Women in Forestry: Pam Jorgenson, RPF

Pam Jorgenson, RPF

Mosaic Forest Management

You might recognize Pam Jorgenson from one of our previous videos about reforestation! Pam is a land use forester at Mosaic Forest Management in Nanaimo, BC. In this position, she does a lot of community outreach and liaising and considers herself a point person between Mosaic and local governments and communities, managing everything from educational activities and tours to reviewing public access requests and addressing community concerns.

Although Pam is primarily in a communications role now, she has done silviculture and planning work, invasive species work, and education and training. She says there are so many directions you can go in the forest industry, and not all jobs involve working outside. Some people end up in marketing, accounting, or even sales.

According to Pam, one of the best things about the industry is the people you get to work with. “I don’t think you’ll ever work with a better set of individuals,” says Pam. “The industry consists of very well-educated and well-intentioned people who are real and honest and simply out there to work hard and get the job done.”

Although it has been a traditionally male-dominated sector, Pam believes there is much more awareness across the industry that women are a critical part of forestry and necessary to fill the labour gap. ” Do not let being a woman deter you from a career in forestry because this has been an excellent industry for me to work in,” says Pam. “I encourage my daughters all the time to think about forestry as a career, and I would love it if they chose to follow in my footsteps.”