Green Diamond Resource Company Taps Kristen Karabensh to Fill General Counsel Role

This is a press release from Green Diamond Resource Company:

Douglas Reed, president of Seattle-based Green Diamond Resource Company, [recently] announced the retirement of long-time Vice-President, General Counsel and Corporate Affairs, Galen Schuler and named the current Deputy General Counsel Kristen Karabensh to Schuler’s role at the company starting April 5, 2025.

“It’s hard to believe it has been more than 20 years since Galen accepted the role as our top legal counsel. In those years, he guided Green Diamond into a future that includes multi-decade habitat conservation plans and wise forest management practices that benefit our employees, the environment and the multiple users of our lands across the company’s expansive portfolio,” Reed said. “As a sixth-generation, family-owned business, we remain focused on succession of roles to ensure our legacy of safety, sustainability and partnerships is continued for generations to come. Kristen represents the forward-looking staffing legacy we have worked toward. I have great confidence in her ability to lead the legal department despite having big shoes to fill with Galen’s departure.”

Karabensh joined Green Diamond in 2020 after a successful career focused on real property and transactions, advising public and private companies and nonprofit organizations. In her new role, Karabensh will provide strategic legal counsel and oversee regulatory compliance and public affairs.

“The team at Green Diamond is always looking to the future, in the work we do and on the landscapes we manage,” Karabensh said. “Promoting a culture of integrity and maintaining the core values of Green Diamond, including safety, stewardship, and our commitment to the local communities where we operate, are always top of mind as a private company that takes a long view, Green Diamond has incredible opportunities to shape the future of forestland management in innovative ways. I appreciate the trust placed in me to carry on Galen’s legacy of collaboration and innovation.”

Schuler, who was hired as Green Diamond’s chief general counsel in 2004, has overseen the company’s evolution in natural resource management, guiding the company’s development and implementation of innovative forest management strategies, including forest conservation easements, carbon offset projects, long-term cooperative management agreements with Native American Tribes and ongoing species conservation agreements.

“It has been great to be part of a leadership team that cares about the workers and the quality of the work,” Schuler said of his time at Green Diamond. “When you get to work for a timber company, your family also has the opportunity to create memories recreating in.  beautiful, managed forests. You get to work on projects like conservation easements and conservation plans that will endure for generations. The company is in good hands with Kristen. She is a stellar choice to carry on the strong commitment to the success of the company, the staff, our partners and our shared value of a healthy environment.”