Brooks Mendell (PhD 2004)
Forisk Consulting, President & CEO
Hometown: Born in New Jersey but raised in California
Favorite activities and hobbies: Outside of work I do a lot of reading and writing, and I enjoy playing tennis and staying in shape.
1. Comment on your years spent at Warnell – any memories or experiences that you cherish to this day?
I came back to Warnell as an older student, I was in my 30’s – that work experience was quite valuable. I had some great relationships with my professors. My major professor was the late Mike Clutter, formerly the dean. He was an important mentor of mine while I was in grad school, and David Neuman, who went onto be associate dean gave me a lot of good advice. And I also made some great friends here.
2. What has a degree (PhD Forest Finance) from the Langdale Center for Forest Business meant to your career as well as your personal development?
There are two things about the degree from Warnell that have really helped me. One is that the education and degrees from Warnell are very applied. So, they give you very practical advice that you can put to work right away when you leave school. The other thing that Warnell has been helpful with is developing relationships and networks. There are a lot of people that I met at Warnell that I continue to work with to this day.
3. What one piece of advice do you have for students as they navigate graduate school and look for employment in the forestry industry?
No matter what, find internships, jobs, or roles that give you any sort of experience, if it’s in the sector great, but go out there and engage a project or find something to do – it shows up on your resume and employers really care about that.
