John Ball, Ph.D., BCMA, CTSP 

Professor of Forestry & Industry-Leading Safety Expert 
South Dakota State University 
Brookings, South Dakota 

Dr. John Ball is the tree care industry’s leading safety expert.  He is a Professor of Forestry at South Dakota State University where he instructs courses in arboriculture, forestry, and emergency technician training; he also serves as the campus arborist and Forest Health Specialist for the South Dakota Department of Agriculture. John is a Board-Certified Master Arborist, a Certified Tree Care Safety Professional, and an Advanced EMT.  

Paul Biester, CTSP 

Owner/CEO 
Tree Awareness Inc.
Swedesboro, NJ 

Credentials:

• NJLTE
• CTSP 5 years
• Accredited in 2018

Paul has been a business owner since the founding of Tree Awareness Inc in 1993. Before that he worked for a small local company where he was a climber, foreman, and sales rep. Prior to discovering arboriculture he worked at a furniture store and started learning to sell furniture. That experience was an early spark that fueled an interest in sales. He quickly realized that sales and relationship building go hand in hand. He also noticed a difference between hard and soft selling.  So after 30 years in business, and with a lot of training, attending trade seminars, and reading books on sales he likes to speak about sales and share ideas on what works and what should be avoided. Paul is a devoted husband to Rayna. Married 26 years. Also a father of three; Mikaela, Madison, and Mason. And a proud member of the tree community.   

Ed Carpenter

Chief Executive Officer
North American Training Solutions (NATS)
Douglas, MA

Years of experience: 30
Credentials:

• AS Arboriculture Stockbridge
• BS Urban Forestry, UMass Amherst
• OSHA and ANSI SME Qualified Lead Instructor / Facilitator
• HeartMath Certified Trainer
• NATS Lead Instructor

Jamie Chambrelli, CTSP

Senior Lead Instructor/Trainer &
Director of Training Operations 
ArborMaster® 
Willington, CT 

Jamie Chambrelli is the Senior Lead Instructor/Trainer, Director of Training Operations at ArborMaster® Training Inc., CTSP.

Dan Groves

Director of Safety Consulting
North American Training Solutions (NATS)
Douglas, MA

Years of experience: 30
Credentials:

• OSHA 30-Hour General Industry Training with Arboricultural Emphasis
• First Aid/CPR Certification
• ISA Certified Arborist
• Game of Logging, Level 3
• Chainsaw Train the Trainer
• Associate’s Degree in Forest Surveying, Paul Smith’s College
• NATS Lead Instructor

Karen Hauck

Chief Operating Officer
North American Training Solutions (NATS)
Douglas, MA

Years of experience: 19
Credentials:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology
• Master’s Degree in Sociology
• OSHA 30-Hour General Industry Training with Arboricultural Emphasis
• HeartMath Mentor
• NATS Lead Instructor

Deborah Howe, ASLA

Principal 
Lighthall Company 
Lincoln, Massachusetts 

Deb Howe is a Registered Landscape Architect, ISA Certified Arborist, and an ISA-Qualified Tree Risk Assessor. She has a demonstrated history of working in public, private, and institutional sectors with outstanding design, planning, communication, horticultural, and interpersonal skills for landscape projects. 

Nichole Keleher  

Forest Health Director 
Massachusetts Department of
Conservation & Recreation 
Boston, Massachusetts 

As the Forest Health Director for the Mass Department of Conservation and Recreation, Nicole works on many state-wide projects, investigating the impact of insects and disease on forests throughout Massachusetts.  

Melissa LeVangie Ingersoll, MCA 

RBI/Shelter Tree 
Women’s Tree Climbing Workshop 
Attleboro, MA 

Melissa LeVangie Ingersoll, MCA is a passionate educator about trees, tree care, and tree climbing. She holds many professional certifications, including Massachusetts Certified Arborist, ISA Certified Arborist, ISA Tree Climbing Specialist, and a Tree Risk Assessment Qualification. She is a Co-Founder and Lead Instructor of the Women’s Tree Climbing Workshop (WTCW). Melissa is also the Educational Director and a Business Development Advocate for RBI/Shelter Tree, a premier arborist equipment supplier. She is the Past-President of the Massachusetts Tree Wardens & Foresters Association and of the New England Chapter of ISA. 

Christopher J. Luley, Ph.D. 

President 
Urban Forest Diagnostics, LLC 
Naples, New York 

Dr. Chris Luley, author of “Wood Decay Fungi Common to Urban Living Trees in the Northeast and Central US”, specializes in urban forest management, tree diagnostics, and decay assessment. He recently created treerot.com to help arborists identify the common wood decay fungi on living trees and received the R. W. Harris Author’s Award from the International Society of Arboriculture in 2015. In 2022, Dr. Luley received the Brian Skinner Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York State Arborists, ISA Chapter, Inc.   

Bob Mead, CTSP 

President & COO 
Mead Tree & Turf Care
Woodbine, MD

Bob Mead has 44 years in the tree care industry. He is a former career Firefighter / Paramedic, Certified Arborist, CTSP, LTE, TRAQ qualified, QCL instructor, and CPR / First aid instructor.

Ken Palmer 

President & CEO 
ArborMaster® 
Willington, CT 

Ken Palmer is the President & CEO of ArborMaster® Training Inc. & ArborMaster® Outfitters. Master Instructor/Trainer, 3-time ITCC World Champion. 

Rebecca Seibel

Director of Training and Education
North American Training Solutions (NATS)
Douglas, MA

Years of experience: 24
Credentials:

• OSHA 30-Hour General Industry Training with Arboricultural Emphasis
• Consulting Utility Forestry Safety Professional
• ISA Tree Risk Assessor Qualification
• ISA Board Certified Master Arborist
• TCIA Certified Tree Care Safety Professional
• WI Class BDCM Commercial Driver’s License
• Chainsaw Train the Trainer
• NATS Lead Instructor

Hans Tielmann 

Owner 
New Jersey Crane Experts 
Flemington, NJ 

Hans Tielmann, owner of NJ Crane Expert, is a New Jersey Licensed Tree Expert, NCCER Mobile Crane instructor, and Petzl Technical Partner. 

Dennise J. Vidosh

Founder/CEO of RE-TREE Companies
& Green Acres Tree Farm, Inc. 
Pontiac, Michigan
ISA Certified Arborist 

Mature tree preservation is at the epicenter of Dennise J. Vidosh’s life and inspires her every day to create valuable solutions to global problems utilizing technology, innovation and experience as a green industry professional.  She was raised in the green industry, working side by side with her father providing Michigan and the surrounding Midwest areas with mature specimen trees.