Chris West

Senior Vice President of Operations

Areas of Expertise: Natural resource policy, government affairs, public affairs, industry branding and crisis communication.

Personal Interests: Coaching youth sports (lacrosse, football and soccer), scouts, camping, hunting and competitive rifle shooting. Member of Sherwood Police Advisory Board.

At Pac/West, Chris manages all aspects of labor/management organization’s marketing and outreach campaigns, from strategic development to creative planning and implementation. He works as an advocate at the local, state and federal level for a variety of businesses and trade organizations. He oversees and manages campaign activities for candidates and ballot initiatives. He also handles public affairs and media relations for energy, natural resource, transportation and service sector companies. Finally, Chris assists owners with the daily management of the firm.

Prior to joining Pac/West, Chris served as vice president for two prominent non-profit business associations, the American Forest Resource Council and Northwest Forestry Association, which represent forest product manufacturers and forest land owners in the Western United States. He was responsible for government affairs, legal affairs, communications and grassroots coordination for the associations.

In addition to his association experience, Chris has worked for the federal government, private industry and has taught at the college and university levels. He offers a high level of expertise developing effective, long-term strategic plans based on research and critical policy analysis. He has perfected his crisis communication and media relations skills at ground zero for some of the region’s biggest environmental challenges, but he would rather generate earned media in coordination with grassroots activities and targeted advertising.

Chris has a B.S. in Forestry and a M.F. in fish, wildlife and forest management from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a Registered Professional Forester in the State of California (RPF #2320).

(503) 685-9400