Tom Smiley is a Senior Arboriculture Researcher for the F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Company working out of Mount Vernon WA. He has a long history of research and publications on a wide variety of arboricultural topics including lightning protection, tree support systems, root cutting, protecting sidewalks from root damage, plant growth regulators, promoting root development, and tree risk assessment. He is the long time Bartlett alternate member on the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 committee for developing arboriculture work standards.

With the ISA, Tom has served in many roles including as founding chair of the Board-Certified Master Arborist (BCMA) committee, founding chair of the Best Management Practices (BMP) committee, President of the Southern Chapter ISA, President of the Arboriculture Research and Education Academy (AREA), and as a member of the Certified Arborist test committee. He has received many awards from the ISA including the President’s Award, Research Award, Authors Citation, Excellence in Education, Award of Merit, Life Membership award, Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA) Award of Achievement, and the Society of Commercial Arborists (SCA) – Arborist of the Year award (2004) . 

With related organizations, Tom has represented the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) on the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers (CTLA), American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA) with Tree and Plant Appraisal Qualification (TPAQ) committee, and the International Tree Failure Database steering committee. He has served as an Adjunct professor at Clemson University and assists with arboriculture education at the University of British Columbia.

Tom graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Colorado State University, and Michigan State University. 

Dr. Sharon Jean-Philippe currently has a split appointment serving as Professor of Urban Forestry and the Urban Forestry State Extension Specialist at the University of Tennessee (UT). She is the faculty advisor for all urban forestry students and is the primary director of several summer internship opportunities for students across multiple disciplines. She was recently appointed to be the Faculty Director of Undergraduate Research and Fellowship within the Division of Student Success at UT. She provides leadership on best practices in undergraduate research to faculty, is the advocate, and liaises with academic and administrative units on undergraduate research.

She currently holds appointments with the Tennessee Forestry Commission as the Representative of the Public-at-Large where she serves as secretary for the Commission; member of the USDA Forestry Research Advisory Council; member of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative External Review Panel and a member of the Committee for Forest Policy for the Society of American Foresters. Dr. Jean-Philippe received her B.S. in Biology from Tennessee State University in 2002, and M.S. in Botany and PhD. in Natural Resources from the University of Tennessee in 2005 and 2010.

Jessica serves as the Executive Director of the Sacramento Tree Foundation.  She fell in love with the Sacramento Tree Foundation’s holistic vision of urban forestry and prioritizes the organization’s goal of urban forestry from seed to slab, creating and cultivating an equitable urban forest through education and stewardship of trees in the Sacramento region.  She has a doctorate from Rutgers University and is a certified Project Management Professional. She previously worked at Casey Trees as the director of science and policy, overseeing community science, mapping, policy, partnerships, and land conservation.

Jessica has a passion for the urban forest, and her research has focused on developing and enhancing current urban forestry practices in order to better manage the urban interface. Growing up in New Jersey and spending her college years walking through Atlantic white cedar bogs, she wanted nature to be a daily experience, not a destination. Jessica has worked at the intersection of science communication and creation of long-lasting urban forestry policy.

She served as the chair of the conference program committee and the nominations and elections committee for the International Society of Arboriculture.  She was a board member for the Mid-Atlantic Chapter (MAC) of ISA and has served as President of AREA.  In her free time, you can find her reading, outside with her partner and two pups paddle boarding on the river, or hiking. 

Susan is a Professor of Urban Forestry in the Department of Forest Resources Management at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada and Program Director for the Bachelor of Urban Forestry degree. Before coming the UBC, Susan was a faculty member at Virginia Tech in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation. She has been a member of the ISA since the early 1990s and has a career of service to the organization. Susan’s research focuses on managing urban soils to enhance tree growth and longevity in the context of environmental challenges such as stormwater mitigation and land development impacts on soil-mediated ecosystem services. She helped shape the soils metrics for the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES®) international crediting system for sustainable design projects and developed Soil Profile Rebuilding, a rehabilitation technique to restore damaged urban soils in situ and enhance urban soil carbon storage. Her research in the water relations of trees in engineered soil systems and in partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Trust has informed storm water policy in the Chesapeake Bay region of the United States. Susan also led Urban Forestry 2020, a research-based investigation into urban forestry career paths and education. 

In addition to research and guiding UBC’s urban forestry program, Susan enjoys teaching and working with students. She currently teaches Arboriculture Principles and Practice and Ecology of Urban Green Infrastructure. Susan has published more than 150 articles and book chapters on urban forests and urban soils and is the 2017 recipient of the L.C. Chadwick Award for Arboricultural Research. Susan holds a B.A. from Yale University, a M.S. from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech.

Susan is currently a member of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the ISA (PNW-ISA) and was a long-time member of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter (MAC-ISA) until 2019. She is also a member of the American Society of Consulting Arborists, the Society of Municipal Arborists, the Ecological Society of America, the Soil Science Society of America, and the Canadian Institute of Forestry. She is also a SITES Accredited Professional and former long-time member of the Society of American Foresters. 

Christopher Boza is currently a consultant with over 40 years of experience in municipal tree management, park management, employee management, fiscal budget management, irrigation design, construction and management, landscape design, construction and maintenance management, capital project construction management, volunteer coordination and inter-agency coordination.

Chris tested for and received his Arborist Certification in 1986. He holds a Municipal

Arborist Specialist certification and a Tree Risk Assessor Qualification. He served on the Western Chapter Certification Committee from 1992 to 2000. He served on the Montana Urban and Community Forestry Association (MUCFA) board from 2014 to 2016.

Chris recently retired from the City Arborist for the City of Missoula, Montana. Prior to Missoula, Chris served as the Urban Forester for Hayden, Idaho, the Urban Forester for Chico, California, the Assistant Arborist for San Jose, California, and as a Field Tech for Forest-Ag in Lafayette, California. His first experience in municipal tree care occurred during the Summer of 1980, collecting data for a street tree inventory in Sterling Heights, Michigan, on paper forms!

Chris is passionate about educating residents and homeowners about proper tree and landscape care. He has facilitated numerous public and industry seminars in San Jose, Chico, Hayden and Missoula. He was instrumental in the formation of the Chico Tree Education and Enhancement (CTrEE) volunteer program in Chico, the Community Canopy volunteer program in Hayden and the Volunteers in Planting/ Pruning (VIP) volunteer program in Missoula.  His favorite project was an introductory urban forestry class for high school students at Big Sky High School in Missoula.

In his spare time, Chris is an avid model railroader in in 1:1 and 1:87 scales. He models the Grand Trunk Western Railroad in Detroit, Michigan.  He is a member of the Pacific Locomotive Association and the Inland Empire Railroad Historical Society. He served as the Chief Arborist for the Niles Canyon Railway from 1988 to 2006. He held a Lone Railway Worker Certificate and a Conductor Certificate from 1990 to 2008.

Caitlyn Pollihan serves as CEO and Executive Director for the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA).  She began her role as Executive Director in 2017, with the Board adding the CEO title in 2020 to better reflect Caitlyn’s leadership responsibilities. During her tenure Caitlyn has successfully led the organization’s relocation to Atlanta, GA US, initiated the modernization of ISA systems and operations, and has increased the global connectivity and accessibility of the association.

Prior to joining ISA, Caitlyn served as the executive director of the Council of Western State Foresters (CWSF) and the Western Forestry Leadership Coalition (WFLC). In this role, she facilitated the development of the organization’s strategic goals and agendas and worked with members and CWSF/WFLC staff to ensure the organization’s success. Prior to this role, Caitlyn was the CWSF/WFLC governmental affairs director where she was instrumental in the creation of key legislation and educating members and partners on legislative proposals and national policy with western implications.

Caitlyn previously served as the staff vice president for government and environment affairs for the Home Builders Association of St. Louis and Eastern Missouri. In this role, she worked on state and local legislative initiatives, green building programs, and helped create and implement a ground‐breaking approach to building site safety inspections with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 

Caitlyn participates in several coalitions and committees, such as the Sustainable Urban Forestry Coalition Steering Committee, the i-Tree Executive Committee, and previously served on numerous public policy committees and was an appointed member of the National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule.

Caitlyn holds a bachelor’s degree in contemporary media and journalism/public relations from the University of South Dakota and a master’s degree in organizational communication from the University of Missouri‐St. Louis. She has a Certificate in Nonprofit Organization Management from the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Institute for Organization Management and has earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential, the highest professional credential in the association industry.

John Coles is employed as the Senior Tree Officer to the Royal Court of Norway. He is responsible for the management and maintenance of the historic tree population that grows on the Royal estates. The largest of these areas being The Royal Palace Park in central Oslo. John has also worked part time as an arboricultural tutor and climbing instructor at Norway’s only government arborist school.
 
He has been an ISA Certified Arborist for more than 20 years and is TRAQ qualified.

John’s strong interest in practical arboriculture has led to his involvement in several ISA committees over the years. He has served on both the ITCC and ETCC operations committee as well as the ITCC rules committee and international safety committee.
 
John is a past Chairperson of the ISA Norway Chapter and a former ITCC and ETCC competitor. He is a current member of the ISA Board of Directors.

Jason Grabosky serves as John and Eleanor Kuser Faculty Scholar in Urban and Community Forestry at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, supporting a teaching, research and Cooperative Extension role within his department.  He currently teaches classes in forestry from dendrology and arboriculture to silviculture and urban forestry.  His extension work falls predominantly within the arboriculture and urban forestry area and his research is generally focused on tree growth and response within urban systems.

Jason started his career in the landscape installation/maintenance area as a teen, and worked his way through an Associate’s of Applied Science Degree in at SUNY Cobleskill and a Bachelor’s Degree at California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo  Majoring in Ornamental Horticulture with emphasis on Nursery Management in both programs.  He worked in the nursery industry for several years prior to returning for a Master’s and Doctorate degree at Cornell University in the 1990s working in the Urban Horticulture Institute.  He has been faculty for brief periods at Cornell University and the University of Florida, Gainesville prior to his current appointment at Rutgers.  His involvement with the ISA dates back to the early 1990s.   

Jason has served in various positions with ISA over the past several years most notably with the ISA journal Arboriculture & Urban Forestry and its predecessor title Journal of Arboriculture.  He served on the BCMA committee in the initial development of the exam and its structure, and served AREA as President 2003-2005.  More recently, Jason has been focused on some state-related groups within Urban Forestry and worked at Rutgers duties which included two terms as the Director of the Undergraduate Honors Program for the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.

Samuel serves as the Director, Consulting Arborist & Climbing
Specialist of Kassod Arbor Tree Consultancy & Services Limited
(Hong Kong) & EmCypress Arborist Consultancy Limited
(Taiwan). Also, he teaches the Higher Diploma Program of Tree
Management & Conservation at Hong Kong Institute of Vocational
Education, VTCHK, aimed to teach the proper practices and
manner to the youngster besides of the regular Arborist works. On
the other side, Samuel speaks fluently in three languages including
English, Cantonese and Mandarin, and fair in Japanese. He was invited by various University, Institute, organization to provide the Arboriculture training, teaching, sharing in different countries such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, United States, etc.

Samuel Ma holds BSc degrees in Applied Biology from Hong Kong Baptist University, and now going back to the Faculty for his tree related research study. He is also an ISA Master Certified Arborist, Certified Tree
Worker - Climber Specialist, Qualified Chainsaw and Pruning (Ground) Technician and Tree Risk Assessment Qualified.

Samuel chaired the Tree Climbing Competition Committee from 2013 to 2015, and also as the member of the chapter's certification committee since 2013 and also. He helps the local Chapter development from 2013 and being the Board of Director since 2015. He has been the Asia Pacific Tree Climbing Championship Operations Committee since 2014. He is also the convener of The Hong Kong Institute of Professional Arborists, and also serves as the committee of Arboriculture & Horticulture Industrial Specification of Competency Standards helping to set up the local qualification framework. He enjoys being a travel Arborist helping the development of tree industry. Besides of the works, Samuel is also a tree climbing athlete for organizing and participating various Tree Climbing competition and related activities in the world.

Tadashi Touchi is a Japanese tree doctor, landscape architect and researcher.  He was born in 1967 into a family managing a landscape and tree care company, Teijyuen Co.,Ltd. established in 1877.  He proceeded to study Environmental Green Planning in Chiba University.  After completing his bachelor study, he worked for a famous modern Japanese garden architect, Yoshikuni Araki.  Three years later, he moved to the US for studying Landscape Architecture.  After graduating from the MLA of Louisiana State University, he returned to Japan to manage Teijyuen Co.,Ltd.   

While managing the company, he was certified as a Tree Doctor in 2009 and as a Street Tree Pruning Instructor in 2011.  Touchi has also worked with various landscape and tree care associations to further their objectives.  He has been selected jurist of several landscape awards and qualifications.  

Abroad, he is a Japanese delegate to the AIPH (International Association of Horticultural Producers) which certify international flower and garden expositions.  While visiting other countries for meetings, he has researched and interviewed street tree managers.  Recently he co-authored a book titled “Gairoju Ha Toikakeru” or “Street Trees are Calling”, in which he introduced the street tree management systems of the US and Germany.  Touchiʼs ongoing mission is to incorporate urban forestry into Japan for the betterment of future generations. 
 

Mike Watson is the Sales Manager for Shady Lane Expert Tree Care in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in Ontario. He is also a Consulting Arborist and past Co­ Owner of Thomson Watson Consulting Arborists.

Certified Arborist ON-0246A (Since 1990) Qualified Tree Risk Assessor

Oak Wilt Qualified-Ontario MIOWQ-047{ON}

Mike is currently serving as a member of the Council of Representatives Executive Committee and is a Past President of his home Component of ISA Ontario, serving as a Board of Directors member for Ontario from 2013 to 2022. He has been very involved in ISA Ontario over the years as past chair of the Strategic Planning Committee, Education Committee, and the Ontario Tree Climbing Championship.

Mike was influential in starting Women in Arboriculture Ontario. An ISA Ontario committee that has grown over the last 6 years to increase awareness of women in our industry as well develop programs that increase Component membership while positively influencing Arboriculture in Ontario. He is one of 6 people involved in creating and developing the Ground Worker Training program in Ontario that over the last 4 years has brought over 120 new workers into the industry with hands-on training in a safe and practical manner.

Mike has shown he has the necessary leadership skills to work in further developing the relationship between ISA International and our local Components to enhance that relationship. He understands that we both need each other to succeed in getting the message to the world that ISA is a leader in Arboriculture Awareness, Education, and Safety.

Beyond his passion for worker safety and his love of trees, Mike enjoys cooking, good movies, travel, motorcycles, and the love of his life.

Lori Brockelbank has been involved in the arboriculture industry for 17 years, previously she worked as a forester for 8 years. She is an ISA Certified Arborist, Municipal Specialist, TRAQ qualified and in the past year became a Registered Consulting Arborist.

Lori recently completed her term on the New York State International Society of Arboriculture Chapter in which she volunteered for 13 years. She served as the New York ISA Certification Liaison for 9 years and as a liaison to the Tree Fund for 8 years, she is currently serving for the past two years as the Tree Fund Liaison Chair. She has participated on five tour des trees and is planning on riding again on future routes.

 In addition, she is reprising her role as Certification Liaison to assist the Executive Secretary. She continues to volunteer on the Executive Board for the NYS ReLeaf Council which serves as an advisory board to the NYS DEC Urban Forestry Department and provides educational workshops and grant programs throughout NYS. She assisted the first Tree Campus USA Community College in NY to become recognized and continues to support them by teaching an Urban Forestry Internship in which students from a variety of disciplines and majors learn how they can become Lorax’s in their communities. She has presented at numerous Master Gardener Programs and Tree stewardship programs in Western New York. She was the keynote speaker for the Chautauqua Institutions annual Bird and Garden Club luncheon in which she shared her research on the many historical trees found on the grounds.

Lori holds a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources from The University of New York Environmental School of Forestry and an Associate degree in social sciences from Jamestown Community College. She attended Municipal Forestry Institute in 2008 and has attended ISA Leadership workshop.

Beyond her passion for trees and plants, Lori enjoys working on her 160-year-old cider mill estate, cooking, hiking, working out in her gym, travel, and spending time with her boys.

Rebecca Johnson is the founder and principal owner of Arborholic, LLC, a consulting arborist firm with a focus on outreach and education, working to improve tree care across the central Texas region. Rebecca facilitates the Austin Certified Arborist prep course, which has provided education to over 250 arborists and enthusiasts and counting.

Rebecca is an ISA Certified Arborist® and a true arborholic. She is addicted to helping trees and the people who care for them. Rebecca regularly provides education to fellow arborists and the general public, speaking at professional conferences, such as ISA, Society of American Foresters, and the Partners in Community Forestry conference. She has served on the ISA Texas Chapter board of directors since 2015 first as Editor of their newsletter (on ISAT's Executive Committee), then through their leadership track from Vice President, to President Elect, to President and is finishing her board service as Past President. One of her accomplishments was bringing the Women's Tree Climbing Workshop to Texas for the first time and continuing to support this program locally. In addition, she facilitates a monthly "Women in Trees" chat, which serves as a sounding board for challenges and celebrates the successes of women in the industry. She was recognized with the 2020 ISA President's Award for her work with Women in Arboriculture.

She is a TCIA Certified Treecare Safety Professional (CTSP) and Qualified Trainer, Tree Risk Assessment, Texas Oak Wilt and Wildfire Risk Reduction Qualified, and has a degree in Forestry from Oklahoma State University.

Steve is the Lead Consultant, GIS Director, and Outreach Coordinator for Great Lakes Urban Forestry, a midsize consulting firm based in the west suburbs of Chicago. He is also currently the ISA CoR Representative from Illinois, as well as the co-Chair of the Illinois Arborist Association’s Advanced Training Program, and is on the American Society of Consulting Arborist’s Editorial Committee.

Steve graduated from the University of Oregon in 2004 with a major in Environmental Science and a double minor in Biology and Geography. He has also been the President of the Illinois chapter of ISA, the 2nd largest single state chapter in the United States. He chaired the Advanced Training program in Illinois, a one-of-a-kind training program, and has helped countless Arborists advance their careers by teaching courses and assisting with course material preparation. Steve is also a member of the Urban Forest Strike Team, where he leads crews after storm events and prepares risk management reports for the state Department of Natural Resources. He is currently in the ISA’s QIAP program to become a TRAQ Instructor.

Steve has spoken across the country on topics ranging from hard science (GIS in Urban Forestry) to soft skills (Public Relations in Arboriculture) at events up to and including the ISA International conference. He also donates a significant amount of time to advancing the Arboricultural industry in his free time, teaching classes as a volunteer for the Openlands TreeKeepers program, the Illinois Arborist Association’s Certified Arborist Prep courses, Chicago Region Tree Initiative’s Urban Forestry Basic Training, and the Indy Tree Stewards in Indiana, among others. He is passionate about expanding our industry and growing it to its full potential and was picked to be part of the Steering Committee / Sector Partnership as an advisor for creating the 1st ever Arborist Apprenticeship program in Illinois.

A true believer in the power of the profession, Steve enjoys spending a lot of time in the woods recreationally hiking and learning more about plants and rare ecosystems. He also maintains his love of music, and plays the bass guitar with a bunch of lousy garage bands you’ve never heard of, and hopefully never will.

Lauren Marshall, an ISA Certified Arborist and professional Landscape Architect, is an innovative, flexible, and resilient leader who believes in collaborative problem solving, cultivating the strengths of others, and listening before acting. In her current role as the Senior Manager of Program Innovation at the Arbor Day Foundation, Lauren leads the development of innovative, equity-driven programs through strategic partnership cultivation and industry research. Lauren's prior roles at the U.S. Forest Service, including serving as a Legislative Affairs Specialist and in national leadership roles in Urban & Community Forestry, integrated policy analysis with practical solutions, fostering collaboration and catalyzing significant investments in our nation's forests.

Lauren has been active in service and leadership roles in the natural resources sector for more than a decade. Since 2020, she has served as a Board Member for Nature Sacred and served on the Committee on the Environment for the City of Takoma Park, Maryland from 2013 to 2017. Lauren's role as a leader on the Presidential Management Fellows Board at the U.S. Forest Service from 2013 to 2019 and her service on the Green Communities Leadership Institute Steering Committee from 2020 to 2023 underscore her passion for fostering leadership development within the environmental sector.

Holding a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, Lauren's research focused on community co-design of vacant land economic systems demonstrates her commitment to merging environmental stewardship with community led design. She also holds a Master's in Landscape Architecture from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Plant Science from Cornell University.

Tim Walsh is the Vice President of Safety & Training for The Townsend Company, LLC.

Tim is pursuing his doctorate in ergonomics and safety, focusing his research on the ergonomic efficiencies of different climbing systems. Holding a master's degree in ergonomics from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, Tim also earned master's and bachelor's degrees in Urban Forestry from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

As a Certified Treecare Safety Professional, an ISA Certified Arborist, and an ISA Certified Tree Climber, Tim's credentials reflect a deep commitment to maintaining the highest standards in tree care and safety practices.

Tim has played an active role in industry standard revisions, serving as a voting member of the 2022 revision of the ANSI Z133 and acting as a task chair for two groups within the Accredited Standards Committee. His commitment to advancing safety practices extends to his involvement with the National Occupational Research Agenda Safety Workgroup, where he collaborates on stimulating innovative research and improving workplace practices.

An active member of industry organizations, Tim serves on the Utility Arborist Association (UAA) Board of Directors as Past President. His contributions to the UAA include chairing the Safety Committee and serving as the chair of the Professional Development Committee. Tim is also a member of the Tree Care Industry (TCI) Magazine Editorial Advisory Committee.