In the second half of 2020, The Forestland Group hired two new exciting professionals. Cakey Worthington and Will Caldwell have added incremental expertise and depth to the TFG transaction team. Their talent and background expand TFG’s in-house forest carbon project development capacity and enhances TFG’s internal valuation management and financial analysis in the acquisition, management, and dispositions stages of timberland ownership. Cakey and Will have already made significant contributions to TFG, while serving as positive, energetic, and creative members of the broader company team and organizational culture.
Cakey Worthington-Director of Carbon
Cakey Worthington joined TFG in July 2020 as our Director of Forest Carbon. Cakey is responsible for management of the current and future carbon project portfolio. Her background includes forest and grassland carbon offset development, ecosystem service markets, and conservation management. Cakey graduated from the Duke Nicholas School of the Environment with a Master of Forestry and a Master of Environmental Management specializing in Ecosystem Science and Conservation. She also holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from Davidson College. Prior to joining TFG, Cakey served as the Director of Implementation for the forestry team of Bluesource, LLC, a leading North American offset developer.
Cakey brings a deep background in project implementation across various carbon protocols under Verra, Climate Action Reserve, American Carbon Registry, and the California Air Resources Board. She has worked on over 50 registered forest carbon offset projects, including many TFG projects, representing over 1 million acres and 100 million tonnes of emissions reductions throughout the continental US and Alaska. Cakey’s experience combined with TFG’s 11-year history of carbon project development puts us in a unique position to maximize the co-benefits that carbon brings to the timberland asset class. Cakey works closely with staff across the organization and is a part of the Transaction Team and the Conservation Transaction Team.
Cakey is a Certified Forester Candidate through the Society of American Foresters. She serves as a member of the Nicholas School Alumni Council and actively participates in forestry student mentorship programs. Cakey is a Wilderness First Responder through the Wilderness Medicine Institute, which comes in handy for carbon-related field work and personal hiking, kayaking, and mountain biking trips outside of work.
Will Caldwell-Forestland Analyst
Will Caldwell joined The Forestland Group in December of 2020 as a Forestland Analyst. Will’s responsibilities will entail managing the third-party appraisal process, strategic portfolio modeling, and analysis related to forestland inventory, growth and yield models, forest markets, and transactions.
Prior to joining TFG, Will worked as an investment analyst with a US-based TIMO. His work there consisted of conducting portfolio modeling, asset valuation, and other analytical and reporting duties across domestic and international timberland assets totaling above $4 billion in AUM. In addition to internship experience with land conservancy and timber market consulting groups, Will has performed economic and forestland carbon modeling as part his graduate work with the Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium (SOFAC).
Will earned a M.S. in Natural Resources: Economics and Management and a B.S. summa cum laude in Natural Resources: Policy and Administration from North Carolina State University. Will is a member of the Society of American Foresters, and an amateur cultivator of pawpaw (Asimina triloba).
The Forestland Group continues its commitment to Environment, Social, and Governance best practices. The company is pursuing B-Corp certification and is completing its first PRI assessment in 2021. TFG looks forward to sharing its 2020 Impact Report this summer. Tommie Herbert, Director of Investor Relations leads TFG’s Impact Team, which includes Alex Finkral, Vice President of Conservation, and Matt Sampson, Senior Director of Forest Operations-Northeast Region. TFG collaborates with impact consultants KKS Advisors on our strategic leadership journey in impact investing and ESG integration.
