2025 Program

The Program Committee is organizing a fantastic crew of presenters and topics for the 2025 Conference. UNTIL THE FULL PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE IN MID-JANUARY, below is a sample of who is presenting and the topics being covered.

Presenters

This list of presenters is subject to change. The full schedule of presentations will be available in mid-January.

STEPHANIE ADAMS
Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, Plant Pathology & Microbiology, Texas A&M University

DR. A.D. ALI
Manager, Special Projects, Davey Institute, The Davey Tree Expert Company

DR. JOHN BALL
Professor, SDSU Extension Forestry Specialist and South Dakota Department of Agriculture Forest Health Specialist

SCOT CARRAWAY
DEMCO

DR. KIM CODER
Professor Emeritus, University of Georgia, Athens
Closing Keynote Presenter

ERIN DEMERS
Manager, Workforce Recruitment & Retention, TCIA

DR. ED GILMAN
Professor Emeritus, University of Florida
PPQ Course & Conference Presenter

DR. RICHARD HAUER
Director of Urban Forestry, Eocene Environmental; Emeritus Professor of Urban Forestry, University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point

MICHAEL JOHNSON
MTEMC

DR. BRIAN KANE
Professor, Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst

JAMES KOMEN
Consulting Arborist, Class One Arboriculture
Illustrations in Tree Case Law Workshop & Conference Presenter

MIKE LARRIVEE, P.G.
Director of Generative Initiatives, The Works, Inc.

RJ LAVERNE
Manager, Education & Training, The Davey Tree Expert Company

DR. GLYNN PERCIVAL
Senior Arboricultural Research Manager, Bartlett Tree Expert Company

DR. LINDSEY PURCELL
Urban Forestry Specialist, Lp Consulting Group
PPQ Course & Conference Presenter

DR. TOM SMILEY
Plant Physiologist & Soil Scientist, Bartlett Tree Expert Company
Opening Keynote Presenter

JACOB TAYLOR
Corporate Safety Director, Asplundh Tree Expert Company

ROBERT VANDERHOOF
Research & Consulting, Arbormetrics Solutions

TIM WALSH
Vice President of Safety & Training, The Townsend Company, LLC

JAMES WENDT
National Training Coordinator, Xylem Kendall

LIZ WESTBERG
Manager of Quality Assurance and Training, Growth Solutions

APRIL WILSON
Owner, Stump Sprouts LLC

Conference Topics

This list of topics will continue to grow and is subject to change.

  • Aggressive Homeowners: Training for a Mindset of De-Escalation

  • ANSI A300 Standards

  • Building a Fail-Safe Workplace: Safety, Training, and Human Performance

  • Changes to the Z133

  • Condition Based Vegetation Management Will Require An Upgrade of Technology and Our Thinking

  • Feeder Root Health: How to Identify a Healthy Root System. What Happens When There’s Root Rots?

  • How Hot Is It? Estimating Heat Loads for Trees

  • Is Your Tree Protection Ordinance Constitutional?

  • Managing Trees in Cemeteries

  • Pruning for Stability: Managing Crown Mass & Asymmetry

  • Reviving Urban Landscapes: Role of Nature-based Solutions in Soil De-compaction and Tree Survival

  • Sex and the Single Tree

  • SIF Prevention for Utility Arboriculture

  • Storms Over the Urban Forest: Planning, Preparing, Responding, and Recovery

  • The Science and BMP’s of Tree Planting and Establishment to Promote Tree Growth and Longevity

  • TRAQ Applied

  • The Tree Academy

  • Understanding Hurricane Helene Tree Failures in Western North Carolina

  • Urban Comparable Tree Architecture: What Is It and How Do We Get There?

  • Urban Wood

  • White Hat Hacking the TRAQ Methodology

Pre-Conference Workshops

Prescription Pruning Qualification (PPQ) (4/7-4/9)

Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ) (4/7-4/9)

Tree Climber Prep Class (4/8-4/9)

Illustrations in Tree Case Law (4/9)

Learn more about the workshops!



Program Committee

Dr. Hallie Dozier, Louisiana State University

Matthew Searels, Eocene Environmental

Brian Pope, ACRT

Dr. Kim Coder, University of Georgia

Dr. Beau Brodbeck, Auburn University

Skip Kincaid, ISA Southern Chapter

CONFERENCE SPONSORS & PARTNERS