Forisk Team

Founded in 2004, FORISK has worked with clients and partners in over a dozen U.S. states and half a dozen countries to answer questions and support decisions associated with timber and timberland investments, wood procurement, forest industry and bioenergy investments, and forest operations. 

Our team:

• Brooks Mendell
• Tim Sydor
• Amanda Hamsley
• Seth Freeman

Affiliated team members:

• Ralph Colberg
• Tom Harris

Dr. Brooks Mendell is Principal and Founder of Forisk Consulting. He has over fifteen years of consulting, operating, and research experience in forestry and the forest products industry. His experience includes roles in harvest operations and procurement with Weyerhaeuser, in management consulting with Accenture, and as a member of the forestry and finance faculties at the University of Georgia. In 2004, he traveled to Uruguay as a Fulbright Scholar to teach courses in forest finance and to study the Uruguayan forest products industry. He is a member of the Boards of Directors for the Georgia Forestry Association and the Southeastern Wood Producers Association. In addition, Dr. Mendell speaks professionally on topics related to strategic communications skills and, in 2006, Aventine Press published his book Loving Trees is Not Enough: Communication Skills for Natural Resource Professionals. He earned B.S. and M.S. degrees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MBA at the University of California at Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in Forest Finance at the University of Georgia.

Dr. Tim Sydor joined Forisk Consulting in 2005 as Forest Economist. His professional experience includes roles in forest operations research at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and in forest management for the Tsuman State Forest Enterprise in the Ukraine. He is a member of the Forest Products Society, and is a frequent presenter at the Southern and Midwestern Forest Economist Workshops on topics related to forestry investments and property valuations. He earned a B.S. in Forestry at the National Agriculture University of Ukraine, an M.S. in Forest Economics at Purdue University , and a Ph.D. in Forest Economics at the University of Georgia.

Amanda Hamsley is Education Coordinator at Forisk and a Research Assistant at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia. Prior to working with Forisk, she interned with International Paper in Augusta, GA. She was a National FFA Organization proficiency winner in the area of forest management and products. Amanda received a BS in Forest Resources from UGA in 2005.  

Seth Freeman joined Forisk as Market Coordinator in January 2006 after graduating from the Warnell School of Forest Resources at the University of Georgia with a Master's in Forest Business. He leads the collection of wood consumption data for the Wood Demand Report and supports research associated with resource studies and timber markets. Prior to working with Forisk, Seth interned for two summers with the Georgia Forestry Commission. Seth also holds an Associate of Science degree from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and a B.S. in Forest Resources from UGA.

Ralph Colberg is President of Decisions Support, Inc. and has over 50 years of business experience in the forest industry, operations research, and geographic information systems (GIS).  This includes upper and mid-level management roles in the pulp and paper industry and analytical roles focused on business intelligence for site location studies. Mr. Colberg supports analytical and spatial analysis associated with resource studies and facility due diligence. 

Tom Harris, Professor of Forest Business at the University of Georgia and Publisher of Timber Mart-South, has over 40 years of forest industry, procurement and research experience.  His experience includes managing the procurement of more than 5 million tons of wood annually, including the management of wood concentration yards and chip plants. Mr. Harris received a B.S. in Forestry from N.C. State and an MBA from Wharton.