07 July 2008

EFIP appoints partnership manager

ConFor, on behalf of the England Forest Industries Partnership, has appointed Dr Gesa Reiss as partnership manager for EFIP. She brings a valuable and varied range of experience to the post.
Gesa has a degree in commercial horticulture from the University of Strathclyde and a doctorate from the University of Bristol. Over the past 15 years, she has worked in science, education and overseas development, liaising with farmers and landowners, retailers, environmental non-governmental organisations, urban planners, developers and policy-makers. Most recently, Gesa was director of the Great Western Community Forest. As lecturer at Hadlow College and the University of Greenwich, she gained in-depth knowledge of the further and higher education system for the land-based sector.
Gesa will bring to the post eight years experience in establishing partnerships and her understanding of policy and legislative issues relevant to the forestry and other land-based sectors. Working with partners in EFIP, Gesa’s role will be to co-ordinate implementation of the EFIP action plan. The main actions that have been identified so far are:

-Skills for the sector at all levels
-Developing the market for timber and wood products
-Information hub for the industry