Prior to founding Phoenix Strategic Solutions Steve served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the American Forest & Paper Association where he was responsible for paper and wood products, forestry, statistics, and economics.
At AF&PA he also served as Group Vice President for Forestry and Wood Products and International Vice President. He was responsible for developing trade policy, promoting international markets, and representing industry in sector negotiations in the World Trade Organization, North American Free Trade Agreement, and in 301 case with Japan.
Steve has extensive experience in international trade in Asia and Europe, sustainable forest management and certification, issue management related to corporate environmental responsibility, and sustainability issues related to carbon, water, and forestry. He worked in China with a market access firm focusing on agriculture and forestry, and specialized in China's market potential for forest products which included extensive field research conducted in Mandarin throughout China.
Steve holds degrees from Harvard and Stanford, served in the U.S. Navy, and serves on several non-profit boards as well as the board of a multi-national forest products company. He was a founding member of the International Forest Industry Roundtable, the US industry delegate to the International Tropical Timber Organization and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and served as an officer of the Forest Products Industry Labor Management Committee. He is a trained speaker and has testified before Congress on the subjects of international trade, sustainability, developing standards and certification programs, working effectively with multi-stakeholder groups, and multi-cultural relations.