Kate Gatto, chief strategy officer for the National Alliance of Forest Owners, presents the 2024 Carlton Owen Lecture. Gatto’s presentation is titled “It's Not Easy Being Green: Forestry as a Bipartisan Solution.”

As the Chief Strategy Officer for the National Alliance of Forest Owners, Gatto drives the strategic direction of the Washington, D.C.-based national advocacy organization that acts as the voice for private forest landowners. She is a member of the Mississippi forestry community—her family owns a small working tree farm in Greene County. She uses her personal experience in her advocacy work, advancing federal policies that ensure our working forests provide clean air, clean water, wildlife habitat and jobs through sustainable practices and strong markets. Kate joined NAFO in 2017 from Hill+Knowlton Strategies, where she spent more than 11 years leading national advocacy and reputation building campaigns for a variety of organizations, campaigns and businesses. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of Mississippi and a Master of Arts in mass communication and integrated marketing communications from the University of South Carolina.

The Owen Lecture Series was established more than 30 years ago in MSU’s College of Forest Resources by Carlton Owen, a Greenville, South Carolina, resident and 1974 MSU graduate. The program focuses on natural resource conservation issues.