top of page
Denver Art Museum.jpg
Steve has been a pioneer in the North American Mass Timber Movement. He capped his nearly 42-year career with the U.S. Forest Service by founding the Wood Innovations Program in 2013 and leading that program through 2019. Following his federal role, Steve spent a little over a year with SmartLam a manufacturer of cross laminated timber before establishing Mass Timber Strategy. During his decades with the Forest Service, Steve held a wide number of positions including playing leadership roles in two separate Presidential Initiatives. One of those delivered $1.2 billion in economic recovery efforts in the Pacific Northwest and the other dealt with long-term protection of 50 million acres of roadless areas across the U.S. Other highlights include development of a highly successful leadership development program for the Agency, a Congressional Fellowship, outreach to under-served communities, and strengthening the Agency’s Urban & Committee Forestry program. This work took him to all 50 states and 8 countries. Steve initiated the Forest Service’s concentrated focus on Mass Timber beginning in August of 2013. One of his first actions was media outreach so that when the work became visible there would already be an understanding in key media regarding the merits of Mass Timber. During this period he worked quite closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture which oversees the Forest Service to gain a high level of support for the work. Among other things, this led to the 2014 White House Rural Council workshop “Building with Wood: Jobs and the Environment". It was at that workshop that the U.S. Tall Wood Building Competition was announced which Steve had played an instrumental role in creating. Under Steve’s leadership, Wood Innovations provided tens of millions of dollars to support the development on a U.S. mass timber sector. Investments covered a wide range of activities from planning some of the initial buildings, funding needed materials testing, support to the first generation of production facilities, and extensive training for architects, engineers, and developers. Broad investments included WoodWorks, the Timber City Exhibition at the National Building Museum, and the initial Mass Timber Conference held in Portland Oregon which continues to this day. Perhaps the greatest recognition for Wood Innovations was when it was incorporated into the 2018 Farm Bill giving it elevated standing as federal program. The program has been fortunate in enjoying strong bi-partisan support. Today Steve works with a wide array of partners working to strengthen the Mass Timber sector and help link sustainable building construction with sustainable forest management.

Steve Marshall

Founder | President

Limited Tickets Available

Add a Title
Add a Title
Add a Title
Add a Title
Add a Title
Add a Title

Projects & Work

What if there was a sustainable building material that could revolutionize the way we construct our homes and commercial buildings? Today, we're joined by Steve Marshall, a pioneer in the sustainable building revolution, who shares his journey helping to bring Mass Timber to America through a 42-year career in the Forest Service to founding his own company, Mass Timber Strategy. Our conversation dives into the evolution of Mass Timber and the adoption of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) in the United States. Steve shares how influential projects in London and Melbourne caught his attention, and how the incredible benefits of CLT – from its sustainability and speed of construction to its embodied carbon aspects – convinced him that Mass Timber was the future. We also explore the spectrum of values from different parties involved in using forest resources and how common ground has been found around Mass Timber Join us as we discuss the challenges and opportunities faced in bringing Mass Timber into the U.S. Steve shares his insights from working with organizations like the American Wood Council and WoodWorks to push the envelope. We touch on the changes to building code that enabled the use of Mass Timber, the recent earthquake testing in San Diego, and the construction of a CLT factories across the country. Don't miss this insightful conversation with Steve Marshall as we explore the birth of the Mass Timber industry and its potential impact on the world of construction.

Limited Tickets Available

bottom of page