Laurie Wayburn is Co-founder and President of Pacific Forest Trust. Ms. Wayburn is an accomplished forest and conservation innovator who advises policymakers at the state, regional, national, and international levels. She pioneers new approaches to develop sustainable resource economies using her deep experience in the fields of conservation, ecosystem services, and sustainability. A preeminent authority on the climate and ecosystem benefits of forests, she leads efforts enacting climate change and other ecosystem service policies that unite conservation and sustainable management with market-based approaches. Recipient of the Kingsbury Browne Conservation, James Irvine Foundation, and EPA Climate Leadership awards, Ms. Wayburn is a frequent speaker, writer, and media commentator on effective incentives for conservation and sustainable resource management.
Prior to co-founding Pacific Forest Trust with Constance Best in 1993, Ms. 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. Ms. Wayburn is a graduate of Harvard University and currently serves on the Land Trust Alliance Leadership Council.