Dave Tenny

President & CEO

National Alliance of Forest Owners

Dave Tenny is the founding President and CEO of NAFO. Under his leadership, NAFO has grown from 14 initial members in 2008 to 49 member companies that own and manage more than 46 million acres of private working forests and 34 state and national associations that represent tens of millions of additional acres. Dave’s passion for building trust and pursuing solutions-based advocacy has helped NAFO become a leading national advocate for the economic, environmental and social benefits of America’s sustainably managed private forests.

Dave previously served as Vice President for Forestry and Wood Products for the American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA) and as Deputy Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment at the United States Department of Agriculture where he had responsibility for the U.S. Forest Service. He got his start in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served as Counsel and Natural Resources Policy Advisor for the House Committee on Agriculture and as Counsel for U.S. Representative Wally Herger of California.

A native of Boise, Idaho, he earned a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and a law degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.