Kashdan, a journalism graduate, began his service as a senior executive in 2001 when he was appointed the Forest Service budget director, a position he held through 2005, but his time with the Forest Service goes back to 1973, when his career track took a turn away from the field he had studied.
"After meeting with Professors Mac McClary and Howard Seemans I was really impressed. I found journalism to be a fascinating field. Despite my love of natural resources, I was more interested in the liberal arts."
"When I graduated I went to a trade school for heavy equipment and surveying, and that's what got me in to the Forest Service, but the journalism experience really set my career in motion," Kashdan says.
"The attribute that has served me most is the ability to write succinctly and with compassion for the audience and the public speaking skills from studying a communications field. I work with a lot of engineers and scientists who write very dense stuff and often very linearly, so communication skills have definitely helped me."
Kashdan quickly moved from surveying crews to the management track and bounced from station to station including stops in Washington state, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Sacramento, Calif., and, for the last 14 years, Washington D.C.
Now in his position as assistant chief, Kashdan says his role is to serve as the alter ego to the department's head and act as a spokesman for the mission of the Forest Service, namely improving the productivity of America's forests and wild grasslands for current and future generations.
Kashdan also offers up a few tips for students interested in joining the service as a career.
"To get in to the Forest Service today, you have to have patience and be flexible about where you want to live and get involved with the competitive internships you find on campus. The process for getting into the career track really hasn't changed that much in three decades."
"For me, it's been 36 years and I still love the Forest Service."