Message from the UWN Board of Directors

Happy Spring Urban Wood Network Members! 

Our Urban Wood Network (UWN) leadership team is excited to share that we are making strides toward building a long-term sustainable organizational foundation for UWN. As of mid-April, we now have an interim Board of Directors for the Urban Wood Network non-profit organization, filed in the State of Wisconsin. Our team continues to focus on the details of building our organizational foundation while also serving our members and mapping-out a path for the future. As many of you are well aware, this work is very important and takes time, so you can trust that our team is putting the key pieces in-place for future organizational growth and enhanced member services.

As we take this important step to become a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, we'd like to thank our partners at Sustainable Resource Institute (SRI) for their unwavering support in administering the Urban Wood Network efforts for the past six years. Kari Divine and her team at SRI have provided excellent leadership for the UWN initiative for many years and have been, and will continue to be, key partners in facilitating this UWN non-profit transition. We'd also like to thank all of the members, organizations and agencies who have supported UWN over the past six plus years to help us get to this exciting point, including: USDA Forest Service, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), Urban Salvaged Reclaimed Wood (USRW) and many others.

In the coming months, keep your eyes out for more important developments for UWN and opportunities for you to get involved:

• The Interim Board of Directors (BOD) are finalizing our organization bylaws and will be filing our federal non-profit paperwork by the end of May. We’re also building out a road-map for the Board and staff over the next 2+ years. All of the current board members and advisors have committed to serving in this role through the transition to a 501(c)3 non-profit organization at which point we will facilitate the nomination and selection of a new slate of board members who will guide the organization forward into the future.
• We will officially transition the organization by July 1^st.
• As we make this transition, there will be many opportunities for our members to get involved. Here are some ways that you can help:
• Pay your membership dues for 2023
• Our primary source of funding to support staff and programs is through membership dues, so it’s critical that we have all of our current members in good standing on their annual membership dues. As of May 1, we have 253 UWN members (unfortunately 185 of these members have not yet paid their 2023 membership dues).  
• Member who haven’t renewed can check out the instructions to do so in the Renew Your Membership Listing article below. Having trouble? Call UWN at 906-875-3720 and we’ll walk you through it.  
• Stay engaged and be ready to support UWN in a leadership role. 
• In the coming months, we’ll be recruiting applicants for the UWN Board of Directors and volunteers to serve on future Board committees, including: Education, Fundraising, and others. The current and future success of this organization will rely on our committed members and those willing and able to step-up and lead the organization for years to come. We're excited about the future and discovering new leaders who are ready to join the team and help us grow together.
• Attend educational programs – A series of Lunch and Learn webinars are being planned to begin this summer. This will be a great opportunity to meet other members, learn from each other and grow together.

Thank you for your support and investment in the Urban Wood Network. As we are well aware, the recognition of urban wood up-cycling is at an all-time high across the country and the opportunities for funding and capacity building to support this work is growing as well. We look forward to working with all of you to build and grow a UWN non-profit organization that can help rise the tide for the success of everyone engaged in this effort.

Interim Urban Wood Network Board of Directors (BOD)

Lance Davisson (chair); Andy Trotter (vice chair); Paul Morrison (secretary / treasurer); Joe Lehnen; Rick Siewert; Jennifer Alger; Dwayne Sperber; Paul Hickman

Interim UWN BOD Advisors

John Melvin, Amanda Egan, Charlie Becker, Scott Altenhoff

UWN Executive Director - Kari Divine

Owner Kim Slezak  married a 4th generation Farmer in Fillmore County, Nebraska in 2008, leaving a position with New Mexico Forest Service behind. She became a forestry consultant and it wasn't long before she was frustrated with all the trees she saw coming down for agriculture expansion and that were being wasted. In the village they lived in, she would hear a chainsaw and go see what was removed, talking with the tree company or homeowner about utilization. She often ended up with the logs.

The UWN website has an enhanced membership directory that is:

• searchable by membership category and geography
• includes a photo gallery, a description of your business/organization, and links to your website and social media
• able to be updated by you whenever needed

To create and publish your new membership listing, please go to the UWN website at www.urbanwoodnetwork.org.

We strongly recommend using a desktop computer rather than a smartphone to complete this.

1. Register for an account
2. Complete and submit your registration form
3. You will receive an email to confirm your account, please click the link to set your password.
4. Set your password
5. Login
6. Click the “Create Listing” button
7. Complete and submit your member listing (click to view instructions)
8. An UWN representative will review your listing
9. Once approved, you will receive an invoice to pay your membership fee unless your membership fees are already up to date. If your membership fees are up to date, then your listing will be published directly.
10. Click the link on the invoice to pay your invoice online
11. Once your payment has been received, you will receive a welcome letter