Tim Payn
Foundation Chair

Tim is a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Forestry (NZIF) and Chair of the NZIF Foundation that supports forestry education. He is a member of the NZ Forest Owners/NZ Farm Forestry Association Environment Committee, and the New Zealand/Australia Committee for the development of standards for sustainable forest management. He is a Principal Scientist at Scion and has developed and led numerous research programmes focussing on environmental aspects of forestry and ecosystem services. His main research interests are sustainable forest management, climate change and the environment. He had a three-year term as Chair of Sustainable Forestry at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology.

Luis Apiolaza
Trustee

I am an Associate Professor at the School of Forestry | Kura Ngahere, University of Canterbury in Christchurch. I am a quantitative geneticist and tree breeder.

I was born in Chile and grew up in Chile, Argentina and Venezuela. Originally trained as a Forest Engineer at the Universidad de Chile (1992), I completed a Ph.D. in Genetics and Tree Breeding at Massey University (2000). I have worked as a researcher and consultant in Chile, Australia and New Zealand.

My current research interests are genetics of wood quality in softwoods and hardwoods, very early selection, large-scale genetic evaluation of progeny trials and definition of economic breeding objectives. I have 60+ refereed publications in these and other research areas.

I have contributed to the education of New Zealand Foresters since 2006, and have supervised several Ph.D. and Masters students.

Peter Edwards
Trustee

Peter Edwards has a background in both forest ecology and forest policy and governance. Since coming to New Zealand, Peter has been involved in the NZIF forest policy project, and has been a recipient of the Chavasse travel award to look at forest planning in Belarus. At Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, Peter researches social and policy aspects of forests and forestry in New Zealand.

James Kerr
Trustee

I have been fortunate to enjoyed various roles throughout the commercial forest supply chain in my 20 years in the forest industry, from Forest Supervisor, to GM China for a large timber exporter, Forest Estate Manager in the carbon forestry space, to my current role as Head of H&S for Ernslaw One. 

I'm a Forester at heart, as well as being a proud dad of Charlotte, Libby and Tom and husband to Catherine, who loves working with people to make the most of our forests and the benefits that they can bring.

Back in my uni days, I was lucky enough to pick up a scholarship or two, including the NZIF undergrad award, which made a huge difference as a cash-strapped student.

As a trustee of the NZIF Foundation, I look forward supporting and growing the opportunities to motivate and recognise those in, around or entering our industry to thrive and add value.

Lou Sanson
Trustee

Alex Wilson
Trustee

Alex is the Director Forestry Engagement and Advice for Te Uru Rakau – New Zealand Forest Service. She has over 17 years in leadership positions, spanning central government, crown research, and local government, focused on strategic leadership, staff management, training and capability development and operational delivery.

Her technical experience includes community engagement, strategic partnerships, catchment management, education and training, forestry, environmental funding, and landfill aftercare.

Recently, Alex contributed to the establishment of the One Billion Trees programme and supported the regional scale-up of Te Uru Rakau – New Zealand Forest Service.

Donations to the Foundation

Make a credit card donation as an NZIF member: Click here

Donations from member and non members can also be made through internet banking to BNZ 02 1269 0014573 00. Please include your name in the details fields. Please email the Foundation email to advise you have made a donation and whether or not you require a receipt for tax purposes.

The NZIF Foundation is a registered charity (CC47691) under the Charities Act 2005. Donations of $5 or more are eligible donations for tax purposes.

To discuss opportunities for larger donations to be applied to specific purposes, contact the Foundation Chair

 View the NZIF Foundation Trust Deed