Ara Erickson
Director of Sustainability
Weyerhaeuser
As director of corporate sustainability at Weyerhaeuser, Ara Erickson is responsible for developing and executing the company’s overall sustainability strategy, including creating value and new opportunities related to a sustainable future. Her team also helps ensure a sustainable supply chain for Weyerhaeuser’s customers by maintaining the company’s forest and wood fiber certification programs.
A few of the challenges and opportunities that Erickson addresses in her role are climate change, forest carbon, social acceptance of sustainable forestry, benefits of wood products as alternatives to other building materials, and productive stakeholder engagement. She focuses on helping Weyerhaeuser — and the company’s many partners — navigate through barriers that keep good ideas moving forward, while listening and responding to divergent views on which path to follow.
Prior to Weyerhaeuser, Erickson directed a community-based, urban forest restoration program, managed research related to forest ownership and land use change, and worked as an environmental consultant. Erickson holds a Master’s of Science in Forest Resources from the University of Washington and a Bachelor’s of Science in Resource Management from the University of California, Berkeley. She was part of the 2018 Harvard Business School’s Young American Leadership Program, Weyerhaeuser’s NextGen Leadership Development Program, and the Ford Foundation’s Fellowship in Urban and Community Forestry.
She is a leader in the forest sector, and serves on the Board of American Forests, the Woodland Operating Committee of the American Forest Foundation, the Steering Committee for the inaugural Women’s Forest Congress, the Executive Council of the Green Seattle Partnership and volunteers regularly in her community. She is an avid supporter and admirer of trees, forests, and forestry and delights in coming across a tree growing in an unusual location or casting dappled shade in a particularly beautiful setting.