Board of Directors
In 2007, Ben Smith came to Oregon fresh from the University of Idaho where he received his formal education in Forest Products & Business Management.
He was raised in Montana where he gained a love for the forest that ended up guiding his career choice within the forestry/forest products industry. He and his family put their roots down in Silverton Oregon where they continue to live today.
Ben’s first introduction to Forests Forever was participating in our Community Forest Day in November 2021 when we began the removal of the mobile home to clear the site for the new Outreach Center. Ben brought his wife and three daughters to help out, too. Ben says he is “really excited to join the FFI Board to continue to assist in helping youth get excited about Natural Resources and particularly Forestry!”
Ben has been serving on the FFI board since February 2022 and is the Log Buyer for RSG Forest Products located in Molalla, Oregon.
Tyson Losli has worked in the forest industry for the past 30 years. He started his career after earning a B.S degree in Forest Management at Oregon State University.
He then began running the student logging crew at the OSU Research Forest in Corvallis. In 1995, Tyson began working in private industry managing some of Western Oregon’s most productive forests. For 27 years he worked for Willamette Industries and Weyerhaeuser Company and for the past 6 years as their Forest Manager for the company’s lands in Clackamas, Marion, and Hood River Counties. In 2022, Tyson left Weyerhaeuser to become the Forest Manager for Port Blakley’s 30,000 acre tree farm in Clackamas County.
Tyson represents the forest industry on the FFI Board. According to Tyson, he’s always been impressed by the work the non-profit has been doing over the years. He joined the FFI board because of his love of the industry and sees the need for forestry education.