Chelene Hanes is a Wildland Fire Research Scientist with the Canadian Forest Service (CFS), Natural Resources Canada. She is located at the Great Lakes Forestry Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Her research focuses on soil moisture dynamics, fuels and fire behaviour through field studies and remote sensing applications. Her work contributes to the Next-Generation of the Canadian Forest Fire Rating System (CFFDRS). Dr. Hanes is a core member of the national CFS Fire Danger Group.

Bill worked as a provincial firefighter for six years before joining the Canadian Forest Service in 1985. He worked for CFS for 35 years conducting research on fire danger, fire behavior, and physical and ecological impacts of fire. He developed the Canadian Fire Effects Model (CanFIRE) and procedures for calculating national wildland fire carbon emissions for annual UNFCCC reporting. His research includes development and technology transfer of international fire danger rating and early warning systems, and operational applications of new science for fire management. Bill is retired from CFS, and continues to work as a wildland fire consultant.

Dr. Judi Beck was the executive lead of the Pacific Forestry research facility for the federal public service until her retirement in 2022. She has managed national research programs in a variety of disciplines within the forestry sector including wildland fire, genomics, sustainable forest management, climate change, and forest pests. Dr. Beck has a passion for engaging leadership and building learning organizations, as well as enabling a culture of continuous improvement and excellence in fire management, forestry, and governance. Prior to joining the federal public service in 2009, Dr. Beck was Manager, Wildfire Management for the province of British Columbia (BC), and she worked for the BC Forest Service in policy, legislative development, litigation management, international technology transfer and operational emergency management from 1993 through 2009. She worked operationally in wildfire response as one of Canada’s first fire behaviour specialists. She has enjoyed working internationally in Australia, Argentina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, and the USA. She obtained her B.Sc. (Forestry) from the University of New Brunswick in 1985, an M.Sc. (Forestry) from the Australian National University in 1988; and her Ph.D. (Fire Growth / GIS) from Curtin University, Western Australia in 2000.

Natasha Jurko is a Physical Fire Scientist with the Canadian Forest Service and has worked at the Great Lakes Forestry Center for almost ten years. Her work focuses on the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System and international adaptations of the Canadian Fire Weather Index System.

Pierre-Jonathan (PJ) is the Director of Trade and International Affairs Division within the Canadian Forest Service (CFS), Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). His responsibilities include overseeing the International Model Forest Network (IMFN) Secretariat and Canada’s leadership of a global initiative in implementing multi-stakeholder approaches to sustainable landscape management. Currently more that 60 Model Forests in over 30 countries comprise the International Model Forest Network.

Toni Ventre is a Forest Engineer, Director of the Forestry Sector of the Valdarno and Valdisieve Union of Municipalities (Tuscany-Italy). He and his team work on sustainable forest management of public and private forest, developing projects to strengthen forest-wood supply chains both in relation to energy and structural supply chains, hydrogeological protection management, landscape and forest restoration. He works also on Wildfire Prevention and Fight at local level integrated in the Regional Service. He is a Wildfire Incident Commander in the integrated regional wildfire organization of Tuscany Region. Lastly, Toni is the General Secretary of Mediterranean Model Forest Network. He was among founders of Montagne Fiorentine Model Forest Association and, until 2022, board council’s member and International Relationship Thematic Commission Coordinator.

Natalia holds a Masters in Development Practices from CATIE, Costa Rica and obtained a Forest Engineering degree from the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Peru. Natalia is the Co-Chair of the Latin American Model Forest Network and has ten years of experience facilitating participatory and inclusive processes of sustainable development, knowledge management, impact evaluation of projects and climate change adaptation. She has completed research on gender, forest management, restoration and governance in Central and South America and is currently focusing her work in Andean ecosystems.