Kathy Abusow is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI Inc.), the fully independent, non-profit organization responsible for the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Program. The SFI program is a comprehensive and rigorous sustainable forestry certification system that encompasses more than 143 million certified acres in the U.S. and Canada and includes over 200 program participants.

Before joining SFI, Inc., Kathy operated Abusow International Ltd., a successful forest certification and market acceptance consultancy for almost 15 years. Highly respected internationally as both a technical expert on certification standards (SFI, CSA, FSC, PEFC) and related marketplace issues such as procurement policy design and green building rating tools acceptance of wood and certified products, she has worked with government and corporate agencies around the world.

Kathy has authored numerous publications related to forest certification, green building and responsible procurement. She has an undergraduate degree from McGill University and a M.A. from Harvard University with a concentration in sustainable development of natural resources.