Kayla Stuart and Lillian Dinkins,
Young and Emerging Professionals Award
The Young and Emerging Professionals Award is pre-
sented to a UCFS member aged 35 or under who has
made significant contributions to the urban forest
whether through volunteering, academic pursuits, or
early career achievements. In 2024, we recognized two
outstanding awardees: Kayla Stuart and Lillian Dinkins.
Kayla Stuart has achieved much in her early career
including receiving a degree in forestry with a con-
centration in urban forestry from University of
Tennessee. As an undergraduate, Kayla volunteered
to support 4-H youth development across Tennessee,
taught Project Learning Tree workshops to elemen-
tary students, worked as a volunteer at the ISA
International Tree Climbing Competition in Denmark,
and helped co-lead the Tennessee Champion Tree
Team. In 2023, Kayla piloted a program she created,
a nine-week workforce development program
called Tree CPR—Care, Preserve, Regenerate, and
Reuse—through a grant from American Forests.
Tree CPR is a community-based program developed
to reach adults living in disadvantaged areas who
face barriers to traditional employment and intro-
duces them to employment opportunities within
the tree care and natural resources industry. Kayla's
passion for helping people in marginalized communi-
ties gain access to the green industry led her to pursue
her master's degree in forestry; her research focuses
on the intersection of minority employment bar-
riers and natural resource workforce opportunities.
Our second Young and Emerging Professional awardee
was Lillian Dinkins for her outstanding educational
achievements and career leadership in the field of
environmental science and forestry. Lillian is currently
pursuing a PhD in Forest Resources and Conservation
at the University of Florida (UFL); you can read
about her fascinating research into the effective-
ness of tree giveaways and similar programs here.
As an undergraduate, Lillian was the first Conservation
Florida Fellow with the Land Trust Alliance where
she engaged the public in conserving their land for
posterity. She serves on the Executive Committee
of the Florida Urban Forestry Council, and she was
a 2024 Youth Delegate Scholar for the Sustainable
Forestry Initiative Annual Conference.
Lillian is also involved with the UFL Black Graduate
Student Organization, which she has served as Vice
President, and her contributions to the Society of
American Foresters as a Student Diversity Scholar
illustrate her leadership and commitment to fos-
tering diversity in the field. Lillian has been featured
in a variety of publications, including City Trees. >>
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