Laura leads the Assurance division which is responsible for Preferred by Nature’s certification and auditing services delivered by regional teams and partners across six continents.
Having a positive impact starts with forming partnerships. Preferred by Nature´s approach towards achieving its mission has a foundation in building and sustaining relationships across certification clients, scheme/standard owners, global and local stakeholders, content experts, and our regionally-based partners on the ground. Having this solid network is essential for our work to have lasting results, and I am proud to be part of this sustainability alliance.
As director of Preferred by Nature’s Assurance division, Laura Terrall Kohler oversees our worldwide delivery of forestry, agriculture, traceability/chain of custody, and tourism auditing programs.
Laura has been working in sustainability certification since 2000, and has extensive experience across standards development, auditing systems and training, third-party accreditation, and quality management. Starting as a certification client manager in 2000, she supported participation and value in certification programmes by identifying specific client needs to ensure a comprehensive audit experience. She then moved into quality assurance management, training and certification systems development.
Laura has a BSc in Biology from Southern Oregon University, and has successfully completed ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems Lead Auditor training. She has experience as a lead auditor for Chain of Custody and Controlled Wood, and internal quality control.
Laura is based in Portland, Oregon. She joined Preferred by Nature in 2018.
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Management of business and service delivery
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Quality management systems
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Project management
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Standard development and technical working groups
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BSc in Biology
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Languages spoken: English
