Kerry Cesareo

As senior vice president for forests, Kerry leads a team and portfolio of strategic initiatives in pursuit of WWF’s goal to conserve the world’s forests — for nature, climate, and people. This includes investing in forest conservation, management, and restoration as essential means of mitigating climate change; implementing nature-based solutions with Indigenous peoples and local communities; and reducing the impacts of unsustainable logging, agriculture, and infrastructure. Kerry previously led WWF’s forest markets work, launching the North American program of the Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN), and forging partnerships with Fortune 500 companies on responsible supply chains for wood and paper products. She has served as Co-chair of the Board of the Forest Stewardship Council-US, a certifier of forestry best practices that WWF helped to found in 1994. Prior to WWF, Kerry worked with a First Nations forestry venture in British Columbia. She also advocated for environmental and women’s issues in her roles as a consultant, scientist, U.S. PIRG field manager, and AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer. She received a B.S. in biology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in environmental management from the Yale School of the Environment.