• Technical Specialist Michelle Parkins, who received
her master's degree in Landscape Architecture
from the University of Oregon in 2011 and
has been with the City of Eugene for six years.
Michelle is an ISA Certified Arborist, Qualified
Tree Risk Assessor, and Municipal Specialist.
• Park Specialist Jeff Chandler, who received his
bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon
in Geography and has been with the City of
Eugene for almost five years. Jeff is an avid rock
climber and an ISA Certified Arborist, Qualified
Tree Risk Assessor, and Municipal Specialist.
• Park Specialist/Crew Lead Sean O'Brien, who
has a bachelor's degree in Urban Forestry
from UMass-Amherst and has been with our
agency for just over two years. Sean is an ISA
Board Certified Master Arborist, Qualified
Tree Risk Assessor, and Municipal Specialist.
• Park Specialist/Crew Lead Andrew Miron,
who grew up in a prominent local tree care
family and has been working with trees
since he was "knee-high to a grasshopper."
Andrew has been with the City for a year and
a half and is an ISA Certified Arborist, Climber
Specialist, and Qualified Tree Risk Assessor.
• Park Specialist Corey Shields, who has been with
the City for just over a year and has a bachelor's
degree in Environmental Science. Prior to joining
the City, Corey worked as a wildland firefighter
and commercial arborist. He is an ISA Certified
Arborist and Qualified Tree Risk Assessor.
As one can see from this roster, we have a remark-
ably deep bench. We are extremely fortunate to
have a full complement of highly experienced, well-
trained, and talented people, especially consider-
ing the size of our community (pop. ~166,000). All
of our team members were attracted to this work
because we love trees/nature and really want to
make a positive difference in our community, rather
than just wanting to bring home a paycheck. >>
Eugene's newly-formed Green Infrastructure (GI) team is a merger
of the Eugene Urban Forestry and Storm Water Infrastructure
Maintenance departments. Here, the GI team stands on the site
of Eugene's future Downtown Riverfront Park, scheduled to be
completed before the summer of 2021. "Currently, this spot is an
industrial wasteland, but soon it will be a jewel in the heart of our
city," Altenhoff says. The video shows the ambitious plans for the
Downtown Riverfront Park.
www.urban-forestry.com 29
