Upcoming Webinars
Educational webinars are offered throughout the year to UAA members which allows for additional CEU’s throughout the year. Please note the CEU’s are given only at the time of the webinar, similar to attending a conference.
Wednesday, May 1, 2024, 12:00 pm-1:00 pm CDT
Safety Happens Last: Building a Resilient Safety Culture
The motto “safety first” may have a nice ring to it, and it certainly looks good on a hard hat sticker, but very often in our industry we don’t find safety at the forefront in the minds of workers and employers alike. Lack of training, workplace distractions, or simply the pressure to maintain high productivity are only a few of the reasons why we don’t always find safety at its rightful place at the top of the podium. Safety should, and indeed, must be the number one value at any successful organization, but making this philosophy a reality involves a lot more than just whizzy gadgets and catchy slogans. This presentation explores the tried-and-true methods of building a lasting, resilient safety culture.
Speaker: Bill Spencer
Wednesday, June 5, 2024, 12:00 pm-1:00 pm CDT
Assessing botanical and pollinator communities in ROW habitats
There is growing evidence that utility corridors are suitable habitat for species of conservation concern. Management of rights-of-ways (ROWs) to support biodiversity, with an emphasis on pollinators, is being encouraged by various wildlife programs. One such program, the Monarch Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances (Monarch CCAA), invites utility companies to participate in conservation and monitoring of their managed lands to promote the health of the monarch butterfly an imperiled native insect of conservation concern. In return, lands enrolled in this program are exempt from future regulatory restrictions or limitations surrounding monarch butterfly population status. We will discuss our strategies to facilitate the monitoring and compliance needs of participating entities.
Presented by Dr. Adam Baker
MORE COMING SOON!
We regularly schedule new webinars, so watch this space for new programs or sign up below to be notified of newly scheduled topics.
If you have suggestions for webinars please reach out to us at office@gotouaa.org. For full access to past webinars, become a UAA member
PARTNER WEBINAR SERIES
AVAILABLE NOW!
Tree Fund Webinar Series –Risk Governance and Equity in Urban Forest Management
AVAILABLE PAST WEBINAR: December 6, 2022
This presentation and research was made possible by one of the TREE Fund research grants – Bob Skiera Memorial Fund. Thank you to our the Alabama Cooperative Extension Program for hosting the webinar!
The Tree Fund Webinar Series – Learn How to Comply with OSHA’s Gear Inspection Mandate
AVAILABLE PAST WEBINAR: November 1, 2022
Detailed and accurate observation of buried tree roots is difficult and elusive, and yet it is essential for the successful long-term management and protection of tree health. This presentation will describe the non-invasive methods and our efforts to improve GPR as a root detection technology.
Presentation hosted by TREE Fund and Alabama Cooperative Extension Presenters are Andrew Millward, PhD and Justin Miron, PhD Student
The Tree Fund Webinar Series- Enhancing the performance of urban storm water management schemes with tree selection
AVAILABLE PAST WEBINAR: April 19, 2022
Developing a new approach to assessing waterlogging tolerance of temperate trees: Presented by Andrew Hirons, PhD
Here are some of our popular webinars.
To see more of our past offerings, log in to the Member Portal. If you aren’t a UAA member, visit the Join/Renew Page
ROW Reclamation: Right-Of-Way Done Right
9/16/2020
Cutting the trees and eliminating brush is the easy part! Gaining consistency and support from internal and external stakeholders is the hard part. This is the ‘secret ingredient’ our presentation will focus on.
Topic: UVM 101- Perspectives
05/13/2020
Presented by: Will Ortiz
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Address
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PMB 315
Forest Lake, MN 55025
Additional Info
Phone: 800-680-4106
Email: office@gotouaa.org
Tim is the Vice President of Health and Safety for the Townsend Tree Company.
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.
Sara Dreiser is a Senior Program Manager with ComEd. She works with a team to oversee ComEd’s routine cycle maintenance and ComEd’s interruption investigation programs. She has been working in the Vegetation Management industry for close to 15 years.
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.
Brandon graduated from Minnesota State University–Mankato with a B.S. in Geography. Brandon has been with Rainbow Tree Company since 2009 and has gained experience in several roles, including Business Developer for our utility products division, GIS Tree Inventory Analyst, and Technical Arborist. Brandon has been the Director of VM Services, the fastest growing division inRainbow Tree Company, since 2012.
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.
Amanda Opp, Certified Utility Vegetation Management Professional Flathead Electric Cooperative, Integrated Services Manager, University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, Course Facilitator
Jim Neeser is a business developer for the Davey Resource Group, a division of the Davey Tree Expert Company. Jim primarily works with utility companies to provide innovative and customized solutions. Jim earned his AA from Vermillion Community College in 1997 and his BS in Forestry with an emphasis on Hydrology and Soils from the University of Minnesota in 2000. Jim is an ISA Certified Arborist with the Utility Specialist endorsement. Jim has been involved in the UAA training committee for nearly a decade as a past chairman and is currently the treasurer and Champion of the finance committee. Jim spent his first 7 years in the industry as a field arborist in the commercial and utility markets. The last 10 years, Jim has been working with utility companies to enhance their Integrated Vegetation Management programs. Jim’s other interests include spending time with his family, sports, hiking, fishing and coin collecting. Jim is also active with the Boy Scouts of America as an Eagle Scout. Jim lives in Forest Lake, MN with his wife and 2 children.
Adam’s experience includes leading business development strategies for a utility vegetation management consulting firm, vegetation management field operations at two major investor-owned utilities in the southeastern US, project management at a variety of utilities in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern regions, and vegetation management program development and assessments across the country. His utility arboricultural experience provides a broad understanding of the many different methods used to create a successful utility right-of-way, vegetation management program, including remote sensing, data analytics, optimization, and the utilization of third-party consulting foresters for planning and auditing duties.
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.
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.
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 
Kevin Puls is the president of ACRT. He has been with the company for more than 25 years and began his career with us as a work planner in western Ohio. He worked his way up to become an operations manager, senior operations manager, and director of operations. During his tenure he has managed utility vegetation contracts, municipal forestry programs, performed environmental compliance inspections, and many more items. He has worked with over 50 customers in over 40 states. He attended Mount Union College where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in biology with a concentration in ecology. He completed his internship at Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts as part of a grant from the National Science Foundation. Kevin performed studies on plant-soil-air interactions and presented his research in multiple forums. Kevin also holds an MBA in Executive Management from Ashland University. Kevin also serves as a committee member on multiple BSA troops and conservation organizations.
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.
Diona has been with the Utility Arborist Association (UAA) since December 2015 and has worked in various capacities within the organization.