The Washington State Society of American Foresters is one of 30 societies forming the Society of American Foresters (SAF). Our society is comprised of professional foresters and forestry students throughout the state of Washington.
Our members play a major role in managing Washington’s 22 million acres of forest land. These forests provide a variety of benefits for Washingtonians and the nation in the form of wildlife, water, recreation, and timber and other forest products.
There are 10 chapters and student chapters that comprise WSSAF: Admiralty Inlet, Central Washington, Grays Harbor College Student Chapter, Green River College Student Chapter, Longview, Mid-Columbia, North Olympic, North Puget Sound, South Puget Sound, Southwest Washington, University of Washington Student Chapter.
We govern in accordance to our society’s bylaws and are a registered 501(c)3. The executive committee meets monthly to discuss state society business.
Meet the Leadership
SAMANTHA CHANG
WSSAF Chair
Samantha is the 2024 WSSAF Chair. She is a graduate of Humboldt State University with a BS in Forestry, and retired USFS Silviculturist. She was the 2017 Washington State Forester of the Year and a 2021 SAF Presidential Field Forester, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Glacier Peak Institute. She previously served as the North Puget Sound Chapter Chair. She has been a member of SAF since 2000.
LUKE SEMLER
Past WSSAF Chair and
North Puget Sound Chapter Chair
Luke Semler is the past WSSAF Chair and works for the US Forest Service as the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Presale Forester. Luke has been a member of SAF since 2017 when he was at the University of Washington working through his BS in Sustainable Forest Management and Master of Forest Resources, Forest Management programs. He also serves as the SAF North Puget Sound Program Chair.
MARGARET KREDER
Secretary
Margaret Kreder is currently the Stewardship Forester at Mason Conservation District, in Shelton, WA. She is a graduate of Washington State University and has been a member of SAF since 2016. Margaret is also a member of the Washington Farm Forestry Association and is a Tree Farm Program Inspector.
Ed Morgan
Board Member, District 1 Representative
Ed serves as the SAF District 1 Representative (Inland Empire, Washington State and Alaska) to the National SAF Board.
HARRY BELL
North Olympic Chapter Chair
Harry has been involved in Olympic forestry work since 1979 first with ITT Rayonier 1979-1992 and later with Green Crow 1992-2015. Harry operates Bell Forestry serving as a Forest Research Consultant for WFFA involving Adaptive Management. Harry holds a MS in Applied Forest Genetics from University of Washington, BS in Forest Management from West Virginia University and AS in Applied Science in Forestry from Paul Smith’s College. Harry has been an SAF member since 1969, is an SAF Fellow and Golden Member.
BRADY DIER
Southwest Washington Chapter Chair
Brady is a State Lands Forester and Wildland Firefighter for the Department of Natural Resources in the Pacific Cascade Region. He holds a BAS in Forest Resource Management from Green River College, an MS in Natural Resources from Grays Harbor College, and a BA in Philosophy from Washington State University. He is also a certified Tree Farm Inspector and volunteers with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Southwest Washington.
Madelyne Godley – Chair Green River College Student Chapter
Madelyne is a 2nd year Natural Resources student at Green River College in Auburn, Washington. Madelyne has been a member of the Green River College Natural Resources leadership team since 2022, and a member of SAF since early 2023. She is an S-STEM Scholar through the National Science Foundation.
ANDREW PERLEBERG
Mid-Columbia Chapter Chair
Andy is a Professor, Regional Extension Specialist and Forestry Team Leader for Washington State University Extension Forestry. Andy serves Counties in Central and Eastern WA working out of the WSU Chelan County Extension Office located in Wenatchee
Lela Stewart
Grays Harbor College Chapter
Lela is a Grays Harbor Student Chapter chair and is a senior in Forestry at Grays Harbor College. She is from Winlock, WA.
STEPHEN RICKETTS
Admiralty Inlet Chapter Chair
Steve is a retired USDA Forest Service – Olympic National Forest. Steve is a SAF Fellow and Golden Member and lives in Port Hadlock, WA. Steve serves as WSSAF Historian and volunteers at Fort Nisqually Living History Museum and other local historical museums.
Michelle Metcalf
Longview Chapter Chair
Michelle is the current Environmental Manager for Weyerhaeuser Company’s Western Timberlands in Washington and Oregon. She holds a B.S. in Forestry from the University of Montana and has been a member of the Society of American Foresters (SAF) since 1996. Michelle started her professional career at the Department of Natural Resources and later transitioned to the private sector. She lives in the Castle Rock area with her husband Erik and their two sons. In her leisure time, you may find Michelle riding her horses down the trail or hiking the hills with her family.
Vacant at this Time
South Puget Sound Chapter Chair
Robert Swan Co-Chair
University of Washington Student Chapter
Hannah Carbajal Co-Chair University of Washington Student Chapter
Robert is a current Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Washington, working with the Stand Management Cooperative investigating tree growing space efficiency, crown development, and thinning optimization. He has spent much of his time in graduate school teaching undergraduates resource assessment and silviculture. He spends spare time propagating edible tree species, gardening, and caring for his honeybee hives.
Hannah is a junior majoring in Sustainable Forest Management at the University of Washington. In her free time she hikes and volunteers at the Center for Sustainable Forestry at Pack Forest.
