We are excited to welcome the following experts to this year's conference.
Gary Johnson is an Extension Professor at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul. He is known for his excellent publications that educated many of us about stem girdling roots, planting trees at the proper depth and assessing the quality of trees we purchase from nurseries. He also well published in municipal street tree management, tree risk assessment and management, tree protection during construction, and tree stress.
Dr. Rich Hauer is a Professor at University of Wisconsin (Stevens Point) where he teaches 11 courses related to urban and community forestry. He has published several articles with emphasis in state and municipal tree management and emerald ash borer issues. He is a recent recipient of the L.C Chadwick Award for Arboricultural Researcher presented by the International Society of Arboriculture.
Jeffrey L. Bruce is Owner of Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company (JBC) founded in 1986. Mr. Bruce’s accomplishments, commitment, and vision are well documented. He has received over 80 separate design and leadership awards. In 1996, Mr. Bruce was elected Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects. He is Fellow with the American Society of Irrigation Consultants (ASIC) and Chairman of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC). Mr. Bruce is a LEED accredited professional, a certified irrigation designer, and an EPA WaterSense Certified Professional.
Dr. Chris Luley has a 35+ year career in urban forestry and arboriculture. He is the former State Forest Pathologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation and ran the Plant Diagnostic Clinic at Iowa State University. He is currently based in upstate New York and operates Urban Forest Diagnostics, specializing in urban forest management, tree diagnostics and decay assessment, and has advanced diagnostic equipment to test trees for internal decay. He has a robust schedule as a presenter and author. "Wood Decay Fungi" is well known to many arborists and his collaborative website www.treerot.com is popular. He is a recipient of the R.W. Harris Author's Award from the International Society of Arboriculture.
Dr. Jay Turner is a Professor of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. His research focuses on air quality planning and management, and on air pollution exposure and health impacts. Jay is the air monitoring team lead for Green Heart Louisville which is examining whether increasing greenness in an urban community will reduce air pollution levels and decrease the risk of heart disease.
Tricia Bethke is the Forest Pest Outreach Coordinator for the Morton Arboretum in Chicago, IL. Her Research includes Forest pest detection, invasive species management, and citizen science engagement. Through the Chicago Regional Trees Initiative Ms. Bethke collaborates with partners on key issues facing community trees including emerald ash borer.
Martin Goebel is the owner and founder of Goebel Furniture, a high-end design and build firm that utilizes urban trees for creative furniture. You can see examples of his work at www.goebelfurniture.com
Roger Branson
Dr. Steve Pallardy is Professor Emeritus of Forestry at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Dr. Pallardy began teaching forestry at MU in 1980 and has served as Department Chair, Director of Graduate Studies, and Director of the Basket Research and Education Area. His research interests include plant and water relationships, physiological ecology of plants, and ecosystem physiology.
Perry Eckhardt is a seasoned veteran of natural resource management in urban areas. He began his career trying to solve stream problems, which invariably caused him to bang his head, out of frustration, on hard objects - usually a tree if available. Though this head contact was brief and violent, the trees passed much plant knowledge unto him through osmosis. Utilizing this newly acquired understanding, he promoted trees as an effective remedy to many watershed issues, and then shifted his focus to community forestry. As a community forester, he spent a considerable amount of time diagnosing dead/dying tree problems. On their deathbeds, these trees revealed many secrets to plant survival and success, which he now utilizes to inform municipal ordinance drafting, land development design, and landscaping plans. He currently works for the City of Branson as their Senior Urban Planner. His educational background includes environmental science, agricultural economics, urban planning, and even law. He is a certified arborist and possesses the Tree Risk Assessment Qualification.
Mike Arduser has been studying native bees and working with pollination ecologists throughout the US
for over 30 years, and during that time has identified bees and other pollinators for many pollination
projects, organized and taught courses on the identification and ecology of native bees for many
universities and conservation agencies, and authored or co-authored a number of popular and scientific
publications on bees and pollination ecology. Mike worked for MDC for 23 years, mostly as a natural
history biologist, and also served as the Department insect heritage biologist. He is currently working
on a number of bee and pollination projects with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Discover Life, Cornell
University, St. Louis University and others.
Andy Berg has been the Arboriculture Supervisor at Tower Grove Park in St. Louis for three years. He received his B.S. in Forestry from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist. Shortly after arriving, Andy administered an inventory of nearly 7,000 trees and has used that data to develop a tree management program that has earned the park Level 2 Arboretum accreditation.
Dr. Rich Hauer is a Professor at University of Wisconsin (Stevens Point) where he teaches 11 courses related to urban and community forestry. He has published several articles with emphasis in state and municipal tree management and emerald ash borer issues. He is a recent recipient of the L.C Chadwick Award for Arboricultural Researcher presented by the International Society of Arboriculture.
Jeffrey L. Bruce is Owner of Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company (JBC) founded in 1986. Mr. Bruce’s accomplishments, commitment, and vision are well documented. He has received over 80 separate design and leadership awards. In 1996, Mr. Bruce was elected Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects. He is Fellow with the American Society of Irrigation Consultants (ASIC) and Chairman of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC). Mr. Bruce is a LEED accredited professional, a certified irrigation designer, and an EPA WaterSense Certified Professional.
Dr. Chris Luley has a 35+ year career in urban forestry and arboriculture. He is the former State Forest Pathologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation and ran the Plant Diagnostic Clinic at Iowa State University. He is currently based in upstate New York and operates Urban Forest Diagnostics, specializing in urban forest management, tree diagnostics and decay assessment, and has advanced diagnostic equipment to test trees for internal decay. He has a robust schedule as a presenter and author. "Wood Decay Fungi" is well known to many arborists and his collaborative website www.treerot.com is popular. He is a recipient of the R.W. Harris Author's Award from the International Society of Arboriculture.
Dr. Jay Turner is a Professor of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. His research focuses on air quality planning and management, and on air pollution exposure and health impacts. Jay is the air monitoring team lead for Green Heart Louisville which is examining whether increasing greenness in an urban community will reduce air pollution levels and decrease the risk of heart disease.
Tricia Bethke is the Forest Pest Outreach Coordinator for the Morton Arboretum in Chicago, IL. Her Research includes Forest pest detection, invasive species management, and citizen science engagement. Through the Chicago Regional Trees Initiative Ms. Bethke collaborates with partners on key issues facing community trees including emerald ash borer.
Martin Goebel is the owner and founder of Goebel Furniture, a high-end design and build firm that utilizes urban trees for creative furniture. You can see examples of his work at www.goebelfurniture.com
Roger Branson
Dr. Steve Pallardy is Professor Emeritus of Forestry at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Dr. Pallardy began teaching forestry at MU in 1980 and has served as Department Chair, Director of Graduate Studies, and Director of the Basket Research and Education Area. His research interests include plant and water relationships, physiological ecology of plants, and ecosystem physiology.
Perry Eckhardt is a seasoned veteran of natural resource management in urban areas. He began his career trying to solve stream problems, which invariably caused him to bang his head, out of frustration, on hard objects - usually a tree if available. Though this head contact was brief and violent, the trees passed much plant knowledge unto him through osmosis. Utilizing this newly acquired understanding, he promoted trees as an effective remedy to many watershed issues, and then shifted his focus to community forestry. As a community forester, he spent a considerable amount of time diagnosing dead/dying tree problems. On their deathbeds, these trees revealed many secrets to plant survival and success, which he now utilizes to inform municipal ordinance drafting, land development design, and landscaping plans. He currently works for the City of Branson as their Senior Urban Planner. His educational background includes environmental science, agricultural economics, urban planning, and even law. He is a certified arborist and possesses the Tree Risk Assessment Qualification.
Mike Arduser has been studying native bees and working with pollination ecologists throughout the US
for over 30 years, and during that time has identified bees and other pollinators for many pollination
projects, organized and taught courses on the identification and ecology of native bees for many
universities and conservation agencies, and authored or co-authored a number of popular and scientific
publications on bees and pollination ecology. Mike worked for MDC for 23 years, mostly as a natural
history biologist, and also served as the Department insect heritage biologist. He is currently working
on a number of bee and pollination projects with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Discover Life, Cornell
University, St. Louis University and others.
Andy Berg has been the Arboriculture Supervisor at Tower Grove Park in St. Louis for three years. He received his B.S. in Forestry from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist. Shortly after arriving, Andy administered an inventory of nearly 7,000 trees and has used that data to develop a tree management program that has earned the park Level 2 Arboretum accreditation.
