Hosted and moderated by Liz Archuleta, HECHO's Arizona Spokesperson, HECHO will be facilitating a conversation with experts around the importance and impact of forest restoration, the importance of forest health, and how forest industries and agencies are responding to climate change.

This event will build your knowledge of the intersection between public lands management and the climate crisis and will empower you to push for a climate plan where you live.

Panelists:
Heather Provencio, Kaibab National Forest Supervisor
Jay Smith, Coconino County Forest Restoration Director
Devon Suarez, Suarez Forestry, LLC
Sasha Storz, National Forest Foundation Arizona Program Manager

Date:
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Time:
11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. PT
12 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. MT
1 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. CT
2 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. ET

Speakers:

Jay Smith

Jay has had a love for the outdoors as long as he can remember, leading him into a career in forest management where he spends much of his time in the woods. Jay has served as the Coconino County Forest Restoration Director since 2018, working to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration in Coconino County to improve forest health and protect communities from catastrophic wildfires. Prior to serving Coconino County, Smith was the Senior Forester for Good Earth Power AZ, LLC/NewLife Forest Products, the contractor for the Four Forest Restoration Initiative, and the Vice President of Harvesting Operations at Southwest Forest Products, Inc. Jay’s total forestry career spans over 24 years.

Smith earned a Bachelor of Science in Forest Management from Northern Arizona University, served on the elected board for the Tennessee Forestry Association for 12 years, and enjoys hunting, fishing and camping across the Western United States.

Sasha Storz

Sasha Stortz joined the National Forest Foundation in 2020 as the Arizona Program Manager, where she focuses on development, partnership building, and implementation of priority forest restoration, watershed health, and recreation projects on National Forests. She has over 12 years of experience working in collaborative natural resource management with land managers, researchers, Tribes, and other stakeholders. Prior to joining the National Forest Foundation, Sasha led a collaborative planning program at Northern Arizona University, where she facilitated multi-stakeholder groups developing strategies around issues such as climate adaptation, forest restoration, post-fire restoration, conservation prioritization, water resources, and Tribal co-management. She’s also studied threatened waterfowl in the Alaskan arctic with the US Geological Survey, worked as a Program Associate with the US Institute for Conflict Resolution, and led programs across the globe for National Geographic Student Expeditions. Sasha received her MS in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Northern Arizona University and her BA in Biology at Lewis & Clark College. When she’s not at work, she enjoys mountain biking and hiking with her family in her Arizona backyard, and fishing in her home-state of Alaska.

Heather Provencio

Heather Provencio was born and raised in southern Illinois, Virginia and Oregon and grew up in a Forest Service family.  She moved to Arizona in 1982 to attend Northern Arizona University and pursue a Bachelor’s degree in anthropology with an emphasis in archaeology.

Her first job with the Forest Service was in 1985 as a firefighter on the Chevelon Ranger District of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. She held a variety of positions on that Forest in archaeology, recreation and business administration until she entered the Student Cooperative Education Program in 1998, where she attended NAU again and received her Master’s degree in Anthropology. Her Master’s work focused on volunteerism in archaeology. She was converted into a full-time archaeologist position on the Apache-Sitgreaves in 2000 and in 2001 transferred to the Peaks and Mormon Lakes Ranger Districts of the Coconino National Forest where she became the District Archaeologist and tribal liaison. Four years later, Heather became the Red Rock District Ranger on the same Forest. She worked there until 2013 when she went to the White River National Forest in Colorado as the Deputy Forest Supervisor. In 2016 she returned to her Northern Arizona home as the Kaibab Forest Supervisor.

Devon Suarez

Devon Suarez, J.D. was born and raised near the Mogollon Rim in Arizona. His family has been involved in the forest products industry for 6 decades. Devon spent much of his childhood in the woods for recreation, and helping his dad run a small firewood company. F

Devon graduated from Arizona State University in 2011 with a B.A. in Political Science. In 2017, he received a J.D. from Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. During these studies, he focused on natural resource and environmental law, administrative law, and Federal Indian Law. During and after his college years, Devon worked at the United States Forest Service for 7 years. There, he worked in the timber department preparing timber projects as well as other silviculture projects.

In 2017, Devon started a family forestry company, Suarez Forestry, LLC. The aim of Suarez Forestry is to build job opportunities for the family and others as well as treating acres to restore our public forests. Suarez Forestry works with non-profit organizations and government agencies to restore Ponderosa Pine forests in Northern Arizona.