Prior to founding Phoenix Strategic Solutions Steve served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the American Forest & Paper Association where he was responsible for paper and wood products, forestry, statistics, economics, and membership.
Steve has a strong background in international trade, sustainable forest management and certification, risk management related to corporate environmental responsibility, and sustainability issues related to carbon, water, and forestry. Prior to AF&PA, he worked with a China market access firm specializing in agriculture and forestry. While there he wrote a comprehensive two volume report covering the market potential of China's forest products sector which required extensive field research conducted in Mandarin throughout China.
At AF&PA he also served as Group Vice President for Forestry and Wood Products and International Vice President. He was responsible for formulating trade policies, promoting international markets, and for sector negotiations in the World Trade Organization and North American Free Trade Agreement. He has also negotiated bi-lateral agreements with Japan.
Steve is a graduate of Harvard and Stanford, served in the U.S. Navy, and currently serves on several non-profit boards as well as the board of a multi-national forest products company. He was a founding member of the International Forest Industry Roundtable, the US industry delegate to the International Tropical Timber Organization and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and served as an officer of the Forest Products Industry Labor Management Committee. He is a trained, effective speaker and has spoken professionally and testified before Congress on the subjects of international trade, sustainability, developing standards and certification programs, working effectively with multi-stakeholder groups, and multi-cultural relations.