"National Forests are the backbone of so much we depend on capable of supporting healthy ecosystems and thriving communities across whole landscapes."
BIO
Tom Derr joined the NFF in November 2023 as the Wildfire Resilience Program Manager. He works with an interdisciplinary team to develop replicable, scalable, and sustainable models to deliver cross-jurisdictional fire risk reduction and resilience efforts at landscape-scale. Prior to joining the NFF, Tom served as lead for the 1000 Landscapes for 1 Billion People initiative where he stewarded a global collaboration of leading organizations focused on empowering landscape partnerships to achieve their land management goals. His passion for collaborative management stems from his time serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uganda where he focused on community-based participatory approaches to enhance resilience.
Tom has several seasons of experience working on trail and restoration projects across the U.S. including with the Northwest Youth Corps, the Rocky Mountain Conservancy, Flathead National Forest, the Utah Conservation Corps, and the Student Conservation Association. Tom holds a master’s degree in human geography and a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Utah State University. He is based in Boulder, Colorado where you can find him running on Boulder’s many dirt roads and trails.