BIO
Dr. Cynthia D. West has 28 years of experience working across private industry, academia, and federal government in a variety of jobs to ensure sustainability of our natural resources. She was appointed Director of the newly formed Office of Sustainability & Climate Change with the Forest Service in 2015 to oversee national climate change policy and program development for the Agency. In February 2021 she assumed the position of Director of the Forest Products Lab and the Northern Research Station within the USDA Forest Service. She has extensive experience working across organizational boundaries to build collaboration and partnerships.
Dr. West has served in various leadership roles in USFS’ Research and Development (R&D) mission area, including as the Associate Deputy Chief for R&D, with responsibility for administering a $300 million annual research program to inform policy and land management decisions. Before coming into the Washington Office as Director for Resource Use Sciences, Dr. West served as Deputy Station Director for USFS’ Pacific Northwest Research Station in Portland, OR for 9 years. She also held positions in academia at Virginia Tech and Mississippi State University. She started her career, working in forest management, with Weyerhaeuser in North Carolina in timber procurement and landowner assistance.
A native of Staunton, Virginia, Dr. West holds a BS degree in Forestry Management, a MBA in Marketing and Management, and a PhD in Wood Science and Forest Products from Virginia Tech. As a research scientist, she published more than 60 papers and presented at more than 80 conferences on forest sector trade and industry development.