Steve Ruddell, Consulting Partner

Steve Ruddell is a Consulting Partner and a professional forester who has over 30 years of experience with public and private forest resource management, forest policy, forest economic and marketing research, and sustainable management of forests. For the past 12 years, Steve has been consulting on investments in forest conservation and sustainability initiatives using market-based mechanisms including carbon asset management strategies for trading emission reduction credits (VERs and CERs) within voluntary and emerging compliance markets, and sustainable forest management standards, e.g. SFI, FSC, and AFF. Steve has led market-based initiatives for private and public forestland management organizations, a global conservation NGO's forest carbon portfolio, and independent third-party validation and verification firms.

Steve advises on the feasibility and development of improved forest management, avoided conversion, afforestation / reforestation, and REDD forest carbon projects to the requirements of the VCS, CAR, ACR, ISO 14064-2, CarbonFix Standard, CDM, and CCB standards. Steve is an approved VCS AFOLU expert for validating improved forest management and REDD methodologies.

Steve is an active speaker and writer on U.S. forest carbon policy within over-the-counter and compliance emissions trading markets, and has played a role in shaping forest carbon policy in the United States. In 2009, Steve provided testimony before the U.S. House Agriculture Committee on pending climate change legislation, and briefed Senate and House Agriculture Committee staff as part of a panel on the role of agriculture and forestry in U.S. climate legislation.

Steve holds an M.S. in Forestry and M.B.A. from Michigan State University, and has completed three years of post-graduate work toward a Ph.D. in forest resource economics.