About Derek Dougherty

Derek Dougherty obtained a BS in Forest Business from the University of Georgia in 1993 and worked as a forestry technician and consultant for James M. Vardaman & Company through August 1995, until he and his wife Julie launched Dougherty & Dougherty Forestry Services, Inc. in September of 1995 in North Carolina.

Over the next 25 years, Derek would grow DDFSI into a multiple office forestry consulting business and establish complimentary and integrated business lines to include Progressive Realty Services, LLC (forest land brokerage), Progressive Forest Properties Group LLC (pooled forest investments), the Center of Forestry Research and Applied Management (DDFSI internal – Proprietary Research for very large landowners), the Forest Owners Research and Technology Exchange LLC (cooperative forest landowner research), and GenTreeXT LLC (tree breeding for forest investors).

Derek is a Registered Forester and licensed Real Estate Broker in multiple states. Derek has bought, sold, and leased many tracts of timberland in the SE US. Derek has worked throughout the SE US on both operational and research projects focused on intensive silviculture, genetic testing, and integrated forest investments. Derek obtained a PhD from the University of Georgia in 2018, with a focus on pine plantation genetics, density, and management.

Derek has been named the Young Forest Landowner of the Year, and received the Society of American Foresters Field Forester Award. Derek served as the President of the Forest Landowners Association from 2010 to 2012.