Year Started: 2018
Home Office: Vancouver
Makenzie was raised in the forest industry growing up in logging camps and forest communities on BC’s coast. This inspired her career – beginning as a labourer for a logging contractor she continued on to various positions across Western Canada and abroad working in forest stewardship and certification, environmental management, forest ecology, operational planning, communication, relations, and policy. She has worked in both the private and public sectors and has also run her own successful consulting business.
She has a passion for the forest industry and the people and communities dependent on it. As Vice President of Business Development and Indigenous Partnerships at A&A Trading, she is focused on building and maintaining innovative, long-term, mutually-beneficial relationships with First Nations, communities, and others who share a passion for forestry. She also works with governments on policy with the objective of a healthy environment, forest sector, and communities.
Makenzie has her Bachelor of Science in Forest Business Management from the University of Alberta and is a Registered Professional Forester. She has focused her professional development on conflict resolution and mediation.
Deeply committed to the well-being of her community and her profession, Makenzie has volunteered with organizations such as the United Way, Canadian Women in Timber, and the Association of BC Forest Professionals. She is currently a member of the Practices Committee for the ABCFP and is Chair of the Board of Governors for Vancouver Island University.