Endowment Elects Board Members, Officers for 2016

U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, Greenville, SCFor IMMEDIATE RELEASE (November 9, 2015)

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) announced today the election of Board members and officers for 2016 at the organization’s semi-annual meeting held this year in Omaha, Nebraska. Colin Moseley, Chairman and CEO of Green Diamond Resource Company based in Seattle, was elected to a two-year term as Chairman. He succeeds John Weaver of Augusta, Georgia, who was elected to a one-year term as Past Chairman.

“The Endowment is a relatively young organization –having been created only nine years ago –but it is fast becoming one of the most important and impactful players in the North American forestry sector,” said incoming Chairman Moseley. “From work that led to creation of the Softwood Lumber Check-off and the Paper and Paper-based Packaging Check-off to groundbreaking investments exploring the role of modern biotechnology in addressing the continent’s burgeoning forest health challenges, the Endowment is making a lasting difference in the conservation of working forests and the economies of forest-rich communities.”

Tamar Datan of Leesburg, Virginia, and Jon Voigtman of Nassau, The Bahamas, were re-elected to three- year terms as members of the Board and to one-year terms as Vice Chair and Treasurer, respectively.

Alicia Cramer of the Westervelt Company in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was elected to a three-year term on the Board of Directors.

“Since our creation nine years ago we’ve been blessed to be guided by an outstanding Board of Directors.As our newest addition, Alicia extends that record bringing diverse training to the table, spanning the corporate world, the pulp and paper industry, and the natural sciences. Her varied perspective informed by such a range of experiences will accrue great value that serves to further the Endowment’s mission,”said Endowment President and CEO Carlton Owen.

Cramer said of her election: “I am grateful and eager to apply my experience to help the Endowment achieve its societal objectives. Being raised in a rural area, and spending over twenty years working for an organization guided by deep stewardship principles designed to support sustainable land-use businesses, I find the opportunities to connect business and industry with local communities to be personally and professionally fulfilling.”

A native of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, Alicia received bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and sociology, with a minor in physics, from Thiel College. She has over 20 years experience including 14 years with The Westervelt Company (formerly Gulf States Paper Corporation) and eight years in various positions with H.J. Heinz Company and Campbell’s Soup.

In her time at the Westervelt Company, Cramer has served as the Manager of Product Development for the Packaging Division, the Business Development Manager for Pulp & Paperboard, and the Business Solutions Group director, which incorporated responsibility for corporate services including Strategy and Planning. Cramer now serves as Vice President, Business Development and as Business Leader for Westervelt Ecological Services, Westervelt Realty, and the Westervelt Recreation division.

For more information contact:
Carlton N. Owen, President & CEO, 864-233-7646, carlton@usendowment.org

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment) is a not-for-profit public charity working collaboratively with partners in the public and private sectors to advance systemic, transformative, and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation’s working forests andforest-reliant communities – www.usendowment.org;