Pete Bettinger is the Hargreaves Distinguished Professor in Forest Management at the University of Georgia. He conducts research in applied forest management with particular emphasis on harvest scheduling, landscape planning, precision forestry, and geospatial technologies. Dr. Bettinger received Bachelors and Masters degrees in forestry from Virginia Tech, and a PhD in forest resources from Oregon State University. Dr. Bettinger worked for the forest industry in the southern and western United States, and maintains this connection to forestry professionals through his leadership in the Southern Forestry and Natural Resource Management GIS Conference. Dr. Bettinger has published over 175 peer-reviewed journal articles, and is a co-author of five books published by Academic Press: Forest Management and Planning, Introduction to Forestry and Natural Resources, Geographic Information System Skills for Foresters and Natural Resource Managers, Mapping Human and Natural Systems, and Forest Plans of North America.

In 2009, he was presented the Award of Excellence for Research and Development by the Southeastern Division of the Society of American Foresters. In 2016, he was presented the Creative Research Medal by the University of Georgia. In 2018, he was selected as a Fellow in the Society of American Foresters. In 2020, he was awarded the Carl Alwin Schenck Award by the Society of American Foresters for his devotion to forestry education, and in 2021 he was awarded the Southern Regional Award for Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Finally, in 2023 he was honored with the Award in Forest Science by the Society of American Foresters for distinguished individual research in the quantitative, managerial, or social sciences.

Chad Papa, Ph.D., is Director of the Forest Carbon and Climate Program which seeks to remove barriers to education to advance climate-smart forestry and support forests as natural climate solutions through outreach, engagement, and applied research. His research focuses on the role of forest management and policy in support of greenhouse gas emission reductions and removals using a variety of ecosystem models and mixed-methods research. His work is meant to better inform forest management practices, stewardship, and policy and to help quantify the contributions of climate-smart forestry to both societal and ecological goals.

Doç. Dr. Banu BEKCİ, 1976’da Trabzon’da doğdu. İlk, orta ve lise öğrenimini Trabzon’da tamamladı. 1994 yılında Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Orman Fakültesi Peyzaj Mimarlığı Bölümünde başladığı lisans eğitimini 1998 yılında tamamladı ve KTÜ Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü Peyzaj Mimarlığı Ana Bilim Dalı’nda yüksek lisans eğitimine başladı. 2000 yılında aynı anabilim dalına araştırma görevlisi olarak atandı. 2002 yılında “Mimari Mekân ve Kişisel Mekân Arasındaki Uyumun Bir Park Üzerinde Denetlenmesi” adlı tezi ile yüksek lisans eğitimini tamamlayarak Zonguldak Karaelmas Üniversitesi Bartın Orman Fakültesi Peyzaj Mimarlığı Bölümünde Araştırma Görevlisi olarak çalışmaya başladı. 2004 yılında 35. Madde uyarınca Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü Peyzaj Mimarlığı Ana Bilim Dalı’nda doktora eğitimine başlayarak, araştırma görevlisi olarak görevlendirildi. 5-14 Ekim 2008 tarihleri arasında Japonya’nın Okayama kentinde Okayama Üniversitesinin “Faculty of Agriculture” bölümün düzenlediği “Crytomeria japonica usage and management of landscape architecture” konulu ‘International Cooperation’ katıldı. 19-21 Mart 2009 tarihleri arasında Roma’da düzenlenen ‘Innovation and New horizons in tree nursery stock production and forest restoration/from research to business’ konulu kongreye katılarak yurt dışı deneyimi kazandı. 2.05.2010 yılında “Peyzaj Mimarlığında Değerlendirme Potansiyeli Olan Akçaağaç Yapraklı Üvez (Sorbus torminalis L. Crantz)’ın Generatif ve Vejetatif Yöntemler kullanılarak Üretimi” adlı doktora tezi ile Doktor unvanına hak kazandı. 2.05.2010-19.09.2011 tarihinde Bartın Üniversitesi Orman Fakültesi Peyzaj Mimarlığı Bölümü Peyzaj Planlama ve Tasarım Ana Bilim Dalı’nda Araştırma Görevlisi Doktor olarak çalıştı. 19.09.2013 tarihinde Bartın Orman Fakültesi Peyzaj Mimarlığı Bölümü, Peyzaj Planlama ve Tasarım Ana Bilim Dalı, 03.06.2014 tarihinde de Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Üniversitesi, Güzel Sanatlar, Tasarım ve Mimarlık Fakültesi, Peyzaj Planlama ve Tasarım Ana Bilim Dalı’nda Yardımcı Doçent olarak atandı. 29 Haziran-16 Eylül 2013 tarihleri arasında (3 ay süreyle) Amerika’nın Raleign kentindeki North Carolina State Üniversitesinin, Geospatial Information Science & Technology Program bölümünde misafir öğretim elemanı olarak YÖK’ün 39. Madde görevlendirme bursuna hak kazandı. Bartın Üniversitesinde zorumlu hizmetini tamamladıktan sonra 22. 09. 2014 tarihinde Ziraat ve Orman ve Su Ürünleri Temel Alanı, Peyzaj Mimarlığı Bilim Alanında Doçentlik unvanına hak kazanmış olup, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Üniversitesi, Güzel Sanatlar ve Tasarım ve Mimarlık Fakültesi’nde dekan yardımcısı olarak görevine devam etmekte olup, evli ve iki çocuk annesidir.  

Born in Trabzon in 1979, Yalçınalp completed his primary and secondary education in various parts of Anatolia and graduated from the Department of Landscape Architecture at KTÜ in 2000. During his graduate studies, he studied bonsai and urban ecology at Okayama University in Japan on a scholarship. After working on multinational ecological rehabilitation projects for a period, he was appointed a faculty member in 2005. Yalçınalp, who has designed numerous landscape projects both domestically and internationally, also served as a faculty member in the Department of Landscape Architecture at Mississippi State University in the USA. Since 2013, Yalçınalp has been conducting joint projects with Mississippi State University, bringing together nearly two hundred Turkish landscape architecture students and architects within the scope of these projects. Recently, Yalçınalp has focused on research in urban ecology, sustainability, and the relationship between the user's mind and design. He continues to teach and prepares urban landscape design projects and provides consulting services.