FLA Staff

Scott Jones, CEO

A graduate of the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry, Scott has been entrenched in the forestry industry for more than 25 years, with a keen insight of owning and managing timberland, supply chain management and the impact of state and federal policies.

Scott’s early career included managing a 60,000-acre tract of timberland owned by Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation and serving as a procurement forester responsible for purchasing wood for a pulp mill. He then left the woods to begin his career in the forestry association realm, working for the Georgia Forestry Association and the Southern Lumber Manufacturers Association where he gained experience on policy issues from the local, state and federal level impacting the ownership of private forests, sawmills and the entire supply chain.

Awards and Certifications: Scott is a Georgia Registered Forester, SAF Certified Forester, the 2002 Warnell School of Forest Resources Distinguished Young Alumnus and the first recipient of the UGA Alumni Association 40 Under 40 recognition from the Warnell school. Scott lives on a small farm in Bowdon Georgia with his wife Deborah and 2 children.

Melinda Gable, Vice President

Melinda Gable has been advancing natural resource policy issues for 25 years. Her focus is on accomplishing measured results benefiting the stakeholders, the economy, and the environment. She is well regarded for taking ideas from conception to execution and the facilitation of bringing federal, private and NGO partners together to develop programs to achieve common goals.

Melinda has worked with the Archery Trade Association, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, National Sporting Library & Museum, Outdoor Channel, The Land Report, Southern Group of State Foresters, and Assoc. of Consulting Foresters.

Michelle Cain, Director of Communications

Michelle Cain joined the FLA team as the Director of Communications in May 2021. She worked for the state of Indiana for 15 years serving as the Director of Communications for the Department of Revenue, Wildlife Information Specialist and Assistant Fisheries Biologist for the Department of Natural Resources. She has a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Biology and a master’s degree in Aquatic Biology and Fisheries Management. Her passion has always been the outdoors, and she thrives on communicating often complex subjects to varied audiences. Michelle lives in Fishers, IN with her husband, son and two dogs.

Amy Palmer, Director of Administration

Amy joined FLA as the Director of Administration in 2017. She oversees the daily operations of the FLA offices in Smyrna, GA, managing association memberships, coordinating the annual National Conference of Private Forest Landowners, and supporting the activities and programs of the Association and The Forest Landowner Foundation.

Amy is a graduate of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia and has worked for the Georgia Department of Audits as a program auditor and Delta Airlines in a human resources capacity. Amy has been married for 24 years and has 2 children in college.

Pete Williams, Magazine Editor

Pete has served as editor of Forest Landowner magazine since 2012. A private forest landowner, he has written for The Washington Post, USA Today, and The New York Times and is the author of a number of books on sports, business, and fitness. The Virginia native lives in Central Florida.

Forest Landowner magazine, was honored by Trade Association Business Publications International (TABPI) with a “Tabbie” award for editorial excellence in the category of “Best Single Issue.” Judges recognized the March/April 2017 issue of Forest Landowner, which was dedicated to the “Next Generation of Forestry.”

Katie Moss, Policy and Legislative Assistant

Katie Moss joined the FLA team as the Policy and Legislative Assistant in November 2020. She graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, concentrating in law and administration. While in college she interned for the Federal Forest Resource Coalition in Washington, D.C., and upon graduation, interned for the National Wild Turkey Federation in their government affairs department. She has also worked with The Nature Conservancy and AmeriCorps in an education and outreach capacity. She is still relatively new to the industry but anticipates using her unique background and skills to be an advocate for private forest landowners across the US.
Katie currently lives in Pontotoc, MS with her husband and their two dogs.

Deborah Jones, Finance Manager

Deborah joined FLA in 2018 as Finance Manager. Deborah is a graduate of the University of GA where she holds a liberal arts double major A.B. She has over 15 years of experience in risk management brokerage/client services where her focus was national accounts property and liability insurance placements as well as risk mitigation and claims management. Deborah left the brokerage industry in 2009 to focus on her family. Deborah handles the day to day financial transactions for both FLA and The Forest Landowner Foundation. She lives in Bowdon, GA with her husband, Scott, and their two children.