Tzeporah Berman is the Strategic Director for ForestEthics, an organization with offices in the United States, Canada and Chile that is dedicated to protecting endangered forests, wildlife and human wellbeing through advocacy programs that challenge corporations and governments to show environmental leadership. In the last five years ForestEthics has run successful campaigns to stop logging in a million acres of Chilean native forest, to transform the buying patterns of industry giants Victoria’s Secret, Staples and Office Depot and to protect millions of acres of forest in Canada. Ms. Berman was one of the three primary negotiators for the Great Bear Rainforest Agreement announced on February 7, 2006 that protected over 5 million acres of ancient rainforest and created an unprecedented alliance between the logging industry, First Nations, the Provincial Government and environmental organizations. Prior to joining ForestEthics as staff, Ms. Berman worked for seven years with Greenpeace International and Greenpeace Canada. During her time with Greenpeace Ms.Berman was one of the primary architects of the forest markets campaign on Clayoquot Sound and was responsible for the design and launch of the Great Bear Rainforest campaign in 1995. Ms. Berman contributed to the development of Greenpeace Internationals forest markets campaign in Europe as well as the creation of a forests campaign in Japan. Prior to joining Greenpeace Ms.Berman was one of the coordinators of the logging blockades in Clayoquot Sound that resulted in the largest civil disobedience protest in Canada’s history. She was arrested in 1993 and charged with aiding and abetting over 900 criminal charges and faced up to six years in jail. She was acquitted two years later.
Ms. Berman received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto and her Masters in Environmental Studies from York University. She has made frequent speaking tours in Canada, the United States and Europe on Canadian forest practices and policy as well as the state of the world's forests, international forest markets and environmental advocacy.
She lives on Cortes Island, BC with her husband Christopher Hatch and their two children Forrest and Quinn.
Tzeporah Berman's presentation (PDF)
