Dovetail Partners 2025 Webinar Series

Dovetail Partners 2025 Webinar Series

• Jan 23, 2025

Dovetail Partners 2025 Webinar Series:
Dovetail Partners is offering quarterly webinars throughout 2025 to highlight key topics and provide greater insight into issues addressed in our reporting. 

You can register for the whole series or individual webinars here.

Q1: Exploring Carbon Capture & Storage - Innovations in Climate Solutions
March 7, 2025 8:30am - 9:45am CST

Speakers: Kathryn Fernholz & Harry Groot
The webinar will cover Dovetail Partner’s report on Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS), exploring how this technology is mitigating climate change. Katie and Harry will cover findings from the report and discuss the role of biochar as a carbon sequestration method.

Kathryn (Katie) Fernholz, President/CEO, Dovetail Partners 
Kathryn is a forester by training with over 25 years of experience in the forest and forest products sector. She has worked on environmental issues in a range of roles, including environmental assessments, permitting, and GIS analysis. Her career has focused on sustainability concerns, including leadership on family forestry, community-based decision making, forest certification, and environmental standard setting. 

Harry Groot, Associate, Dovetail Partners
Harry Groot’s projects  over the last 6 years have been focused on biochar, the biochar industry, and its technology and market development/potential.  He's authored or co-authored reports available in Dovetail's library at www.dovetailinc.com/reports. Harry's work experience is built on his Mechanical Engineering undergraduate and Industrial Engineering graduate work and as a Professional Engineer and Certified Energy Engineer, tempered by 5 decades of hands-on business experience. He has worked in forest products manufacturing since 1980, has served in the public sector (at both Federal and State levels) as well as the private sector. He has participated as Principal Investigator, Project Manager, or as a Participating Partner in 22 public or privately funded grants with awards totaling over $5.8M. His work experience includes in-depth business analysis and planning and consulting on technical, business, and organizational issues at strategic, tactical, and operational levels.

Q2: Tree-Free, Hemp, and Non-Wood Alternatives - Impacts & Trade-Offs
June 6, 2025 8:30am - 9:45am CST

Speakers: Kathryn Fernholz, Jim Bowyer, Ph.D., Mark Jacobs
Join Dovetail Partners as we examine non-wood alternatives to traditional forest products, including trends in “tree-free” and use of fibers such as hemp. This webinar will explore the role of hemp, agricultural residues, and other materials in diversifying material supplies and the impacts for forestry and farming that result. . Kathryn, Jim, and Mark will discuss environmental impacts, trade-offs, and key insights. 

Kathryn (Katie) Fernholz, President/CEO, Dovetail Partners 
Kathryn is a forester by training with over 25 years of experience in the forest and forest products sector. She has worked on environmental issues in a range of roles, including environmental assessments, permitting, and GIS analysis. Her career has focused on sustainability concerns, including leadership on family forestry, community-based decision making, forest certification, and environmental standard setting. 

Jim Bowyer, Ph.D., Associate, Dovetail Partners
Bowyer is Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering. He is an Elected Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Science and an expert in environmental life cycle assessment. He has published widely on the topics of wood and fiber science, bioenergy, life cycle assessment, green building standards, global raw material trends, and environmental policy and is a frequent speaker on these topics.

Mark Jacobs, Associate, Dovetail Partners
Mark Jacobs served as Land Commissioner for Aitkin County in north-central Minnesota for thirteen years and has a total of almost thirty-nine years of experience in public land management and forestry in the Lake States. During his tenure, Aitkin County was recognized as one of the first public land managers to achieve third-party certification through the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).  Mark helped propel Aitkin County as a national leader in forest and recreational management of public lands. Mr. Jacobs brings expertise in public forest management, environmental concerns in the Lake States Region, and experience across the spectrum of silviculture, forest certification, carbon offsets, environmental education, endangered species and habitat needs.

Q3: Bioenergy Developments - Trends and Conditions
September 5, 2025 8:30am - 9:45am CST

Speakers: Kathryn Fernholz & Jim Bowyer, Ph.D.
This webinar will provide an update on the latest developments in bioenergy, featuring insights from Dovetail Partners’ report. Kathryn Fernholz and Jim Bowyer, Ph.D., will discuss the opportunities, and the future outlooks for biomass, especially regarding liquid fuels for commercial transportation, and the challenges for biomass in both energy and industrial chemical markets over the long term. 

Kathryn (Katie) Fernholz, President/CEO, Dovetail Partners 
Kathryn is a forester by training with over 25 years of experience in the forest and forest products sector. She has worked on environmental issues in a range of roles, including environmental assessments, permitting, and GIS analysis. Her career has focused on sustainability concerns, including leadership on family forestry, community-based decision making, forest certification, and environmental standard setting. 

Jim Bowyer, Ph.D., Associate, Dovetail Partners
Bowyer is Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering. He is an Elected Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Science and an expert in environmental life cycle assessment. He has published widely on the topics of wood and fiber science, bioenergy, life cycle assessment, green building standards, global raw material trends, and environmental policy and is a frequent speaker on these topics.

Q4: To be determined
December 5, 2025 8:30am - 9:45am CST

Note that the topic for the final webinar in the series has not been selected yet. We invite your suggestions for what you would like to have addressed at our December 2025 event. We’ll announce the selected topic following the Q3 event.

Register here.