City Trees

Some SMA members met me at the Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI) in 2019 and 2020, themed as Diversity in MFI. I led visioning and requested funding for those two iterations of this pilot project, in collaboration with SMA—who had expressed interest in creating more diversity within MFI— and with Southern University and A&M College. The effort provided scholarships to urban for- estry professionals who consider themselves part of a minority population in our industry. Diversity in MFI was one way I have been able to utilize the space and access I've had in managing a national program to explore the gaps in deliv- ering urban forestry services equitably and meeting the needs of communities that have been tra- ditionally underserved. One of those needs is around workforce development and retention. The opportunity was there for us to think through not just the recruitment potential for future urban forestry professionals through internships, student assistantships, and hiring initiatives. It was a chance for us to pause and consider the existing pool of tal- ented, credentialed professionals who wanted urban forestry leadership training but had not yet received the opportunity. I had observed dozens of gradu- ates of the urban forestry program at Southern that I attended—those who came before or after me, or were my classmates—leave the field of urban forestry for lack of training and advancement possibilities. Diversity in MFI was a 50-50 partnership of SMA and Southern University that placed participants into what our urban forestry industry upholds as a premier municipal forestry leadership develop- ment institute to serve two purposes. The first was to respond to the false assumption that there isn't diverse talent to tap into for municipal forestry leadership, and the second was to re-engage those who may have left the field and show them that there is space for them in this industry. Partnership with Southern made total sense because it has the most diverse alumni roster of urban national resource professionals in the country. The appli- cation process allowed us to identify additional degree programs and pipelines of urban forestry and urban natural resources professionals. The Forest Service has long partnered with SMA to ensure that the MFI curriculum, cohort, and cadres are ready for the next generation of urban foresters. Diversity in MFI was a highly successful two-year pilot program that trained participants with leadership skills but as importantly, estab- lished and expanded networks that will directly aid in career advancement and a critical sense of belonging in the field of urban forestry. I believe >> urban-forestry.com 21

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