The Forests Dialogue : About : Staff

Staff

The Forest Dialogue (TFD) comprises a group of individuals from diverse interests committed to conservation and sustainable uses of the earth's forests. TFD's Secretariat is located at the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Gary Dunning Gary W. Dunning
Executive Director

Gary is the Executive Director of The Forests Dialogue (TFD), an organization based at Yale University in New Haven, CT, USA. TFD was created in 1999 to provide global and regional leaders in the forest sector with a neutral, multi-stakeholder dialogue (MSD) platform and process focused on developing mutual trust and a shared understanding while working towards collaborative solutions to the challenges in achieving sustainable forest management and forest conservation around the world. Gary is the first Executive Director of TFD’s Secretariat, since bringing it to Yale in 2000. Gary works with a diverse 25 person strong, international Steering Committee to set priority on key forest related issues and develop multi-stakeholder dialogue-based initiatives to address those issues. He oversees a small, Yale based staff.

Gary has been working on forest related issues for over 25 years and leading MSD’s since 1995. Gary was the founding Executive Director of the Yale University’s Global Institute of Sustainable of Forestry and helped to create and lead the Yale Forest Forum. He was also the National Roundtable Coordinator for the Seventh American Forest Congress and the US Liaison to the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development. Gary was a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya where he taught agroforestry and forest extension techniques at the Kenya Forestry College in Londiani. He holds a Master of Forestry degree from the Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a Bachelor’s degree from Humboldt State University in California.

Xiaoting Hou
Program Manager

Xiaoting Hou received her B.A. in Environment Science and Accounting from Fudan University, China; and her M.A in Environment Management from Yale University. She has broad interests and research background in a variety of sustainable development issues ranging from industrial ecology and wetland conservation to the impact of climate change on developing countries. In between her studies, Xiaoting has held various positions with local EPAs, NGOs and business consulting companies in China which built the foundation for her strong program management skills. She has been leading TFD’s Forests and Climate Change Initiative since 2009 and currently she is managing all TFD’s initiatives as well as its finance.

Denise Soesilo
Program Manager

Denise Soesilo graduated from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 2012 with a Masters in Environmental Management (MEM) with a focus on forest management, agriculture and plant physiology. Denise has experience working both in the non-profit as well as in the for-profit sectors where she has dedicated part of her time organizing community seminars on mangrove restoration. Prior to enrolling in the master’s program, Denise received her BA in Environmental Studies with a focus on industrial ecology from Yale University. Denise currently manages the Initiaitves on Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and Genetically Modified (GM) Trees.

Lisa O'Brien

Program Coordinator

Program Assistants

Caitlin Doughty

Caitlin is a student in the Masters of Environmental Management Program at Yale. She is interested in environmental justice issues in Latin America as well as the economic, environmental and social methods by which to improve livelihoods. Prior to coming to Yale, she worked with Amazon Watch as an advocacy intern assisting with indigenous delegations to discuss topics related to REDD+, the Belo Monte Dam, and the Chevron case in Ecuador. She also has diverse research experience in indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Caitlin received her BA in Environmental Studies from the University of California Santa Cruz.

Nara Lee

Nara is a student in the Masters of Environmental Management Program at Yale. She is interested in sustainable forest management and the way in which it reflects characteristics (social, cultural, etc) of each region in developing countries. Prior to coming to Yale, she was a KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) volunteer in the Dominican Republic and managed a reforestation project that contributes to local community members’ incomes. She also conducted research on Non-Timber Forest Products in Mexico. Nara received her BA in Forest Science from Konkuk University, South Korea.

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