Instructors
Tricia Bethke, forest pest outreach coordinator, The Morton Arboretum
Tricia Bethke is the forest pest outreach coordinator for the State of Illinois, supported by USDA APHIS. Her responsibilities include statewide training of key stakeholders on invasive species, forest pest identification, regulations, quarantines, and reporting protocols, plus pest detection programs and tree health monitoring.
Sam Cox, forestry technician, Village of Lombard
Sam is a forestry technician with Lombard Public Works and has worked in the municipal setting for 11 years. Before Lombard, he was on the natural resource crew of the DuPage County Forest Preserve District and worked for Riverside Public Works. He has a BS in Forestry from the University of Kentucky, is an ISA certified arborist, and is tree risk assessment qualified. He also teaches classes for those seeking arborist certifications on behalf of the IAA.
Charlie Eure, director of operations, Emerald Tree Care LLC
Charlie is the Director of Operations for Emerald Tree Care in Roselle, IL, and has been in the tree care industry for six years. As an ISA Certified Arborist and Tree Climber, Charlie serves as the lead trainer at Emerald Tree Care and holds additional qualifications in Tree Risk Assessment and Prescription Pruning. He focuses on fostering a proactive safety culture, team building, and delivering hands-on instruction in pruning, rigging, root collar excavations, and aerial operations.
Shawn Kingzette, sales arborist trainer and certified arborist, The Davey Tree Expert Company
Shawn Kingzette is an International Society of Arboriculture Board Certified Master Arborist with 30 years of experience and is a sales arborist trainer for The Davey Tree Expert Company. He also serves on the tree board in his hometown of Harvard, IL and serves on the board of directors of the Land Conservancy of McHenry County.
Amber Kunz, senior resource technician, Forest Preserves of Cook County
Amber Kunz started off as a restoration technician with Friends of the Forest Preserves. There, she learned the basics of chainsaw operation and tree felling for habitat restoration. She then went on to work for The Davey Tree Expert Company as a plant healthcare technician and climbing arborist where she developed skills such as tree pest diagnosis and control, climbing trees for pruning and removals, and hazard tree work due to storm damage. Now she helps lead a resource management crew as a senior technician at the Forest Preserves of Cook County. Her work largely involves technical chainsaw work to mitigate tree hazards for the public, aerial lift work, and habitat restoration. In this role she has taught or helped teach classes about tree risk assessment, chainsaw operation, tree worker safety, and climbing and working in trees.
Elizabeth McDermott, grant administrator, The Morton Arboretum, Chicago Region Trees Initiative
Elizabeth McDermott’s work with The Morton Arboretum’s Chicago Region Trees Initiative focuses on supporting grant partners in the seven-county Chicago region and throughout the state of Illinois. She assists communities in carrying out grant projects, as well as supporting the CRTI team by seeking out funding opportunities and overseeing grant data and impact reporting. She holds a MS from Loyola University Chicago and volunteers in Chicago as a TreeKeeper with Openlands. Her background includes environmental education, sustainability, and habitat conservation.
Eric Menigat, resource supervisor, Forest Preserves of Cook County
Eric Menigat has held the ISA Certified Arborist credential for 10+ years and currently works as a Resource Supervisor, where he leads an eight-person team engaged in urban forestry, prescribed fire, and ecological restoration. Previously, Menigat worked for the Audubon Society, City of Bloomington, IN Parks Department, and Indian University. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in environmental science from Indiana University–Bloomington.
