The Forests Dialogue (TFD) is proud to announce that four leading professionals hae joined its Steering Committee in 2025: Ruth Metzel, Chetan Kumar, Dr. Peter Umunay, and Marina Negrisoli. Each brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to environmental stewardship, bolstering TFD’s efforts to build trust, advance dialogue processes, and spearhead collaborative actions on the most pressing forest issues globally.
Ruth Metzel was most recently the Global Restoration Lead at Conservation International.
Chetan Kumar is the Global Head of the Forest and Grasslands Team at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Dr. Peter Umunay is the Global Cluster Lead for Food Systems and Land Use at the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
Marina Negrisoli, the Global Director of Sustainability at Suzano.
Long-Lasting Connections to TFD
The four join TFD’s 13 current Steering Committee members. The TFD Steering Committee reflects a diverse group of leaders across geographic regions and stakeholder groups, and identities, allowing for a variety of expertise to be brought to the table.
“TFD provides a platform for international multi-stakeholder dialogue focused on mutual trust and continuous, collaborative learning,” said Marina Negrisoli. Negrisoli brings additional private-sector perspectives to the Steering Committee, particularly around responsible supply chains, corporate engagement, and innovation in forest management.
“My focus will be supporting how TFD can contribute to bridging policy and practice, ensuring that global commitments translate into on-the-ground impact while integrating community voices, Indigenous leadership, and private sector engagement,” said Chetan Kumar, whose career has spanned forest governance, community rights, and landscape restoration.
For several Steering Committee members, this is not their first time working with TFD.
Ruth Metzel, who holds a Master of Forestry from the Yale School of the Environment and an MBA from the Yale School of Management, reflected, “Through my three years working with TFD, I was able to gain a deep understanding of the uniqueness of its approach and the positive impact it can have on the forest sector. Getting an inside view into how dialogues are conceptualized and organized for maximum impact and connection, is an experience that I feel strengthens my ability to contribute to TFD now as a Steering Committee member.”
Peter Umunay’s engagement with TFD as a Program Associate started in 2013 as a doctoral student at the Yale School of the Environment.
“I gained insights into the challenges faced by Central African countries in implementing standards that sometimes do not consider regional realities,” Umunay said, citing the influence of his experience as a TFD Program Manager in his professional trajectory.
“TFD’s participatory approach and creation of safe spaces for dialogue continue to inform my professional life.” He went to serve as a TFD Program Manager, co-leading initiatives such as the 2017 Understanding Deforestation-Free Dialogue in Mouila, Gabon.
Similarly, Kumar has collaborated with TFD in various capacities. “Over the years, I have engaged with TFD through dialogues on restoration, governance, and sustainable landscapes,” Kumar explained. This includes leading IUCN’s PLUS Program, which involved TFD as an implementing partner, and several landscape dialogues across Africa.
A Legacy of Dialogue
Since its inception in 2000, TFD has engaged over a hundred Steering Committee members. Their collective expertise and dedication have been pivotal in driving the organization’s mission forward and guiding TFD’s impactful dialogues.
Peter Umunay at the Understanding Deforestation-Free Dialogue (2017) in Mouila, Gabon. Photo: TFD.
“The Forests Dialogue has really been able to bring actors who disagree on major issues to come together, listen to each other, and try to see those other lenses through which to look at issues where perspectives may have become stale or rigid,” Metzel said. “
This commitment to fostering open, inclusive, and effective dialogue continues to make TFD an essential player in global efforts to achieve sustainable forestry and conservation practices.