The CWSF team is comprised of five full-time professionals dedicated to ensuring our members have the latest information and resources to effectively support their work on the ground.

CWSF/WFLC staffers bring a diverse set of skills and experiences and each contributes to our success in important ways.

Caitlyn Pollihan is the executive director of both CWSF and the Western Forestry Leadership Coalition (WFLC). Caitlyn facilitates the development of strategic goals for both organizations and collaborates closely with members and partners to ensure alignment on key issues and effective collaborative action. Caitlyn represents both organizations at regional and national meetings to ensure Western priorities and needs are addressed.

Kelsey Delaney is CWSF’s policy director, focusing on policies, programs and legislation that impact forests in the West. Kelsey works closely with state foresters, their legislative staff, and the policy directors at the National Association of State Foresters and counterpart regional state forester organizations on a range of issues, including the wildfire funding fix and federal forest management. Kelsey plays an important role facilitating the State & Private Forestry Board meetings and engaging with our partners on priority issues.

Sara Goodwin is CWSF’s communications director, responsible for developing and implementing communications and marketing strategies for CWSF and WFLC. Recently, Sara has focused on revitalizing the CWSF’s communications infrastructure and knitting together a network of Western forestry communicators. Sara will be kicking off CWSF’s social media and e-newsletter programs and also exploring WFLC’s communications needs and moving forward to address them.   

Grace Mirzeler is CWSF’s member services associate, helping to  implement communication strategies, as well as providing meeting planning and administrative support. Grace has played a leading role in planning key meetings for the CWSF and WFLC and is always available to answer any questions from members!

Diane Denenberg has worked to ensure the success of Western competitive grant processes, including the Wildland Urban Interface Grants and Landscape Scale Restoration Grants. Diane also managed the development of www.forestrygrants.org, a web portal for applications and scoring used in the administration of these grants. With the successful completion of the web portal for our Western and Southern grant processes, this position will end in May.  Diane will be moving on to new opportunities after over 13 years with the CWSF and WFLC. Please join us in thanking Diane for her many contributions!

Click here to learn more about the CWSF team.