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ISA Chooses New Executive Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.
For More Information:
Sonia Abney
Marketing Coordinator
International Society of Arboriculture
217-355-9411, EXT. 27
International Society of Arboriculture Chooses New Executive Director
CHAMPAIGN, IL (May 13, 2004)- The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), recently appointed Jim Skiera as its new Executive Director. The decision was made March 27, 2004 at the Board of Directors' meeting in Nashville, TN. ISA is a non-profit professional organization supporting tree care and tree care research around the world.
Skiera, a certified arborist and ISA member since 1987, originally joined the ISA headquarters staff in 1994 serving as Associate Executive Director. Prior to coming to ISA he worked as Landscape Superintendent at the University of California, Davis; was City Arborist with the Department of Public Works in Urbana, IL; and was the founder and president of The Landscape Guild, Inc., a Denver, CO landscape design/building firm.
As Executive Director, Skiera will strive to keep the organization focused on its mission of research, technology, and education promoting the practice of arboriculture as a profession. ISA will continue to implement new programs and produce educational materials.
The ISA certification program is an area offering continued improvements. A new computer-based certification exam for Board Certified Master Arborist will soon be available. Skiera states that providing certification is one way that ISA assists in changing the practice of working with trees from "a job to a profession."
ISA also includes in its mission the goal to create greater public awareness regarding the benefit of trees. "The increase of urbanized areas is making green space more and more valuable. Trees are becoming valued assets to people and their communities. The demand for arborists to provide professional care for those assets is on the rise," says Skiera. Encouraging the use
of ISA certified arborists is one step toward increasing consumer knowledge about professional tree care. Skiera plans to "make 'arborist' a household term" and envisions the "birth of arboriculture as a profession known outside the industry."
The International Society of Arboriculture, headquartered in Champaign, IL, is dedicated to the care and preservation of shade and ornamental trees. For more information, contact a local ISA Certified Arborist or visit www.treesaregood.com.
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