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#¥Z Contributors
Leslie Berckes is the Executive Director of the
Urban and Community Forestry Society (UCFS), the
professional membership home for people who make
daily tree planting and care decisions in communities
across the world. She brings over a decade of
experience in urban forestry to UCFS, having served
as the Director of Programs for Trees Forever, a
Midwest-based non-profit serving Iowa and Illinois.
Leslie is an ISA Certified Arborist and holds a master's
degree in Public Policy with an Environmental Policy
emphasis from the University of Northern Iowa in
addition to a bachelor's degree in Marketing.
Michelle Sutton has been editor of City Trees since
2005. She is a writer, horticulturist, and urban
forestry subject matter specialist who earned
her master's degree working with Nina Bassuk
in the Cornell Urban Horticulture Institute.
8 CityTREES
For the USFS and Partners feature, Street Tree Diversity
Reveals a Legacy of Redlining, we thank the authors:
Nancy F. Sonti, USFS Research Ecologist
Dexter H. Locke, USFS Research Social Scientist
Meghan L. Avolio, Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University
Karin T. Burghardt, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland College Park
Fred Chalfant, Urban Forester, Baltimore City Dept of Recreation & Parks
J. Morgan Grove, USFS Research Forester
Sam Seo, TreeBaltimore Manager, Baltimore City Dept of Recreation & Parks
Christopher M. Swan, Professor, University of Maryland Baltimore County
Phil Rodbell, USFS National Program Leader for Urban Forestry Research
Visit our newly designed
website ucfsociety.org to
learn about all things UCFS,
including the Municipal
Forestry Institute, Municipal
Accreditation, our Arborist
Exchange program, Annual
Conference, and more.
Claudia Alzate is the Environmental Program
Manager for the Public Works Department of the
City of Coral Springs, Florida. She is a former UCFS
Board Member and has served on the teaching
team for the Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI).
Ian Kesterson is an arborist, UCFS member,
and MFI 2022 graduate who manages the
tree planting program for the City of Berkeley,
California. His department hosted intern
Cesar Garcia in the summer of 2023.
