The opening event of day two of the SFI Annual Conference was not a panel or a keynote but a tribute — a brief ceremony recognizing Kathy Abusow, outgoing President and CEO of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, who has led the organization since 2007. It brought together colleagues, board members, a longtime mentee, and unbeknownst to Kathy, a surprise guest who turned out to be closer to home than anyone in the room, to mark the end of a tenure that has shaped the direction of sustainable forestry certification in North America.

Dan Lamb, Chief Executive of the Arbor Day Foundation and Chair of the SFI Board of Directors, opened the remarks by presenting Kathy with a gift on behalf of the board — a pair of hand-painted paddles from Nkwata Native Paddles, a mother-daughter company based in Quebec. Lamb said the choice reflected two things he associated with Kathy: her respect for Indigenous culture and the fact that she is rarely still. “You have had a career of impact and of purpose,” he told her. “You have built a legacy that is amazing.” He described her legacy as one of culture, values, and influence, and said it was measured not in acres certified but in relationships built and people inspired.

Lennard Joe, CEO of the BC First Nations Forestry Council and an SFI board member, drew on more than two decades of history with Kathy to frame his remarks. He recalled that in the early 2000s, his community obtained a forest licence in the Nicola Valley under First Nations licensing and invited certification bodies to present. SFI earned their confidence, and Kathy Abusow — then early in her SFI career — stood out for something specific: she made space for Indigenous voices in rooms where they had not always been present. He described her evolution from certification contact to mentor to colleague to friend, and noted that a later MOU between the BC First Nations Forestry Council and SFI was a product of the trust built over those years.

Jason Metnick, President of SFI, recalled meeting Kathy for the first time in 2003 at the World Forestry Congress. He was two years into his SFI career and a colleague told him to find a woman named Kathy Abusow. When Metnick asked how he would recognize her, the answer was simple: she would be in the front row asking the toughest questions of every speaker. “Of course, he was right,” Metnick said. He described that quality — leading with curiosity, conviction, and a willingness to push a conversation further — as something that had remained consistent across every interaction since. “I think all of us are rings of growth of Kathy over the years because of her leadership.”

Christine Leduc, SFI Vice President of Canadian Operations and Communications and President of PLT Canada, spoke about what she called the “Kathy lens” — a framework she said she would carry into every challenge and opportunity that followed. Leduc recalled a co-hosted session for International Women’s Day in March, at which Kathy described her leadership style as “demanding and caring.” Leduc said she recognized the accuracy of that description immediately: demanding because expectations are high, caring because Kathy understood that results flow from trust and relationships. She credited Kathy with giving her multiple opportunities at SFI, including her current role at PLT Canada, and with modelling what it looks like to be both ambitious and present. “I hope that I can one day be known to be demanding and caring like Kathy.”

The final speaker was Kathy’s daughter, a forester and biologist early in her career, who described being asked to the stage not only to surprise her mother but to speak to one aspect of her career — though she reframed the assignment quickly. “The most amazing thing about her career and everything she poured into it was that she poured at least twice as much into raising my brother and me and into everyone she considers to be family.” She pushed back on a message she still hears in professional circles — that a serious career and raising children cannot coexist — by pointing to her own experience as evidence. She also spoke to the mentorship culture Kathy brought to SFI and PLT, saying it brought her particular pride. “She was always ready to share her knowledge and lift up the next generation.” She expressed hope that Kathy would now have energy to direct toward herself: travel for the love of arts and culture, and the sense of adventure that has defined her life outside of work.

Drafted with the assistance of digital tools to streamline the process.