Prior to his association with TIR, Stephen served as a Ph.D., graduate assistant to a forestry professor at the University of Georgia. In that role, he also had teaching responsibilities in the areas of both timber management and silviculture. Earlier in his career, he worked as a data analyst with ForesTech International; as a Forest Research Technician with the U.S. Forest Service; and, as a GIS research intern with International Paper in Brazil. He began his career as a lab technician with a Christmas Tree Genetics Program in Raleigh, North Carolina. Stephen earned both a Ph.D., and a MS in forest resources at the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. He earned a BS in forest management at North Carolina State University. Stephen has published and presented on a broad range of forest management and forest productivity topics relating to his biometric and forest economic research interests and academic pursuits.