Greetings, dear forestland stewards!



My name is Shavonne Sargent and I’m excited to serve you as Administrative Director for the Oregon Tree Farm System. I am a professional forester with diverse career experiences that follow themes of boots-on-the-ground forestry, project management, forest certification, and education. My vocation has always been the heartfelt empowerment of private forest landowners to manage their forests sustainably, driving improvement of forestland one acre at a time. This approach runs parallel to OTFS’ values, mission, and purpose and is why I have a long-standing commitment to the American Tree Farm System (ATFS). I first became a tree farm inspector in 2009 at the genesis of my career in Maine. I’ve been an inspector in Oregon since 2021, was OTFS Inspector of the Year for 2024, and many of my landowner clients have joined the tree farm family. 

In this new role, I will serve as a connector between OTFS members, inspectors, the Board, national ATFS, and other partner organizations. It is my goal to provide excellent service to you all, as we work together to steward the many values of forests – wood, water, wildlife, recreation, and beyond. Please get in touch if you have any questions.

For the forests we love,

Shavonne

Get to know Shavonne:

I am a forester. It is a title that conjures a sense of pride, love, and belonging. I see my role on the forested landscape as stewardship—entrusted care of forest land. It is a role I take seriously and pursue with dedicated passion. 

My career spans wide geography from east to west coasts and a broad experience set including Cooperative Extension, research, consulting, and industrial corporate and field. I’m New England born and raised, transplanted west by my husband’s naval career. I graduated from Cornell University’s Natural Resources program, a learning experience enriched by four years as a Cooperative Extension intern and a semester-long study abroad in Mountain Forestry in Austria. I gained a Master of Forestry from the University of Maine, where my MF project focused on creating a land literacy program through cooperative partnerships. I spent my early career as a consultant in Maine and Massachusetts before moving to Washington. I worked in Weyerhaeuser’s corporate office in sustainability with a focus on certification before moving to Oregon to become the forester for a 70,000-acre tree farm. After five years in that role, I returned to my consultant roots, creating SilvaSaunterra, LLC, a forestry consulting firm, in 2018.



• My first love was the sugar maple. Participating in my NH high school’s maple sugaring operation in the spring of freshman year awakened me to my lifelong passion and career.
• I enjoy spending time in the outdoors alone or with family and friends (canoeing, camping, hiking), especially when freshwater is involved.
•  I own exactly 0.19 acres, where I practice the principles of permaculture, managing for structure and diversity and growing native and edible plants.
• As the daughter of dedicated travelers, I’ve been to all 50 states and love seeing new places and learning about their ecology, history, and culture.
• Once-upon-a-time timber framer, hand-hewer, and maple sugarin’ girl.
• Married to Brian, a retired Naval officer and Library Director at Mount Angel Abbey.
• Fierce mama bear to spirited and delightful daughters Iona Maple (10) and Ide Marie (5).
• Forever in pursuit of a life that more closely reflects the spirit of sauntering and invites others to do the same.