Endowment Welcomes New Board Members, Announces Leadership Changes

Board adds Crawford and Spalding to Board of Directors; Stainbrook and Reed retire.
Cramer named Chief Operating Officer and Stangel named Chief Development Officer

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (Endowment) is pleased to announce William Crawford and Deborah Spalding were elected as new directors at the organization’s fall board meeting.

“William and Deborah’s combined expertise in investment management, environmental finance and corporate leadership will be invaluable as we continue to advance sustainable forestry and strengthen forest-reliant communities,” said Pete Madden, president and CEO of the Endowment. “We are excited to bring them on board and leverage their extensive backgrounds to help lead us into our next chapter of growth.”

Crawford serves as chief executive officer of Pacolet Milliken, a family-owned investment firm based in Greenville, S.C. that owns and manages power, infrastructure and real estate assets across the United States, including waste-to-energy, woody biomass and timber assets. Crawford joined Pacolet in 2013 and prior to becoming CEO in 2020, served in various capacities, including general counsel, chief operating officer and president.

Before joining Pacolet Milliken, Crawford spent a decade in the regional bank and public company arena. Prior to banking, he was an attorney in private practice, focusing on SEC, M&A and corporate finance matters. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and a law degree from Harvard Law School. A dedicated conservationist and avid hunter, Crawford and his wife, Marion, own a 500-acre historic farm in Laurens, S.C.

Spalding is the global lead of the Nature Finance Division at Conservation International where she works to unlock investments for nature at scale, helps drive finance toward nature-based solutions for climate and biodiversity, develops investment partnerships and builds the division’s portfolio of carbon projects.

Prior to Conservation International, Spalding served as chief investment officer of Commonfund OCIO. Previously, she was chief investment officer for the State of Connecticut. Additionally, she has worked for Working Lands Investment Partners, Schroder Investment Management, Scudder Kemper Investments and has been teaching forest finance at the Yale School of the Environment since 2010. She received a bachelor’s degree in international relations and Asian studies from Tufts University and holds graduate degrees from Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley and Yale University, where she received a Master of Forestry.  

The board and staff recognized the achievements of outgoing board members Mark Reed and Cris Stainbrook. Reed served as vice chair of the Endowment board and is the founder and manager of Contact Fund, a private investment fund focused on high-impact community development in New York City. Stainbrook is president of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation and served as the Endowment’s head of the audit committee.

“Cris and Mark have been instrumental in shaping the strategic direction of our organization. Their wisdom, commitment and leadership have strengthened our foundation and advanced our mission in countless ways. As they conclude their board service, we extend our appreciation for their years of dedicated stewardship,” added Madden.

The Endowment also announced key organizational changes to its executive leadership team. Peter Stangel will transition from his role as chief operating officer to serve as chief development officer, leveraging his extensive experience to advance the organization’s impact investing and partnership initiatives. Additionally, Alicia Cramer, who has served as senior vice president of programs, will assume the position of chief operating officer.

About the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities:
The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities is a not-for-profit public charity collaborating with partners in the public and private sectors to advance systemic, transformative, and sustainable change for the health and vitality of the nation’s working forests and forest-reliant communities. To learn more about the Endowment, please visit our website at www.usendowment.org.