Forest Worker Spotlight: Russell Turner

Never see yourself working in the forest industry? Neither did our friend Russell. See how his career path changed from law to forestry.

Meet Russell Turner from Montgomery, AL. Russell is 24 years old and graduated from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry in 2022. Russell has been working as a Fiber Supply Associate for International Paper for almost a year.

As a Fiber Supply Associate for IP, Russell’s workdays never look the same. From spending time in the office working with his team to plan fiber supply procurement efforts to being out in the field visiting loggers, there is an array of new opportunities and challenges every day. Russell loves getting to visit and learn from other forestry professionals.

Russell did not grow up in the forest industry and had never considered forestry as a career until a family friend encouraged him to look into switching his political science degree path to a forestry degree path. Russell’s plans to become a lawyer quickly changed once entering forestry school and he knew he had found the industry where he belonged.

Russell encourages young people thinking about getting into forestry to not be afraid of stepping outside of their comfort zone to confront new challenges. His favorite quote of encouragement for young students and professionals from a late friend, Will Romanowski, is “be better than yesterday”.

To find out more about careers in the forest industry, click here #ForestryWorks