Forest Stewardship Council Canada names new president and CEO

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Canada has announced that Monika Patel will succeed François Dufresne as president and CEO of the FSC, effective January 1, 2025.

Patel is currently the director of communications and marketing for FSC Canada. She will start her transition into the new role by first taking on the role of deputy president, starting on July 1, 2024. Dufresne will remain with the FSC as a special advisor throughout 2025.

“It has been an honour to serve as president of FSC Canada, and I am confident that Monika will continue to drive our mission forward. Her leadership and vision are exactly what FSC Canada needs to thrive in the coming years,” Dufresne said.

Patel has more than 16 years of experience working with non-profit organizations. She held the position of interim European regional director as well as the North American regional membership coordinator during the 2021-22 General Assembly with FSC International. Patel’s current responsibilities include overseeing all communications and marketing efforts and spearheading membership engagement for North America. She also provides strategic support on high-profile international projects. In 2022, she was recognized as one of Canadian Forest Industries’ Top 10 under 40.

The Board of Directors stated that it is very pleased to announce the appointment of Patel as president and CEO of FSC Canada; and that her years within the organization as well as with FSC International make her an ideal candidate to fully take over the management of the organization in 2025.

“I am honoured and excited to lead FSC Canada and look forward to continuing our important work in promoting responsible forest management and ensuring the sustainability of our forests for all forever,” Patel said.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Canada is a non-profit organization that provides a proven sustainable forest management solution. Currently, over 47 million hectares are certified according to FSC standards in Canada. It is widely regarded as the most rigorous forest certification system among NGOs, consumers, and businesses alike to tackle today’s deforestation, climate, and biodiversity challenges. The FSC forest management standard is based on ten core principles designed to address a broad range of environmental, social and economic factors. FSC’s “check tree” label is found on millions of forest-based products and verifies that they are sustainably sourced, from forest to consumer. www.ca.fsc.org