Inside the UCFS
Mentoring Program
The UCFS Mentoring Program, a benefit of UCFS (formerly SMA)
membership, provides leadership opportunities for urban and community
forestry professionals. UCFS is eager to grow and expand diversity in our
profession; to that end, although everyone is welcome, mentors and mentees
of diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply. (UCFS Members who wish
to be paired with someone of a similar background or lived experience can
indicate that on the application.) Applications for the 2024 cohort of the
UCFS Mentoring Program are due in December; please see the website.
By Michelle Sutton, Editor, City Trees
Andrés Solis – Darren Green
Andrés Solis (mentee) is the Managing Arborist for the
City of San Mateo, California Development Department.
He came into this role in 2022 after working in private
sector arboriculture. Darren Green (mentor) has been
the Landscape Architect and Urban Forester for the City
of Alexandria, Louisiana since 2001. Green is also a UCFS
Board Member and a past president of the organization.
Important dialogue is underway about ways to provide
emerging professionals a sturdy first rung on the urban
and community forestry career ladder. When Darren
Green and Andrés Solis first met over Zoom, Solis asked
for advice about relevant organizations and certifica-
tions for someone new to the municipal sector. "I could
relate because, like Andrés, I came to my municipal posi-
tion from private practice," Green says. Green advised
Solis to pursue the ISA Municipal Specialist credential
and to attend the Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI).
Solis and Green talked about how best to navigate the
pecking order in municipal bureaucracy. Green says, "I
told Andrés that whether they do it consciously or
Andrés Solis
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