Greetings, IFSA’s Northern America Region!

Are you ready for the upcoming vetting and voting session for the next Northern America Regional Representatives? Hereby we announce our outstanding RR candidates this year for your LC to vote.

1) Gabriel Nyen, FGSA, United States of America

My name is Gabriel Nyen; I am 25 years old and from the USA, and I am a Forestry Masters student studying Silviculture. I research how to restore endangered forest ecosystems in the southeastern portion of the USA. This summer, I will begin a Ph.D. program in forestry, and my topic will be adapting forests to climate change. My current LC is the FGSA LC at Mississippi State University. My international IFSA experience entails CARM 2024, which took place in Quebec, Canada. I am the current president of my LC and have worked hard to increase student involvement. I have hosted many LC meetings and have promoted involvement in IFSA on a regional and international scale. I loved my first CARM event and want to be able to support IFSA because of the impact that CARM had on me. IFSA has the opportunity to enrich forestry education and is a positive force in the global forestry sector. The role I am running for is the Regional Representative (RR) position. This position is designated as the intermediary contact between LCs and IFSA. The tasks I would be responsible for as an RR include hosting a monthly coffee hour with LC representatives and interested individuals, coordinating and supporting regional activities (like CARM), and assisting with LC membership. I would also be the point person for LC members of the North American region and manage to share regional IFSA news through various outlets. The function of the RR within the commission is to communicate information between the IFSA Board and the LCs within the region, ensuring communication and fostering interaction between LCs. Being an RR will allow me to contribute to expanding this wonderful organization.

My plan for the IFSA term as RR is to focus on increasing the number of LCs within the North American region and to help facilitate interactions between LCs in addition to the yearly CARM event. Planning, effective communication, and a hint of excitement are all required to perform in this position. Planning is essential to allocate time and resources to meetings and to ensure we provide adequate support to member LCs. Effective communication is critical as this
role disseminates information between two levels of IFSA and supports contact between LCs. Excitement is the final skill that will make for a good RR, and this will ensure that monthly meetings are fun and allow prospective LCs to see that this IFSA is a positive group to be involved with. I effectively embody the ability to plan, communicate, and share excitement within the role of Regional Representative.

2) Alix Madore-Villeneuve, ULaval IFSA, Canada

Hi! My name is Alix Madore-Villeneuve, 32 years old and 2nd year bachelor’s degree student in forest management and planning. I’m a member of the Université Laval LC since my first session in forestry (and I love it!). For now on, I only have a few experiences in IFSA at an international level. First, I participated at a few coffee hours, and I went to the last year’s CARM in Oregon as a participant. Then, this year, my LC and I were the ones hosting the CARM. Before the event, for almost one year, while we were planning everything, my role in the organization was: vice president of logistics. I had to help in the organization of the transportation and find some of the invited speakers. After that, during the event, my role was to drive the bus around and care about being on time on the schedule. At a local scale, I am the manager of the communications in my committee. I also take part to the weekly meetings and participate to the organization of every fundraising event.

Today, I apply on the regional representative position because I really want to get involved more in the Big IFSA. I think this organization offers awesome possibilities to connect with other peoples from all around the world, and talk about important topics that concerns us all. I am really sincerely very excited to apply and hope to get the job because every person that I’ve met in IFSA so far is really interesting. Also, I really think IFSA is a big international family that can offer many opportunities.

In a more serious way, what I understand from the position or RR is that it’s a managing job, at a local scale. If I am hired, I will have to connect with the others LC’s from the Northern America, promote the networking, and link with the LC’s that are less active to try to reactive them, connect the local LC’s together by talking to their representatives, manage the regional events and activities., etc. In short, I will be the contact resource for all the LC’s and members from the Northern America if they have any question or need. Another important task will be to establish the link between the international IFSA and the local committees. It also will be my job to host and prepare the monthly online activity “Coffee Hour”. I understand that the investment is approximately 5 hours per week, and I am totally willing to take the needed time for this job.

My overall plan for IFSA is to make Northern America more active globally. I know LC’s in other parts of the world are more implied than in my region. I think my role will be to make people want to get involved more in IFSA. To succeed in all the RR’s tasks and my overall plan for IFSA, I think it need some personal qualifications, like interpersonal skills, dedication, good planning skills, empathy and motivation. I think that I have these qualities and qualifications and I am really motivated for that job. I am looking forward for a positive answer and I can’t wait to meet more IFSA members from all around the world.

Thanks.

Alix Madore-Villeneuve

3) Marie-Pier Charbonneau-Majeau, ULaval IFSA, Canada

Dear Members of the IFSA Community,

I am writing to express my enthusiasm and to formally submit my candidacy for the position of Regional Representative for Northern America. My name is Marie-Pier Charbonneau-Majeau, a 28-year-old from Montréal, Canada, currently residing in Québec City for my studies. I am pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Forest Management and Envirnment at Université Laval, where I am also an active member of our local committee (LC) at ULaval.

Over the years, my involvement with IFSA has evolved from local and regional engagements to holding a significant role at the international level. My journey began at the grassroots, where I served as the Treasurer for my local committee for three years, recently stepping into the role of Vice-President. My dedication to fostering a vibrant community spirit has been evident through my leadership in organizing fundraising events, recruitment activities, and educational seminars.

My commitment to IFSA’s mission expanded beyond the local scene when I assumed the role of Regional Representative for Northern America. In this capacity, I, alongside other members from my LC, spearheaded the organization of the recent Canadian-American Regional Meeting (CARM). This experience not only honed my organizational skills but also deepened my understanding of the diverse needs and potentials within our community.

The decision to apply for another term as Regional Representative stems from my earnest desire to continue contributing to the growth and dynamism of IFSA in Northern America. With a solid foundation in the workings of IFSA, I aim to leverage social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, to enhance our outreach and engagement within Northern America. My vision encompasses the initiation of regional events that will not only foster a sense of belonging among current members but also attract new ones to our fold.

Understanding the critical role of the Regional Representative as a linchpin connecting Northern American LCs with the broader IFSA World, I am keen on nurturing these connections further. The responsibilities of accompanying the Organizing Committee of the upcoming CARM, hosting Coffee Hour sessions, and supporting both new and existing LCs in their endeavors are tasks I am well-prepared to undertake. Functioning within the Membership Council, I am committed to being an accessible and supportive figure for our members.

Looking ahead, my plans for the IFSA term are ambitious yet grounded in realistic goals. Re-engaging with inactive LCs, facilitating the integration of new LCs into the IFSA World, and establishing a robust social media presence for our region are atop my agenda. These efforts aim to ensure that the wealth of opportunities and experiences IFSA offers continues to reach and benefit every member of our community.

In conclusion, I bring to the table a blend of passion, experience, and a deep-seated belief in the values and objectives of IFSA. It would be an honor to serve another term as Regional Representative, working alongside dedicated individuals to further our collective goals. I am eager to contribute my share towards making IFSA an even more inclusive, vibrant, and impactful community.

Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to the opportunity to continue making

a difference within the IFSA family.

Warmest regards,

Marie-Pier Charbonneau-Majeau

4) Florence Bédard, ULaval IFSA, Canada

Hello!

My name is Florence and I’m currently the vice-president of LC uLaval in Quebec, Canada. I am in third year studying forestry engineering. I participated in IFSS in Chile in 2022 and I started understanding how big IFSA was and how great of an opportunity it is to meet people with the same interests in forests and who are interested in learning new things. It motivated me to share my experience with others and to motivate people to attend those events. I then participated in organizing CARM this year as president, and it motivated me to revive the North American region, since we couldn’t fill all the spots for CARM and were sad about it 🙁 So my overall plan would be contacting forestry clubs and university deans to share the opportunities we have with IFSA and to make sure every student in forestry and related sciences know they can participate in such great events and learn from the people. As Regional representative, I would share IFSA news with our region and would make sure to not skip on any opportunities. I would try to make coffee hour fun and make sure we can all get to know each other. I would make sure we share ideas together on our events and how to recruit people. I would support new LCs in their projects. I will make sure people know they can always contact me if they have questions and make sure to keep them informed. I would also like to share my knowledge on CARM organization with the new OC for CARM and help them in any way I can. I would also try to contact past LCs that we lost contact with and try to understand what happened and what we can do to help them get back at it. I would also like to go in person in some universities or Cegep that are accessible to me and present IFSA. And of course I would do all that by working in TEAM and COMMUNICATING with the other RR!!

Lastly, I would love to be able to help keep the IFSA magic during the term!

IFSA hugs,

Florence

Northern America Regional Meeting Organising Committee
(CARM OC) 2025 Candidate

1) IFSA NAU, United States of America