Staff

These pages populate the Staff category

Greg Hibbard

Greg Hibbard serves as Staff Attorney, where he contributes to AFRC’s legal program in both state and federal courts and provides support to the organization’s policy and advocacy work. Greg previously clerked with AFRC from 2018–2019 before embarking on a legal career focused on natural resources and timber law. He worked as a judicial clerk […]

Steve Brink

Steve Brink is an experienced and well-known leader in our industry and has extensive experience in forestry, public lands management and wood products. Steve was born and raised in Placerville, California and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering, at U.C. Davis in 1971. He went on to study Forest and Logging Engineering at Oregon […]

Jake Blaufuss

Jake Blaufuss brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to AFRC through his work for the Collins Pine Company and Sierra Pacific Industries. Jake received a B.S in forestry resources management from The University of Montana in 2005. He is also a California Registered Professional Forester. During his time with Collins Pine Company, Jake was […]

Corey Bingaman

Corey grew up in Portland, and his family has been in Western Oregon for over one hundred years. He graduated from Oregon State University with a B.S. in Forest Operations Management in 2010. Upon graduating, Corey worked as a consulting forester for several companies throughout Oregon, California, and Montana. As a consultant Corey worked with […]

Nick Smith

As a member of multi-generation farming family, Nick has a passion for natural resources and rural communities. Nick has a background in public policy and communications, having worked in the Oregon Legislature in various capacities and having served several members of leadership in the House of Representatives. He founded Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities in 2013, […]

Sara Ghafouri

Sara Ghafouri is the General Counsel for the American Forest Resource Council.  She oversees AFRC’s legal program and litigates on behalf of AFRC and its members, helping advance the goal of consistent and sustainable timber harvest from public forests throughout the West. Sara began her legal career as an appellate clerk for the Honorable Lynn […]

Cindi Kaneshige

Cindi grew up in Portland and is a third generation Oregonian. She began working for AFRC’s predecessor, the Northwest Forestry Association, in 1987 as the corporate secretary and is now the Association’s Office Manager. Cindi manages day-to-day office procedures, provides administrative and legal support, develops the budget and financial reports, and plans and coordinates AFRC’s […]

Tom Partin

Tom is a native Oregonian and grew up in a logging family in Prineville, Oregon. His love of the outdoors led him to studying forestry at Oregon State University and then to a career with the Forest Service in 1968. Tom has a diverse work background having been a forester for the Forest Service, timberlands […]

Irene Jerome

Irene grew up on the family homestead west of Maupin, Oregon. Her ancestors traveled the Oregon Trail in the 1840s originally settling in the Willamette Valley. In 1879 her great-great grandfather moved east of the Cascade Mountains where he established a donation land claim and raised livestock and grain. The ranch remains in the family […]

Heath Heikkila

Heath works at the intersection of government, policy, and communications advocating for solutions to some of the Pacific Northwest’s most challenging natural resource issues. Heath is passionate about the things that make the Northwest a great place to live, work, and play – and working with AFRC to promote ideas and policies to make it […]