Last month marked a significant milestone for me, as I celebrated the completion of five years as Executive Director of Tacoma Tree Foundation. As we near the end of 2026, I find myself both reminiscing about how it all started and wanting to share some of the many lessons I have learned along the way.
Fortunately, I have a daily reminder of where I was in the fall of 2021—in the form of trees, of course! That year, I signed up as a block captain for the City of Tacoma’s Grit City Trees program. That meant talking with my neighbors—not the easiest task during a pandemic—and encouraging them to sign up to receive free trees from the City. We then worked together to plant eleven street trees on a rainy Saturday morning.
Even though I did that first planting event as a volunteer and not on behalf of TTF, it remains an important touchstone for me. Ten of those trees are still alive and well, including the one in front of my house, which we named Burt. (It is a Frontier Elm, which reminded me of where I grew up, on the corner of Frontier Road and Burt Road, in Michigan.) Watching these trees grow not only gives me a daily sense of pride, but also maintains the sense of community connection that was forged on that day, when we all got down in the mud and invested in our neighborhood together. I still watch out for my neighbors’ trees, and all of us neighbors watch out for each other.
When I describe what we do at Tacoma Tree Foundation, I often describe it as “growing trees and community.” That’s because of the special way that planting, learning about, and advocating for trees seems to bring everyone together. My primary takeaway from the past five years is the remarkable way that Tacoma-area communities have rallied together around the issues of urban forestry and environmental justice, which together we call tree equity. The more we grow trees, the more we see the community around us grow. The more we show love for Greater Tacoma, the more Greater Tacoma loves us back.
Here are three other lessons that have shaped me and this organization in the past five years.
1. We have a unique role to play!
During our strategic plan update process last year, we took some time to think about what Tacoma Tree Foundation is uniquely positioned to do. We don’t own property. We don’t have a lot of money. But we have incredible community connections and are able to build trust with residents and organizations alike! Much of our work is rooted in public-private partnerships that deliver environmental and social benefits directly to the communities that need them the most.
August 2026 Team Photo
2. Fast growth is fun (and challenging)!
We have experienced so much growth and change in five years that it is sometimes hard to catch our breath! We have built out core programs like the Climate Leadership Cohort and the Green Blocks tree program model, all while maintaining a spirit of curiosity that leads to innovative and meaningful experiences for participants. That has meant bringing on staff members whose wide variety of skills allows us to respond to community interest and demand. There have been some bumps in the road along the way, but we are right on track with our plan to sustain our impact over the next several years.
3. Urban Forestry is about people.
Okay, this one we knew from the outset! Trees matter so much for the overall health of the environment. But what makes urban trees special is how they deliver benefits to people. If you asked me to make a list of the most important trees, it would probably go something like this:
A tree by the bus stop that protects a weary traveler.
A tree outside the hospital window that supports faster healing.
A tree at the playground that shades families and encourages play.
A tree that creates a personal or cultural connection.
I love the trees that make city life more livable and safe. I love hearing people’s tree stories. (Everybody has one!) And most of all, I love the way that trees can help express people’s care for nature, place, and each other.
2025 Green Blocks: South End planting
At TTF, we believe that everyone has a right to live in a neighborhood with trees. We meet a lot of people who agree that we should pursue the goal of tree equity, even though it is a hard one to achieve—even though it may take a generation to accomplish. It is environmental work, but it is also community work. It requires so many people mobilizing for themselves and for each other. And it is such an honor to be part of that.
When I survey the road ahead, I see a lot of opportunities with respect to our three core strategies of growing trees, growing awareness, and growing capacity. At this year’s State of the Urban Forest, I shared about how our recent work on policy and advocacy with Parks Tacoma is revealing a clearer path for future tree plantings across our public spaces, and how our new program with Pierce County is delivering tree benefits to Parkland, Spanaway, Midland, and South Hill. We’ll continue settling into our new home at the Tacoma Public Library Community Hub, which is making so many of our events more publicly accessible. And we’ll keep building trust with community members and partner organizations as we work together toward our mission of growing community stewardship of the urban forest.
When I moved to Tacoma in 2014, I never thought I would become a nonprofit manager, let alone an urban forest professional! Yet I am so proud of the ways that Greater Tacoma has rallied around the cause of urban forestry in the decade since I first wrote about some of the changes that needed to happen. And I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve alongside some of the greatest coworkers, board members, government partners, donors, and volunteers that anyone could ask for.
Thank you so much for being a part of the Tacoma Tree Foundation community!
