Podcasts

Season 2 | Women in Forestry | Episode 19

#35 | As a leader, their successes are my successes

July 26, 2017 | Rachel Reyna

Rachel Reyna is a Certified Forester and Certified Arborist who has worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resource, Bureau of Forestry, in various capacities and with increasing responsibilities since 2001. Currently Chief of Rural and Community Forestry, Rachel has a BS in Forestry from Louisiana State University and a Masters of Agriculture in Forestry from Penn State. Rachel is also extremely active in the Society of American Foresters, where she currently serves on the Board of Directors. On today’s show, Rachel discusses why leadership feedback is so important, how to accomplish more diversity in forestry, and so much more!

Key Takeaways:

[1:10] A quick intro about Rachel’s background.

[2:45] How did Rachel get started in forestry?

[8:30] Career changes don’t always happen in a straight line. Rachel is a perfect example of this.

[10:00] What is Rachel most proud of in her career?

[13:45] What is the Diversity Ambassador’s program at SAF about?

[17:40] Rachel received some anonymous feedback about her performance, and it turned out to be very valuable to her and changed her approach.

[20:35] Rachel conducts a reverse employee performance review every year with her staff. They get to give her anonymous feedback on what she can do better.

[21:30] What has been Rachel’s personal experience as a woman in a male-dominated profession?

[26:55] It’s hard to find the line between how much one should push for what’s right and when to pick your battles.

[30:15] When experiencing discrimination, is it better to have a woman or a male mentor?

[31:55] Where are we as a forestry community when it comes to welcoming and embracing diversity?

[34:45] We’re living in a digital age, and there are fewer people being exposed to the outdoors in traditional ways.

[41:30] Rachel shares her favorite movies about leadership.

[45:30] Tom’s Leadership Tip of the Week!

Mentioned in This Episode:
Eforester.org/TexasSAF
Biblehub.com/galatians/6-9.htm