UAA Board Nominations Coming Soon
The call for UAA Board of Directors nominations is fast-approaching.
The submission window opens May 1 through May 31. Members, this is your opportunity to step forward and nominate leaders to be the strategic voice for the utility vegetation management (UVM) and rights-of-way (ROW) industries. We are looking for visionaries committed to advancing safety, innovation, and professional standards across our field.
Please remember that active UAA membership is required to submit candidates for consideration or to be nominated yourself. If you are ready to help shape the future of our association and advocate for our industry’s growth, mark your calendars and ensure your membership is up to date before May arrives.
The Member Portal: A Smarter, Faster Way to Stay Connected
As part of our commitment to provide members with the best tools to manage professional growth, we are excited to announce some upgrades to the UAA Member Portal, to make your experience more intuitive, efficient, and mobile-friendly.
What’s New? One Click Social Sign-On
To make accessing your benefits even faster, you can now log in to the UAA portal using your Facebook or LinkedIn account.
How it works: If the email for your social account matches the email on your UAA profile, simply click the social button to log in. If your emails are different, you’ll just need to link your accounts one time, and you’ll be set for future one-click access.
Coming Soon
We’re streamlining the interface to ensure that the information you need most is always at your fingertips:
- At-a-Glance Dashboard: Find your membership status, renewal dates, and expiration info instantly.
- Simplified Payments: View open invoices and payment history clearly in one location.
- Enhanced Profile Management: Updating contact information and profiles is a simple, one-step process.
- Event & Career Tracking: See your upcoming event registrations immediately and access the latest industry job postings directly through the portal.
- Resource Hub: Get faster access to the technical resources and UAA documents you use most.
- Mobile Optimized: Enjoy a seamless, responsive experience across all your devices.
Managing your membership has never been easier. Check it out on the Member Portal today.
Final Call to Sponsor 50th Anniversary Celebration of ROW Symposium
Two months and counting until we meet in Vancouver!
Align you brand with industry innovators as we celebrate 50 years of the International Symposium on Environmental Concerns in Rights-of-Way Management, May 11–14.
Available Sponsorships:
- Premier: 2 Diamond & 1 “50 Years of ROW” Celebration Sponsor
- Technical: 9 Breakout Room Sponsors
- Networking & Meals: Tuesday–Thursday Breakfasts, Tuesday/Wednesday Lunches, Thursday Boxed Lunch, and Drink Stations
- General Support: Unlimited Bronze, Contributing, and ROW Habitat Working Group tiers
Explore available sponsorship opportunities.
Join us for an agenda featuring AI, nature-based solutions, and Indigenous partnerships. Register to attend. Book your hotel before Saturday, April 18.
Your Roadmap to Trees & Utilities Starts Here
There are several ways for you and your team to get involved in the Trees & Utilities Conference in Portland, Oregon, this fall.
Whether you want to showcase your latest innovations by signing up to exhibit or want to elevate your brand as an event sponsor, start planning your presence. This is the must-attend event of the year for professional development and building connections within the utility arboriculture community.
- Mark your calendars for April 28, when both registration and the hotel block officially open.
- Save $150 per person by taking advantage of early bird pricing between April 28 and June 9. Consider registering your entire team to maximize their professional development.
- Keep a close watch on your inbox late next month for an email containing the exclusive links to secure your hotel room.
We can’t wait to see you in the Pacific Northwest for an unforgettable week of growth and collaboration.
UAA Webstore: Native Seed Blends for Sale
As our thoughts turn to Rights-of-Way Spring re-seeding and habitat restoration needs, the UAA has developed six regionally specific, habitat-enhancing and native ROW seed blends to meet the unique needs of utility corridors. Find them available by the acre on our online store.
(Member Perk: Don’t forget to log in to the UAA Member Portal to access your exclusive discount before ordering.)
Craig works for Pacific Gas and Electric as a Principal Program Manager in Land Management. His career spans 30 years in the utility industry serving numerous roles. He is an ISA Certified Arborist, Utility Specialist, and hold his TRAQ and is a TCIA Certified TreeCare Safety Professional. Craig has been engaged and involved in the UAA for many years, starting back in 2008. He then wanted more so he ran for UAA President and was elected in 2014. Today, Craig looks back over his 30-year career and wouldn’t change a thing, he’s made life-long friends and considers many as mentors. He also claims he would not be where is in his career if it weren’t for these people, and pledges to pay it forward to support others in their success.
Sam joins the UAA crew with over a decade of non-profit experience behind her. As our Partnership Coordinator, her focused efforts on building relationships with diverse funders include crafting proposals, cultivating connections, and cohesively earning dedicated sponsors to support the sustainability of UAA substantially and empowering our programs. Well equipped with professional skills which include program development, public speaking, proposal writing, donor relations, working with diverse stakeholders, coalition building, and public-facing service. Sam’s educational background includes a BS in Animal Ecology with a minor in Animal Science, and a MA in Philanthropy and Non-profit Development.
Jodie Braskich is an experienced professional in the utility industry with a strong background in supply chain and vegetation management. With over 18 years of industry expertise, Jodie continues to contribute her time and knowledge to the continuous improvement of the professional field of UVM. She has been a member of the UAA since 2007.
Josh Beaver is currently senior vice president of Eocene Environmental Group, a utility vegetation management (UVM) consulting and operations firm. Josh has more than two decades of experience within the UVM industry. He is currently responsible for relationship management and oversight of long-term UVM contracts throughout the United States and Canada. He considers customer and community communication to be vital aspects of his role, and he has a proven record of success working with utilities.
Crystal started her career in the Interior Design space but soon found herself 
Renée is our Member Services Manager. She is available to UAA members for questions on committee assignments, educational opportunities, scholarships, CEU questions, and any other assistance.
Jeff has enjoyed a 32-year career in Utility Vegetation Management. He began his career in 1993 with Holy Cross Energy as a temporary groundman. After receiving full time employment in 1994. He worked his way through the department from climber to foreman and eventually department manager in 2018. He brings a real-world approach to the industry.
Jason is a seasoned utility vegetation management professional with almost 20 years of experience leading data-driven, field-tested programs that prioritize safety, reliability, and operational efficiency. Jason is a forward-thinking leader who integrates emerging technologies to extract insights from complex data, streamline workflows, and drive smarter decision-making across the organization.
C. Troy Ross is the president of vegetation management at ACRT and ACRT Pacific. Shortly after graduating from Hocking College with a degree in Ranger Services and Fish and Wildlife, Ross began his career with ACRT at Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation as a contract utility forester in 1999. Since then, he has advanced through increasingly senior leadership roles, supporting vegetation management programs for a wide range of utility types and organizational structures.
A winner of the David H Nabi Award for dedication and service, Dr. Robert Vanderhoof earned his Ph.D. from the College of Forest Resources at Mississippi State University in 1995. A veteran natural resource manager, Robert spent 15 years as Florida’s Deer Management Section Chief during which time he coordinated range management activities across Florida’s seven-million-acre wildlife management area system.
Cindy is the Senior Director, Vegetation Management Services and she manages departments responsible for maintaining vegetation in REC’s rights-of-way with the goal of reducing exposure of the electric grid to tree caused outages while encouraging habitat and species diversity. Cindy also has a consulting business, EcoAcumen, LLC that focuses on residential, commercial and government clients.
Kimberly Laing has had an exciting career in the energy industry, gaining valuable experience in various areas for almost 20 years. During her career, she has worked with numerous customers worldwide in a diverse cross-disciplined technical environment. She has extensive experience working with utilities, asset owners, equipment manufacturers, and consultants to facilitate transmission and distribution projects. Kimberly is particularly passionate about Utility Vegetation Management and its vital role in delivering safe and reliable power.
Fallon is a Utility Arborist and Executive Director of the Utility Arborist Association. Prior to his current role he was responsible for leading vegetation management programs across several upper Midwest states on behalf of a large investor-owned utility. He’s also been an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where he facilitated the 
Erin Creekmur has been in the UVM industry for over 20 years. After graduating with a Bachelors in Botany from Northern Arizona University she relocated to Northern California to start her professional career. Starting as a consulting utility pre-inspector with Western ECI she quickly moving up to the ranks to Supervisor under the tutelage of folks like Nelson Money. In 2004, Erin joined PG&E as a Quality Assurance Auditor for the VM program. Eventually becoming the Program Manager for the North Coast Division, helping stand up the beginnings of CEMA as the Emergency Drought Response Initiative Lead for the Enhanced Inspection & Mitigation Program, targeting off-cycle hazard trees across the system. In 2015, Erin moved back to her home state of Arizona and took the role of Division Supervisor with Arizona Public Service, managing both transmission and distribution UVM programs out of the Flagstaff area. As part of her role with APS Forestry Fire and Resource Management Department, Erin had responsibility for creating a Hazard Tree Mitigation program. maintaining APS’s ROW Stewardship Accreditation, FERC reporting, and the Transmission Lidar program. In 2021, Erin took a shift in her career and is now Supervising the Customer Construction and Design team for APS, expanding her overall understanding of the Utility industry. Erin continues to maintain her ISA Utility Specialist Certification and TRAQ. She has also completed certifications in both Six Sigma and Lean Sigma Green Belt through accredited universities. In addition to her current service on the UAA Board of Directors, Erin spent the last 6 years as an officer with the Arboretum at Flagstaff Board of Directors. In her free time, you can find Erin in the woods taking pictures of native plants and beautiful western landscapes.
Christopher King serves as Director of Operations at ArborMetrics Solutions (AMS), based in North Carolina. In this capacity, he is responsible for overseeing operational activities across multiple accounts throughout the Eastern United States. With more than a decade of experience in the utility vegetation management (UVM) industry, Mr. King has held a diverse range of roles, including Groundperson, Foreperson, Contract Forester, Vegetation Management Program Manager, Business Development Manager, and Director of Operations Support.
Matt Goff is a Transmission Vegetation Manager at Georgia Power Company. He lives in Brookhaven, GA with his wife, two daughters, and the family’s two dogs Sam, and Payton. For leisure, he enjoys sports with his family, bird hunting, and salt-water fishing.Matt holds a BSFR from the University of Georgia in Forest Resource Management and he graduated in 1997. He has worked in the vegetation management industry for 26 years. His work experience includes six years as a procurement forester for a forest products manufacturer, and 20 years in the utility vegetation management industry with Georgia Power.
Cody is the Membership Office Coordinator for the Utility Arborist Association, where she supports membership operations with a focus on organization and engagement. She blends her experience in organizing systems, interpreting data, and working closely with people to support both the day-to-day and big-picture needs of the UAA.