Peter Gunnersen, Chairman of the J. W. Gottstein Memorial Trust Fund, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Silvia Pongracic as the incoming Secretary of the Trust, following the resignation of the current Secretary, Dr Adrian Wallis.
Dr Pongracic has had wide experience in the Forestry and Forest Products industries. A graduate of the University of Melbourne and the University of New South Wales, she has held positions with APM Forests, the Forests and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation, and for the past 10 years with CSIRO. She was awarded a Gottstein Fellowship in 1997. Her aim in taking on the role as the Gottstein Trust Secretary is to promote the interests of the Trust in the most effective way possible. She states “As a prior Gottstein Fellow, I truly appreciated the opportunity the Fellowship provided to further both my personal interests in forestry and those relevant to my employer at the time. I would like to encourage all interested parties to apply for the awards provided by the Trust in order to further enhance their careers in our industry.”
Dr Wallis states “I am pleased to have been involved with the Trust over the past nine years, and seen the benefits so many have had from the Trust’s programs. I am proud of the Trust’s record during that time of awarding 37 Gottstein Fellowships, 8 Gottstein Skill Advancement Awards, assisting the FWPA in awarding 8 Fellowships to the World Forest Institute in Portland, Oregon, and lately in awarding two Gottstein Forest Industry Scholarships. I am gratified at the success of the 5 Wood Science Courses, designed for those new to the Forest Industries, held during the past nine years. Other achievements have been the setting up and maintenance of the Trust’s new website. I thank the Trustees for their support, and I am sure the Trust will continue to prosper with Silvia as the new Secretary.”
