City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1386860
Board Member Profile: Claudia Alzate Can you tell us about your educational trajectory? Claudia Alzate: Ever since I was a child, I knew I wanted to work with nature, but I was a little con- fused with the options that were available to me. I first thought that I wanted to be a veterinarian but soon discovered that I did not want to deal with blood. In 1999, I received my undergraduate degree in biology with a minor in zoology from the Universidad de Antioquia in Colombia, where I'm originally from. After graduating, I moved to the U.S. and got a job in urban forestry, which made me realize that I had a deep passion for this field. Trees became to me masterful living beings that teach me important life lessons without words. I stayed in that job for several years, and subsequently moved to Ontario, Canada where I received my master's degree in Forest Conservation from the University of Toronto. I've been thinking about going back to school to pursue a PhD in Forestry or a closely related field, but my responsibilities at work and at the personal level keep growing, so it is still on my bucket list. In the meantime, I constantly engage in non-academic training and certifications related to my work. Can you tell us more about your career trajectory? CA: Right after completing my undergraduate degree, I briefly worked as a biologist assistant for a group of anthropologists doing research in ethnozoology. I com- pleted a collection of invertebrates for them that financed my undergraduate thesis in edaphic (soil-borne) fauna. A year after graduating, I moved to the U.S. (Florida) and got a job with the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management. I first started as an environmental technician and then worked as a pollution control inspector for the water and waste- water division. Within a couple of years, I was promoted to a biologist position working for the tree program, where we were responsible for tree permitting, enforce- ment, plan review, etc. I stayed with this department for nine years until I moved to Canada in 2009. While in Canada, I worked as an intern for the Town of Oakville, and after earning my graduate degree, I worked for a couple of months as a consultant for the same town. I moved back to Florida at the end of 2012 and got a job as a utility forester. After several months in this position, I went to work for an engineering firm as a senior arborist/environmental scientist, and almost three years later I was hired by the Miami-Dade County Right-of-way Aesthetic & Assets Management Division within the Parks & Recreation Department to work as a superintendent responsible for tree planting projects. At the end of 2017, I got a job as the City of Coral Springs Horticulture Contract Coordinator and then was promoted to the Arbor & Horticulture Manager of the Public Works Division; I've been with this municipality since then. Please tell us about your position now. What do you enjoy doing most? CA: I have been working for the City of Coral Springs, a municipality in South Florida, for the last three-and-a- half years. I am responsible for the oversight of all the horticulture and arboriculture operations of public rights- of-way, medians, and facilities, which is all contracted out. I enjoy every single aspect of my job, from the solicitation portion to the planning, design, and routine maintenance. I like to trim the recently installed trees myself and see how their structure improves within months. Seeing how 12 CityTREES New Board Member Claudia Alzate is the City of Coral Springs, Florida Arbor & Horticulture Manager. She is a 2020 MFI graduate. Claudia traveling in Colombia.