Ian Fillinger, President and CEO, Interfor

Mr. Fillinger has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of Interfor since January 2020. Since joining Interfor in 2005, he has accepted progressively senior roles with the Company. Mr. Fillinger was appointed Head of Operations in December 2015 with responsibility for all of the Company’s manufacturing, woodlands, timber procurement, and capital projects activities. He was appointed Chief Operating Officer in February 2018. He has more than 30 years of experience in the lumber industry, including at Pacific Forest Products, Riverside Forest Products, and Canadian Forest Products.

Mr. Fillinger holds a Master of Business Administration from Athabasca University and a Diploma in Wood Products Engineering from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Brian Luoma, President and CEO, The Westervelt Company

A native of Fort Bragg California, Mr. Luoma received his bachelor's degree in Forestry from Humboldt State University in 1986 and has been a Registered Professional Forester in California since 1990. Prior to joining The Westervelt Company, Mr. Luoma held multiple positions over a 29-year career with Louisiana-Pacific Corporation ranging from forestry and procurement to structural panel manufacturing and business general management at the executive level. Over the course of his LP career, he lived and worked in Eureka California, Hayden Lake Idaho, Hayward Wisconsin, and Nashville Tennessee.

Mr. Luoma joined The Westervelt Company, headquartered in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as President and CEO in March 2017. He recently retired on December 31^st, 2023. The Westervelt Company is a 140-year-old company in its fourth generation of family ownership. The company owns and manages 600,000 acres of commercial timberland, two large lumber manufacturing facilities, an ecological restoration and mitigation business, covering seven states in the US, and an agricultural/recreation business on the North Island of New Zealand. The Westervelt Company has been known for its commitment to excellence in land stewardship, sustainability, and innovation throughout its history.  

Over the course of his career, Mr. Luoma has served on many Industry Association boards and committees including The American Wood Council, The Wood Products Council, Forest Resources Association, and the National Association of Forest Owners. He is the current Chairman of the Softwood Lumber Board and Working Forest Initiative. Mr. Luoma and his wife Nancy have been married for almost 40 years and are now living in Murfreesboro Tennessee.

Claudia St. John, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, President, Affinity HR Group

Claudia St. John is president of Affinity HR Group, Inc., an HR and management consulting firm that provides human resources compliance, recruiting, and organizational development support to companies nationwide. Affinity HR Group is NAWLA’s endorsed HR partner. Claudia is also the author of Transforming Teams – Tips for Improving Collaboration and Building Trust, a “#1 Hot New Release” on Amazon. Claudia is a frequent public speaker, is quoted often in national and industry press, and is a regular contributor to numerous print and electronic publications on the topic of human resources.

Claudia holds an undergraduate degree in employee benefits and labor relations from The American University and a master’s degree in business and public administration from The George Washington University, and numerous HR and behavioral science certifications.

Ali Wolf, Chief Economist, Zonda

Ali Wolf is the Chief Economist for Zonda, the largest new home construction data company in North America. As head of the Economics Department, Ali manages and analyzes the content for Zonda, runs special research projects, strategizes with the nation’s largest homebuilders, and presents nationwide covering topics across the housing market and wider economy.

Ali is the creator of Zonda’s proprietary indices, including the New Home Pending Sales Index and the New Home Lot Supply Index. Ali has focused much of her career on understanding prior recessions and led the charge on ‘Millennials discussing Millennials’ in the homebuilding space. Highly regarded as an industry expert, Ali is quoted frequently in national publications including CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Yahoo! Finance, and has also appeared on national and international TV and radio programs such as Bloomberg TV and Marketplace. Further, Ali serves as an advisor to the White House, providing data and insights on the U.S. housing market.

Prior to joining the Zonda team, Ali worked for another consultancy firm and was a researcher for both the Canadian and UK Parliaments. Ali holds a Bachelor’s Degree from The Ohio State University in Economics and a Master’s Degree from the London School of Economics in Real Estate Economics and Finance.