Iowa Environmental Leader Serves on National Task Force

Marion, Iowa - April 13, 2011 – An Iowa environmental leader and tree advocate recently returned from a national task force summit in Washington, D.C. Shannon Ramsay, President and CEO of Iowa-based Trees Forever, was selected as one of 25 people nationwide to serve on the Vibrant Cities and Urban Forests task force.

Vibrant Cities and Urban Forests: A National Call to Action is an initiative organized by the New York Restoration Project (NYRP), in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, in an effort to promote the advancement of community forestry and natural resources stewardship nationwide. Ms. Ramsay joins a group of 25 diverse experts and innovators on the task force—national and local non-profit leaders, municipal and state officials, foundation and industry representatives, and others.

“I am honored to represent Iowa and the Midwest—and communities of all sizes—on the Vibrant Cities and Urban Forests task force,” says Ms. Ramsay. “Thanks to the thousands of Trees Forever volunteers and our many long-term sponsors, Trees Forever’s award-winning programs have become outstanding national models. To be livable and sustainable, our cities and towns need beautiful, shaded streets and neighborhoods and more natural areas.”

The group is drafting a set of recommendations to the U.S. Forest Service, as the first step towards advancing a fervent urban and community forestry movement. The task force members—along with NYRP, the Alliance for Community Trees, the Sustainable Urban Forests Coalition, and the Arbor Day Foundation—will then work with the U.S. Forest Service and other federal agencies, Members of Congress, and the White House to advance and support urban and community tree planting and stewardship programs in the next 15 years.

“The Vibrant Cities and Urban Forests task force underscores the U.S. Forest Service’s commitment to growing and sustaining our nation’s urban forests,” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “Because of the environmental, health and economic benefits trees bring to our cities, the Forest Service is eager to expand our partnership with and support of urban forestry and stewardship programs.”

The task force met April 5 – 7, 2011 in Fairfax, Va. Over the course of the three- day event, the task force members developed a set of recommendations and action steps to forward to the Forest Service. A ceremonial tree planting also took place on April 6, followed by a luncheon for task force members and their respective Members of Congress.

Out of more than 150 individual nominations, the following 25 individuals were selected to serve on the task force:

• Jackie Carrera, President and CEO of Parks and People Foundation (Baltimore, MD)
• Martin Chávez, Executive Director of ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability USA (Washington, DC)
• Michael DiBerardinis, Deputy Mayor for Environmental and Community Resources, Philadelphia Department of Parks & Recreation (Philadelphia, PA)
• Aaron Durnbaugh, Deputy Commissioner for Chicago Department of Environment and Vice-Chair of Chicago Wilderness (Chicago, IL)
• Mark Garvin, President of Tree Care Industry Association (Londonderry, NH)
• John Giedraitis, Texas Urban Forestry Coordinator for Texas Forest Service (College Station, TX)
• Mike Houck, Executive Director of Urban Greenspaces Institute (Portland, OR)
• Liam Kavanagh, First Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation (New York, NY) 
• Larry Kotchman, State Forester for the North Dakota Forest Service (Bottineau, ND)
• Dan Lambe, Vice President of Programs at the Arbor Day Foundation (Lincoln, NE)
• Monica Lear, Deputy Associate Director of the Urban Forestry Administration in the Washington DC Department of Transportation and the State Forester of the District of Columbia (Washington, DC)
• Andy Lipkis, President of TreePeople, Inc. (Beverly Hills, CA)
• Dean Marriott, Director of Environmental Services for the City of Portland, OR (Portland, OR)
• Gavin McMillan, Principal-in-Charge for Hargreaves Associates (Cambridge, MA)
• Greg Nickels, Board Member of Cascade Land Conservancy (Seattle, WA)
• John Norquist, President and CEO of Congress for New Urbanism (Chicago, IL)
• Mary Northridge, Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Public Health and Assistant Professor of Epidemiology & Health Promotion at New York University College of Dentistry (New York, NY)
• Stephanie Pincetl, Adjunct Professor at UCLA Institute of the Environment (Los Angeles, CA)
• Pat Pineda, Group Vice President of Toyota North America, Inc., National Philanthropy and the Toyota USA Foundation (New York, NY)
• Shannon Ramsay, Founding President and CEO of Trees Forever (Marion, IA)
• Scott Robson, Manager of Parks and Recreation for the City and County of Denver (Denver, CO)
• Stephen Shurtz, Urban Forestry and Landscape Manager for the City of Baton Rouge, LA, Department of Public Works (Baton Rouge, LA)
• Philip Silva, Co-Director of treeKIT, a project of the Open Space Institute (Brooklyn, NY)
• James Skiera, Executive Director of International Society of Arboriculture (Champaign, IL)
• Ray Tretheway, Executive Director of Sacramento Tree Foundation (Sacramento, CA)