Virtual Event
Women in Forestry 2022
March 8, 2022 at 11:00am EST

Diversity and inclusion initiatives are typically envisioned as an intentional and ongoing commitment by organizational leaders to shift behaviours, policies, and practices, to grow more diverse and inclusive teams. This type of organizational culture change can be both long and difficult, leaving women and minority groups to question their sense of belonging in the interim. However, change should not be compartmentalized to a select group of senior leaders. We offer a different approach to navigating a culture change – one that embraces the complexity of workplaces through a systems lens. Applying systems thinking to organizational design and management means we can leverage change by understanding the interrelationships and interacting parts. When individuals, regardless of position or rank, can identify their role and power within the greater system, they can affect it. Through an interactive presentation and conversation, we will challenge all participants to identify their role in a system, understand their power, and identity leveraging points to enact real change.

Cynthia Lu
Cynthia Lu (she/her/hers), MA, RPF, P.Ag, is a forestry consultant with Perpetual Resource Management based in Campbell River, B.C. She works across Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, and Central Coast in stand level forest planning and management. Additionally, she holds a MA in Conflict Analysis and Management from Royal Roads University. Over the past year, Cynthia co-developed a new online training module, Introduction to Conflict Management, for ABCFP trainees, which will be available later on in 2022. Cynthia is also a part-time member of the Forest Appeals Commission.

Dana Collins
Dana Collins (she/her/hers) MFC, FIT, is a forestry consultant and managing director of the Juniper Collective. Dana has been working in Canada’s forest sector for the past 10 years in various capacities across industry, academia, and the not-for-profit sector. Her experiences of being amongst the few women in boardrooms or decision-making tables inspired her to create opportunities to promote equity, inclusion, and diversity in the workplace, including co-leading a national initiative to enhance the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in forestry. For her work in challenging the status quo and female empowerment, Dana was recently named to WXN’s 2021 list of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women.