Statements of Intent for 2023 Illinois Arborist Association
Board and Officer Candidates
Vice President (3 candidates)
Bill Black for Vice President
William Black is an Arborist and Industry safety professional of more than 14 years. He graduated from Western Illinois University with a bachelors in Agricultural Science and a specialization in Urban Forestry. He has a passion for safety and a deep love for Arboriculture. William owns and operates Pinnacle Arbor LLC, an Arboriculture training, consultation and services LLC in Crystal Lake, Illinois. He also teaches certified arborist classes, Road Scholars programs for APWA and works to help organize events and expos for the IAA. William has served on the Board of Directors for several years and held various positions while in term. In that time, he has developed dedication and enthusiasm for the IAA and their mission. William has advocated for members to provide them with representation and outreach while serving on the Board of Directors. William is outgoing and enjoys many hobbies including collecting vinyl records, gardening and BMW. He lives in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and their three rescue dogs. He is dedicated to ecology, nature preservation and loves to go golfing. As Vice President, William plans to continue our growth as an organization through membership engagement and outreach. These ideas include strategies to improve and expand the annual conference and trade show to increase member satisfaction and attract new members and partners. He also wants to add focus on improving interactions with our southern Illinois members by providing more networking opportunities and social events. William would like to continue his service and dedication to the board and its members while fostering our mission and outreach.
Chris Evans for Vice President
Chris Evans is an Extension Forestry and Research Specialist for the University of Illinois, where he specializes in forest restoration, invasive species, forest/tree health, and management. He formerly served as a Program Director for the Illinois Arborist Association. Chris has over 20 years of experience working in forestry and natural resources, including providing continuing education and training opportunities to professionals and the public. His current research includes understanding the impact tree pests have on the increase of tree hazards in recreational areas, optimizing management efficacy of herbicide treatments, and evaluating the success of forest management. Chris has a master’s in forestry from Iowa State University and a bachelor’s in wildlife biology from Murray State University. He currently chairs the Illinois Forestry Association’s Technical Advisory Board and serves as Co-chair of the Terrestrial Plants Subcommittee of the Illinois Invasive Plant Council. Part of his goals for serving on the IAA board is to continue providing high quality continuing education in a variety of venues, particularly hands-on field-based training.
Joe Hansen for Vice President
Joe Hansen has served as the Municipal Director for the Illinois Arborist Association since 2021 and wishes to continue to contribute to the organization and its members by committing to four more years. His hope is that by having more time with the organization, particularly at the executive level, he may assist in bringing the IAA into its next chapter and into the future.
Joe began his career with the Forest Preserve District of Cook County in 2011 after a change from the building trades. He quickly realized the passion he had for arboriculture, urban forestry and municipal operations and slowly built his knowledge and skills by learning from other professionals. This planted the seed of continuing to not only educate himself but to share what he had picked up along the way.
He is now an ISA Certified Arborist Municipal Specialist, Tree Risk Assessment Qualified and holds numerous certifications through the Tree Care Industry Association including Certified Tree Care Safety Professional (CTSP). In his role as Village Forester/Tree Preservation Officer for the Village of Wilmette, Joe is responsible for maintaining the urban forest through building plan reviews and enforcement of the Tree Preservation Ordinance.
Joe enjoys sharing his experiences with his peers and has presented multiple times at the Northeast Municipal Foresters meeting (NEMF), three times at the Illinois Arborist Associations Annual Conference, twice at the Society of Municipal Arborists Conference in 2018 in Irvine, California & 2021 in Louisville, Kentucky and will also be presenting at this year’s ISA Annual International Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Joe enjoys providing training to staff and other partners and has worked with various surrounding communities and assisted in training with the Chicago Region Trees Initiative. He also hosts and produces The Municipal Arborist Podcast, where he and other industry professionals discuss our field.
He is a member of the Illinois Urban Forest Strike Team where he has participated in three deployments and was recently appointed to the Illinois Forestry Development Council.
In his free time, if you can believe he has any, he enjoys spending time with his wife, two daughters, dog and cat, camping, mountain biking, writing & recording music in his home studio and upland hunting.
Municipal (3 candidates)
Sarah Christensen for Municipal Director
Sarah Christensen graduated from Cornell University in 2006 with a degree in Plant Science and Horticulture. Through coursework and internships, her interests shifted from gardens to trees and she became a Certified Arborist in 2008. She is currently Forester for the Village of Bartlett, with previous work experience that includes positions with The Care of Trees (Davey) and the Morton Arboretum. Some of her accomplishments in nine years at Bartlett include becoming a Tree City USA community for the first time, obtaining the Municipal Specialist credential, and securing a complete inventory and management plan for the Village through budget and grant funding. Her interests in municipal forestry include education, community outreach, and advocating for the importance and value of forestry within Public Works. When she’s not looking at trees, Sarah is an avid Buffalo Bills fan and enjoys spending time with her husband and daughters.
Michael Collins for Municipal Director
Michael Collins has been Riverside’s municipal forester for over 18 years. As forester, he enjoys the balance between practicing arboriculture in an urban setting balanced by ecological restoration in natural areas along the Des Plaines River. The Riverside community has benefited from his wood utilization initiatives, reforestation programming, and overall forest management of Riverside’s historic landscape. He also administers a landscape volunteer program for community engagement, helping to build awareness of trees and implement forestry initiatives.
Prior to his arrival in Riverside, Michael worked at Cantigny Gardens as Grounds Arborist and the Morton Arboretum as a Research Assistant. Mr. Collins has a Bachelor’s degree at UW Madison in Forest Science and a Master’s degree at UI Urbana-Champaign in Natural Resources. Michael has been a certified arborist for over 24 years and recently received his Municipal Specialist certification with ISA and completed his Tree Risk Assessment Qualification.
Mr. Collins is also volunteers as co-chair for the Tree Stewardship and Planting workgroup. This workgroup is a part of the Chicago Region Trees Initiative, advocating for increased canopy by 2050.
Ben Reynoso for Municipal Director
Benjamin has been an arborist for 13 years. He received his arborist certification, Municipal Specialist and Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ) while working as an urban forestry consultant at Natural Path, where he has consulted or inventoried for many Chicagoland and downstate municipalities. After a brief stint with Davey, Benjamin became the Urban Forester for the city of Park Ridge.
After obtaining his Masters in Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University, Benjamin left Park Ridge and secured a role as the Assistant Project Director for the Chicago Department of Transportation – where he helped oversee landscape operations in the right of way and on municipal lots. He has recently been promoted to the Section head of Landscape Maintenance operations and oversees 7 thousand trees, 110 miles of landscaped medians, Lake Shore Drive, citywide irrigation, perennial & annual installation and more.
His goals are to advocate for trees with the highest biodiversity and incorporating soil, nursery, and ecological experts into municipal forestry.
Commercial (3 candidates)
Andrew Ranney for Commercial Director
Andrew Ranney has been a certified arborist for 8 years. He has his TRAQ/CTSP, electrical line clearance certification, and a degree in Urban Forestry from SIU 2019. He has a passion for residential and commercial tree care, for he has been working in the industry since he could pick up his first stick and bring it near the chipper. He will give the vice president role all the same passion he has for the industry. One of his goals is to enhance the opportunity for students to learn about career opportunities in arboriculture. Another goal of his is to provide IAA with strong support and commitment in his role. In his free time, he enjoys making functional pottery, bike riding, ATVing, cooking, and winter dogsled camping.
Alec Edwards for Commercial Director
Alec Edwards, ISA Board Certified Master Arborist #IL-9045B, serves as an Arborist Representative/Assistant Local Manager with Bartlett Tree Experts in Bolingbrook, IL. He received his BS in Ag Science/Urban Forestry from Western Illinois University in 2011 and has been involved in the commercial tree care industry ever since. Alec spent the first half of his career as a plant health care specialist in several markets across the country, including the Chicago area, Austin, TX, and Phoenix, AZ. In 2016, he shifted his focus to sales and management in the residential and commercial tree care sectors.
Alec focuses on building relationships with homeowners, landscape management contractors, and facility managers. He has extensive experience taking care of large residential estates, HOA/Condo associations, and facilities including hospital groups, universities, and professional sports complexes.
Alec loves getting the community excited about trees. He regularly hosts Arbor Day events for local elementary schools, gives out tree seedlings as part of Bartlett’s Legacy Tree Program, and facilitates an annual volunteer tree planting day of service at the Theosophical Society in America’s headquarters in Wheaton, IL. He has also presented on proper planting practices utilizing the Air Spade to improve plant/soil health at several green industry events in Arizona.
In his spare time, Alec enjoys spending his time at the gym. A former collegiate athlete, he understands the importance of maintaining a high level of strength. His is powerlifting/strongman training. He is also an avid musician and plays his bass any chance he gets. He and his girlfriend, Natalie, reside in Oswego with their two dogs. They’re expecting their first child in September 2023.
Norm Hall for Commercial Director
Norm Hall has been an arborist for over 45 years. I got my Certified Arborist certification early on as my ISA CA number is IL-1060A. Norm was on the initial program to become an ISA Certified Tree Worker, Climber Specialist program since it’s inception. Norm has been an ISA Certified Tree Worker Proctor since it’s inception. Norm is co-inventor of the Port-a-wrap 2 and 3 with 2 USA patents for those units. Norm has a passion for training arborists and keeping them Safe, making sure they go home to their families every day. Norm’s goal is to bring situational awareness to all arborists in all sectors, keeping them Safe.
Industrial (3 candidates)
Jeremy Gaylord for Industrial Director
Jeremy Gaylord has been an employee of All Gear, Inc. for 9 years, he has gained a wealth of knowledge in the arborist industry. With his 30th birthday this year he still has a lot of time left in the industry to help spread and educate the importance of arboriculture. While working for All Gear Jeremy was a splicer and warehouse employee for the first 5 years and is now currently the Vice President of the company. He has attended many arboriculture shows and tree climbing events locally and across North America, including the International Tree Climbing Championship in 2019 in Knoxville, TN. Before working for All Gear, Jeremy helped start up Urban Kayaks. He worked on the Chicago River doing kayak tours and rentals for 5 years with his longtime friend and cousins who started the company. Jeremy played hockey growing up and coached youth hockey for 7 years in Evanston IL where he was born and raised. As Jeremy continues to pursue his passion in the arborist industry, he is looking to educate himself and others about the tree care industry and draw attention to the hard-working arborists that keep our trees healthy!
Rob Baughman for Industrial Director
Rob Baughman has been around plants his entire professional career. Before joining Arborjet he was a Landscape designer for a design/build company in the North suburbs of Chicago. While there he worked with the ILCA to help design their annual Summer Field Days show. This was a great introduction into the reach an organization can have on an industry. He helped the company win awards for best design through the ILCA and other nationwide competitions. All of this experience helped lead Rob into his current career at Arborjet, where he has bene for the past three years. Arborjet allows Rob to be more of an education and resource to his clients. Hands on training and educating is what he loves to do the most. While at Arborjet Rob has been responsible for running several national shows as well as 4 states in the Midwest. He has a very large client base that keeps growing year over year and oversees the company’s largest sales territory. But he does this all for a purpose: to help keep and nurture the existing canopy in the region. Not sure where his career will lead him to in the future, but be assured trees will be at the center of it.
Dave Webb Jr. for Industrial Director
Dave Webb Jr. is a certified trainer by the International Power Access Federation (IPAF), ARA, and Genie industries. Dave has been training people for safe use of aerial lifts since 2009 and has over 20 years’ experience in the aerial lift industry, 16 of which is working on aerial lifts. Wellbuilt Equipment is a family owned and operated aerial lift company located in Crete, IL. Founded in 1987 with a focus on service and safety, Wellbuilt Equipment is the premiere compact tracked lift (spider lift) service center in the US currently servicing 13 brands of spider lifts and performing over 1000 repairs a year at their shop in Crete.
Research (1 candidate)
Michelle Catania for Research Director
Michelle Catania is the Research Coordinator for the Gateway to Tree Science at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. In 2009, she started her employment at the Arboretum in the soil science lab as a research assistant to Dr. Bryant Scharenbroch. In this dynamic role of managing both arboriculture-focused research projects and laboratory analysis, she deepened her understanding of how trees interact in the built environment. While later working for Dr. Meghan Midgley, she developed an even greater understanding of soil ecology, nutrient cycling, and how urbanization and changes can impact drivers of ecosystem services.
In her current role, Catania provides both technical and non-technical talks and workshops to green industry professionals, aimed at communicating the best management practices driven by peer-reviewed science. She is always willing to tell you more about soils than you likely needed. This is because Michelle enjoys integrating the formal science training she received – while studying both plant biology as an undergraduate and forest ecology as a graduate student – from Northern Illinois University into lectures and workshops directed towards tree professionals. Michelle also provides tree-based, soil-focused expertise for the North Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District as an associate director.
Utility (1 candidate)
Eric Francke for Utility Director
Eric Francke has been on the Commonwealth Edison utility system in Illinois as a utility forester, team supervisor and project manager with the Davey Resource Group since 2018. He received his ISA certification in 2018 and has been a utility certified arborist with the ISA since 2021. Through his career in utility vegetation management, Eric has been directly involved in training, implementation and collaboration with ComEd, utility contractors as well as internally with the Davey Resource Group. Eric’s focus has been on managing the transmission system for the utility which includes involvement with herbicide, line clearance vegetation management (annual maintenance and non-scheduled quality control), pollinator species monitoring as well as additional environmental reporting for the utility. Eric has his associates degree in natural areas management as well as his arboriculture certificate and received his Emergency Medical Technician certificate from the College of Lake County. Utility vegetation management does not appear to be on many students or professionals minds when they are considering career options. Bringing this highly important and niche industry to people’s attention is a high level goal for Eric. Partnering with various industry stakeholders and collaborating with the goal of growing and diversifying our applicant pool continues to be one of Eric’s main objectives.
