consulting arborist for SavATree, which saw fit to send
me to MFI, with the generous help of a scholarship from
the New York State Urban Forestry Council (NYSUFC).
Still, I felt my background made me an outlier among
such an experienced and knowledgeable group at MFI.
I possessed no forestry degree. I was happy to be
there, psyched to attend the conference, but a little
concerned about being "me" among all the assem-
bled tree ninjas. Was I a dolphin out of water?
I needn't have worried. I discovered that among the
assemblage of urban foresters, many had careers as
varied as mine. I was welcomed as a person with her
own skills and talents, encouraged to contribute at
every turn. A teaching cadre of urban forestry and
leadership experts administered the coursework and
gave dynamic presentations that led us to consider
our responsibilities as leaders in the tree industry.
One early assignment was an organizational personality
test that explored leadership traits, four categories of >>
urban-forestry.com 13
(l to r) Auburn University Urban Forestry Instructor
Michelle Cole; Gainesville, Florida Interim City Arborist
Chelsea Proia, and Trees New York Operations Manager
and Educator Ashleigh Pettus. Photo by Owen Croy
below: Fragile dunes being restored at Gulf
Shores State Park. Photo by Owen Croy
