Although she followed in the footsteps of her father and grandfather, Erin Roos has carved her own way into the timber industry.
“People like to say I have sawdust in my blood,” she said during a Sept. 3 phone interview. “I grew up around it; it’s been a major part of my life. It keeps the community in the Sandpoint area going.”
Roos is a forester for the Idaho Forest Group, where she has worked since 2016. Her dad, Doug Bradetich, still helps out here and there after retiring from the company.
“He’s the main reason I came to the industry,” Roos said. “My grandpa was also a forester. I’ve got cousins in the logging industry. My other grandpa worked for sawmills.”
A 2008 Sandpoint High School graduate, Roos graduated from North Idaho College and earned a degree in forest resources from the University of Idaho. She spent several years in the field among the trees, but after becoming a mom she can more often be found in the Laclede Mill office in Sandpoint.
She said she loves working in nature and being in an industry that is always busy.
“It’s something different every day,” she said. “That’s also something that drew me to it.”
Growing up in the timber industry, Roos said it just made sense she would go that direction with her career.
“I was around it as a kid,” she said. “My dad worked for a couple companies. I remember going with him to logging jobs. It’s always been very present in my life.”
Logging and timber jobs have historically been dominated by men, but that has never impacted Roos in her vocational pursuit.
“I wouldn’t say I have found it to be overly challenging being one of the few females in the industry,” she said. “I think I am the only female log buyer for Idaho Forest Group.”
She previously worked for Stimson Lumber, where she also felt appreciated as part of the team.
“The guys have always been very welcoming,” she said.
One area where being a female in the timber business may cause confusion is when she fields calls from customers who think she is a receptionist.
“A lot of times when I answer the phone people say, ‘Can I talk to the log buyer?'” Roos said. “That’s the only thing I’ve really noticed.”
Being a woman in a male-heavy industry can be challenging, however women who mentor and advocate for each other in those industries can help break whatever stereotypes may exist and make the job more appealing for the next generation of women. Roos said she tries to be involved with timber-related organizations and programs, like the Idaho State Forestry Contest, so young women can see this is a setting where females can thrive.
“There are lots of directions you can go,” she said. “I just try to make an effort to be seen and make it more common to see a woman in the industry.”
Jahzerah “Jahz” Goldberg of Spirit Lake has been with the Idaho Forest group for about nine months. She attended Gonzaga Preperatory School, then went to Whitworth University and after a gap went to North Idaho College, where she obtained associate degrees in psychology and child development.
While her schooling didn’t begin in the timber industry, she said studying psychology has allowed her to really understand people in any line of work. She would like to someday go into that field when she can no longer work a blue-collar job. She also previously worked in construction and vehicle towing.
At Idaho Forest Group, Goldberg is a production operator, whose workdays vary depending on what needs to be done — sorting, packaging, pulling problem boards off the line, cleaning up as needed.
“I love being hands on, I love the hands-on aspect of work,” she said.
Although only one other woman works in her sphere, she said she never feels like a lone wolf and is comfortable doing work that is usually associated with men.
“This kind of field takes a special kind of woman,” Goldberg said. “I grew up with three boy cousins. I’ve been a tomboy pretty much my whole life. I love getting out in the dirt, playing with power tools, building stuff.”
She said her male counterparts treat her just like one of the guys.
“It’s very inclusive,” she said. “I feel like I don’t stand out at all. There’s no discrimination or anything like that. Anybody who’s new has to prove themselves until they’re part of the crew. Everybody keeps an eye out for them.”
She said she doesn’t feel like she needs a female-specific support system.
“We are all human beings in that building,” she said. “If I need help, I can always holler at somebody for help. If they need help, they’ll come grab me. We’re all buddy system in there. We will help each other out.”
Goldberg said being a woman in a male-dominated industry is really not a big deal if people don’t make it a big deal.
“It just becomes another fact about you, like your eye color,” she said. “If you go in thinking it’s a handicap, then you’ll make it one for yourself; how you see and what you believe about yourself has the biggest impact on your performance and interactions with others.”