Laurie A. Wayburn is the cofounder and president of Pacific Forest Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to conserving and sustaining America’s vital, productive forest landscapes. An accomplished forest and conservation innovator who advises state, regional, national, and international policymakers, Wayburn pioneers new approaches to developing sustainable resource economies using her deep experience in conservation, ecosystem services, and sustainability. Wayburn is a preeminent authority on the climate and ecosystem benefits of forests, leading efforts enacting climate change policies that unite conservation and sustainable management with market-based approaches. She has received several highly prestigious honors bestowed for her leadership and is a frequent speaker, writer, and media commentator on working forest conservation. In addition to her role with Pacific Forest Trust, Wayburn is the chair of the California Natural and Working Lands Expert Advisory Committee.
Before co-founding Pacific Forest Trust with Constance Best in 1993, Wayburn worked internationally for 10 years in the United Nations Environment Program and Ecological Sciences Division of UNESCO. She later served as Executive Director of the Point Reyes Bird Observatory and was the Founder and first Coordinator of the Central California Coast Biosphere Reserve. A graduate of Harvard University, Wayburn currently serves on the Northwest BioCarbon Initiative Steering Committee, the American Forest Policy Steering Committee, and the Land Trust Alliance Advisory Council.
