International Network Director to coordinate FSC representations worldwide
Ms. Gemma Boetekees will be the FSC International Network Director starting from 01 November 2010. As an experienced networker and bridge builder who has contributed to the wide recognition of FSC in The Netherlands, Ms. Boetekees will coordinate a growing global network of FSC national and regional representations.
The FSC International Network Director is responsible for the overall coordination of the FSC international network which includes FSC Regional and National Offices and FSC Contact Persons. Ms. Boetekees will coordinate the strategic development of the offices, their strategies and fundraising efforts. She will also support the engagement of the offices and contact persons with the different departments and organizations of the FSC Group and with stakeholders at regional and national level.
Ms. Boetekees has considerable experience engaging the FSC network and coordinating global programs. Over the past fifteen years, she has been working on forest issues, markets and FSC certification. She was Director of the FSC European Regional Office from 2001 to 2005 and established FSC Netherlands in 1999.
Prior to joining FSC, Ms. Boetekees was responsible for the International Markets and Climate Programs at ICCO, a Dutch development organization where she coordinated ICCO’s trade support to small producers of sustainable forest products, organic cotton and tropical fruits in developing countries. She also coordinated the Dutch Heart for Wood campaign, an FSC-frontrunner campaign of Friends of the Earth, WWF and Oxfam in The Netherlands.
Ms. Boetekees was trained in Dutch Language and Literature and started her career as a high school teacher. She is also a trained potter, with a small craft shop, producing and selling handmade functional pottery.
