President

Chris@ofic.com

Named President in 2021, Chris brings extensive legislative and wood products manufacturing experience to OFIC. Chris served as a Democrat for ten years in the Oregon State Legislature, holding committee leadership positions in both the House and Senate, and was known for his ability to work seamlessly with both political parties on intensely controversial environmental issues. Prior to his time in the Legislature, Chris spent several years working at his family owned and operated mill in Goshen and running a small forest products export/import company. He also ran his own government affairs firm and served as assistant vice president for strategic initiatives at the University of Oregon. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in business administration, management and finance/marketing from Oregon State University.

Director of Forest Policy

Seth@ofic.com 

Seth is a professional forester with over 25 years of experience. From harvest layout and design to silviculture, Seth has a vast array of expertise in both field forestry and forest policy. He has been OFIC’s director of forest policy since 2015. Prior to coming to OFIC, Seth served as the operations manager for the forest practices program at the Washington Department of Natural Resources. In addition to professional experience with both private landowners and state agencies, he also participated for many years as a wildland firefighter on an incident management team. Seth has a Bachelor of Science in forest management from Oregon State University and attended graduate school at Washington State University for public administration and natural resource policy.  

General Counsel and Director of Regulatory Affairs

Tyler@ofic.com

Tyler brought more than ten years of experience in natural resource policy and government relations when he started at OFIC in 2020. Prior to joining OFIC, Tyler served as assistant general counsel for the Michigan Farm Bureau, worked as a staffer in the Washington, D.C. office of a western-states senator and worked in the Michigan Department of Attorney General’s office during law school. Tyler holds a Bachelor of Science in microbiology from Michigan State University and a Juris Doctor from the Michigan State University College of Law.

Director of Communications

Sara@ofic.com 

Sara is OFIC’s communications strategist, media relations manager, writer and photographer. She joined OFIC in 2015 with more than ten years of experience in media relations and natural resource communications. Prior to joining OFIC, Sara worked as a technology communications specialist for a major agricultural company, as a blogger and as an intern for the United Nations. Originally from the Midwest, Sara has a Bachelor of Science in journalism with a photojournalism emphasis and a minor in biology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. 

Director of Forest Protection

Chad@ofic.com

Chad Washington joined OFIC in 2024 with nearly a decade of experience in forest planning, stewardship and sustainability. Prior to joining the team, Chad spent several years managing Sustainable Forestry Initiative® certification for an Oregon timberland company, as well as doing stewardship and community outreach on Oregon’s north coast. In those roles, Chad has a breadth of leadership experience including involvement with tribal, cooperative, advisory and economic development committees and serves as chair of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Private Forest Accord Mitigation Advisory Committee. Chad has a Bachelor of Science degree in forest operations management from Oregon State University and a Master of Science degree in natural resources with a focus on forest economics from the University of Idaho.

Office Manager

Jessica@ofic.com

Jessica is OFIC’s office manager. Jessica has extensive experience with event planning and coordination and handles an array of responsibilities for OFIC including capably managing scheduling and providing support for all OFIC staff, and coordination and support for all Board of Director and committee meetings. She is our main source of membership support, handling all dues invoicing as well as maintaining our membership database. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature and journalism with a minor in writing from Western Oregon University. She brings over a decade of administrative expertise to OFIC.

Contract Lobbyist

Mike@eliasonpa.com

Mike serves as OFIC’s contract lobbyist and is responsible for representing OFIC’s members in front of the State Legislature and executive branch, as well as leading OFIC’s political action committee and serving as PAC treasurer. Mike is a seasoned attorney and lobbyist, beginning his role as contract lobbyist in 2023 with over fifteen years of experience at the Oregon Capitol representing private sector trade associations, businesses and local government. Prior to moving into an external role, Mike spent almost four years as OFIC’s general counsel and director of government affairs. Over the years, he has advocated on a variety of policy issues, including election law, transportation, land use, tax, employment and of course, forestry. Mike has a Juris Doctor from Willamette University, a Bachelor of Arts from Western Washington University and is a member of the Oregon State Bar.