Patrick Durst, President
Patrick Durst has worked in tropical forestry – primarily in Asia and the Pacific – for most of the past 45 years, including 23 years as Senior Forestry Officer with the FAO Regional Office for Asia-Pacific, retiring from FAO in 2017. Prior to joining FAO, Pat worked with the USDA Forest Service International Programs and as an agroforestry extension volunteer with the U.S. Peace Corps in the Philippines. He currently does occasional forestry and natural resources consulting. Over his career, Pat developed, supported and coordinated forestry and natural resources programs at both policy and field levels, facilitated the sharing of information and experience, established and coordinated numerous technical networks, organized scores of workshops and conferences, and initiated various training programs.
Paula Sarigumba, Vice-president
Paula Sarigumba, a Filipina forester, has a decade-long career spanning leading organizations in the forest sector such as the UN FAO, CIFOR, IUFRO, and AFoCO. She is currently based in Yokohama, Japan and serves as the Communications and Outreach Officer at the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). She was actively engaged in various forest research and development projects and advocated for meaningful youth engagement in these spaces. Paula holds a master’s degree from the University of Saskatchewan with research focused on Indigenous youth participation in territorial governance in Bolivia.
Stewart Mior, Secretary
Stewart Mior – “I’ve worked in the forest restoration sphere for a decade, initially as a labourer, then as a safety advocate, administrator, and now a content creator. My academic background is in Political Science (minoring in Environmental Management), complemented by certifications in data analytics and workplace safety. I had the privilege of planting over one million trees by hand and overseeing the planting of over 5 million more in Western Canada at Shakti Reforestation, tackling everything on the backend of the industry from data entry to safety protocols, contract negotiations, and team management. Nowadays, I focus on researching and writing about nature-based solutions internationally at Ground Truth Forest News, blending my hands-on experience with my love for storytelling to inspire positive change and hopefully, getting people to think about the need for accountability in this global movement. Every step of this crazy yet eye-opening journey has reinforced my gratitude and determination to contribute to a sustainable future.”
Mike Sterner, Treasurer
Mike holds a Master of Forestry degree from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a law degree from the University of Washington. He is an attorney in Oregon, USA. He currently works as director of the El Programa Hispano Tax Clinic. Since 2001, Mike has consulted in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Papua New Guinea on natural resources policy, taxation of natural resources, human rights & the environment, forestland investment, growth and yield modelling, assessment of tribal / indigenous forestry programs, and FSC certification auditing. He served as a Peace Corps agroforestry extension agent for 3 years in Senegal. Mike is past co-chair of the International Forestry Working Group of the Society of American Foresters, and he speaks English, Spanish and French. Mike also serves on the Governance Committee.
Elias Nelly Bapfakurera, Tropical Africa Representative
Elias Nelly Bapfakurera is a distinguished Rwandan scholar, researcher, and academician whose career spans forestry, agroforestry, climate-smart agriculture, soil and water management, and sustainable resource management. His work demonstrates a deep commitment to addressing critical environmental challenges, particularly in climate change, bioenergy, and community resilience. As a permanent staff member at the University of Rwanda, College of Agriculture, Animal Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine (CAVM), he contributes to teaching, research, and capacity-building initiatives. His leadership in education emphasizes mentorship, fostering a robust academic environment to address complex environmental issues in Rwanda and beyond. He is also actively involved in interdisciplinary projects. His contributions demonstrate his expertise in integrating technology, community engagement, and scientific research to mitigate environmental risks. He is particularly passionate about enhancing productivity and sustainability in agricultural landscapes through agroforestry systems, developing strategies for urban and rural areas to adapt to climate impacts, exploring sustainable energy alternatives to reduce deforestation, and leveraging technology and nature-based solutions for disaster risk reduction, including landslide and flood prevention.
Elias Nelly was the recipient of The Climate, Food and Farming, Global Research Alliance Development Scholarships Programme (CLIFF-GRADS), Round 6 Call for Student Applications: Capability Building through Research Stays for Low Emission Agriculture, where he focused on research on the Contribution of fruit trees to climate change mitigation in Kenya. He holds a PhD in Ecosystems and Conservation (Forest Sciences ) from Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania, where his research focused on the potential of smallholders’ tree-based systems in agricultural landscapes for bioenergy production and consumption. This interdisciplinary study explored the integration of forestry into farming systems, aiming to enhance energy security and environmental sustainability in Rwanda. Additionally, he holds an MSc in Agroforestry and Soil Management and a BSc in Agricultural Engineering and Environmental Sciences, reflecting a strong foundation in natural sciences, ecosystem management, and sustainable agriculture.
Luis Armando Aznar Molina, Tropical Americas Representative
Luis Armando Aznar Molina is a biologist graduated from UNAM, with postgraduate studies in Ecological Economics and Sustainable Local Development. He has diplomas, certifications and experience in Environmental Education for Sustainability, Sustainable Management of Agroecosystems, Development of Inventory Systems for Biodiversity and Community Forest Management. As well as diplomas in Management and Intervention with Indigenous Groups. He has solid training and experience in Planning for the Management of Natural Resources, Biodiverse Agroforestry Systems, Organic Agriculture, Agroecological Management of Productive Systems. With experience in rural development planning and Agroecology in tropical systems. Experience in working with groups for community participation. Enthusiast of food sovereignty and self-determination of peoples. Currently a master’s student in Management of Social Economy Companies from the Mexican Technological Institute and in Sustainable Local Development from the National Community University. He also has training and experience in Agroforestry for Ecodevelopment, Ecological and Organic Agriculture, and is an educator in secondary and higher education specializing in management and researcher in projects for local and community development.
Dr. Fatima Shirin, Tropical Asia-Australia-Pacific Representative.
Dr. Fatima Shirin has over 30 years of research experience in tree improvement, biotechnology and clonal propagation of forest species. She has developed tissue culture protocols of a number of Bamboo species, trees and medicinal plants of forest origin. A patent entitled “A protocol for micro propagation of Bamboos from explants” was awarded on June 29, 2007 by the controller of Patents Mumbai, India. She is a recipient of FAO fellowship for conducting advance research on tissue culture and forest genetics at University of Melbourne and Monash University in Australia for one year (1994-1995). She has completed her Ph.D. in Forestry from Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, India. She has published more than 50 research papers on various aspects of Tissue Culture and Tree improvement of forestry species in international and national peer reviewed journals. Five Ph.D. students and more than 45 students of M.Sc. Biotechnology have been supervised by her till date. Presently, she is working on 10 projects on genetic improvement and propagation of different species, including bamboos. She has organized four different trainings related to bamboo propagation under GSDP and BTSG-ICFRE. She was a member of Accreditation Committee for Nurseries and Plant Tissue Culture Labs constituted by the MP State Bamboo Mission, Bhopal. She is a Life time Member of three societies: Indian Society for Plant Physiology, New Delhi, ‘Society for promotion of Tropical Biodiversity’, Jabalpur and ‘Society for Tropical Forestry Scientists’ Jabalpur.
Sheila Ward, Executive Officer
Sheila is the frontline contact for ISTF members. With a PhD in Ecology from the University of California Davis, Sheila has lived in Puerto Rico for 33 years and conducts research on the genetics of mahogany and Spanish cedar in Puerto Rico and Mexico. With her husband Nicholas Brokaw, in Belize she investigates the impact of the ancient Maya on tropical forest ecology and has other projects in Ecuador and Panama. Sheila believes strongly in the value of ISTF to increase global community and information sharing, and to promote the conservation and sustainable use of tropical forest resources.
