee with the Society of American Foresters group.
The resort fee includes wireless high-speed internet throughout the Lodge; access to hiking trails including fitness trail, fitness center with indoor pool, hot tubs, saunas and outdoor hot tub with sun deck; tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts; self-guided art tour, access to outdoor fire pit; on-site parking, access to EV charging stations, access to water filtration systems, and fresh hot coffee and tea available from 6 AM to 12 PM daily.
Skamania Lodge is within a 1-hour drive from Portland International Airport. Please note, while getting from the airport to Skamania Lodge via Uber and Lyft is readily accessible, getting from Skamania Lodge to the airport should be arranged in advance as they operate in a very limited capacity. Another option for transportation from the airport is U.S.A Airport Shuttle, 800-997-4599, reservation@portlandride.com, https://www.portlandride.com/
Thank you to the following sponsors for providing support for this conference.
SAF Foresters Fund
Silver
Bronze
Contributor
This conference has been approved for 8.5 hours of Cat. 1, and 2.5 hours of Cat. 2 CFEs. Please indicate that you are requesting CFE credit when completing online registration. Attendance records will be submitted after the conference.
