Tree System Coordinator / Tree Warden
City of New Haven
Department of Parks and Public Works
Desk: 203-946-8092
Email: amixsell@newhavenct.gov
Annie Shutts Mixsell is the Tree System Coordinator and Tree Warden for the City of New Haven. She is tasked with managing the 28,000+ street trees and 2,200 acres of forested parkland in the Elm City and overseeing all urban forestry operations. As a lifelong tree lover, Annie is proud to advocate for tree equity by ensuring fair access to the many benefits that trees provide, while also balancing the risks that trees can pose; providing timely, safe and efficient arboricultural services; educating the public about trees; and promoting policies that sustain a healthy, diverse, and climate resilient urban forest.
Annie graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a B.S.F. in Forest Management, is a Connecticut Licensed Arborist, and is Chair of the Tree Examining Board. Annie also serves as the Treasurer for the Connecticut Urban Forest Council.
Please inquire if interested in volunteering for this role.
The Vice Chairperson is one of four elected officers of the CUFC. In the absence of the Chairperson, or in the event of his or her inability or refusal to act, the vice Chairperson shall perform all duties of the Chairperson, and when so acting shall have all the powers of, and be subject to all the restrictions of the Chairperson. The Vice Chairperson shall have other powers and programs such duties as may be prescribed by law, by the Certification of Incorporation, or by these Bylaws, or as may be prescribed by the Council.
Department of Forestry and Horticulture
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station - Assistant Agricultural Scientist
PO Box 1106, 123 Huntington Street
New Haven, CT 06504-1106
Phone: 203-974-8491
Email: Susanna.Kerio@ct.gov
Dr. Susanna Keriö Dr. joined the CUFC in 2021, and has worked at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) since 2020. Through her research at CAES and her role in the CUFC, she aims to support the work of urban and community forestry professionals in maintaining a healthy urban forest canopy in New England.
Bartlett Tree Experts - Arborist Representative
203-733-9797 or 203-226-9600
CTeter@Bartlett.com
Chris is a Master Arborist and tree care educator based in Fairfield County, Connecticut. With career experience in both private and public sector tree care maintenance, he has sharpened his "soil knife” confronting countless examples of improperly planted, protected, or maintained trees across urban and rural landscapes. He volunteers as a guest educator with the Connecticut Tree Protective Association, the CFPA Master Woodland Manager Program, and local organizations such as the Aspetuck Land Trust. His goal is to correct misinformation and help communities make choices that allow trees to thrive for the long term. He spends time with his wife, son, cats, dogs, tropical aquarium — and carefully cutting exposed stem girdling roots.
Audubon Connecticut
Bird Friendly Communities Program Associate
203.900.3354
jillian.bell@audubon.org
Jillian Bell (she, her, hers) is Audubon Connecticut’s Bird Friendly Communities (BFC) Program Associate. She works with community groups and a suite of program partners to restore native habitat, connect people with nature, and inspire stewardship behaviors in the next-generation of environmental leaders.
Jillian’s ongoing work has supported over 45 schools and community groups in Connecticut and New York in their efforts to green their schoolyards and park spaces by creating native plant habitats on school grounds and restoring native habitats. She does this in part by delivering professional development workshops to teaching staff in order to support them in taking their students outside and in integrating their curriculum with the natural world right outside their doors.
Adam Boone is a Transportation Vegetation Management Supervisor for the CT Department of
Transportation where he has been employed for more than 27 years. In the Bureau of Highway
Operations, he supervises (4) District Vegetation Management Specialists and provides technical
guidance and support for vegetation management operations along state roads and highways. Adam is
a CT-licensed arborist, CT-certified tree warden, and a CT DEEP-certified Category 6 supervisory
pesticide applicator. He is a member of the Scenic Road Advisory Committee, the CT Urban Forest
Council, CT Tree Warden’s Association, Connecticut Tree Protective Association, and the CT Invasive
Plant Working Group.
Urban Forestry Consultant
67 Old Farms Road
Durham, CT 06422
203.937.3052
cmdonnelly.northford@gmail.com
Chris Donnelly retired as the Urban Forestry Coordinator with CT DEEP after two decades in 2020. In this position, he had to good fortune to work with a variety of people throughout the State of Connecticut on a wide range of projects. This included tree planting projects, educational programs, outreach efforts, and much, much more. These experiences have helped foster a deep appreciation of both people and trees, as well as how they are connected together. It is because of these experiences that Chris wishes to keep his involvement with urban forestry and urban trees.
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Division of Forestry – Urban Forestry Coordinator
79 Elm Street
Hartford, CT 06106-5127
860.500.0152
danica.doroski@ct.gov
Danica Doroski received her Ph.D. and M.S. from the Yale School of the Environment. She is now the State Urban Forestry Coordinator at Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Prior to moving to Connecticut, Danica worked in New York City for the New York Restoration Project and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and in Philadelphia at the Morris Arboretum.
Weston Tree Warden
P.O. Box 1007 Weston, CT 06883
203.331.6035
treewarden@westonct.gov
Dr. Tom Failla serves the Town of Weston, CT as tree warden since 2020 and conservation planner since 2021. Tom certified as a tree warden in 2019, meeting state statutory qualification standards. He also completed the Connecticut Tree Protective Arboriculture 101 course in 2020, NOFA Organic Land Care Specialist Program in 2022, Connecticut Master Forest Manager Program in 2023. Previously, he served as a volunteer for more than 27 years on town land use commissions, including Conservation, Planning and Zoning and the Zoning Board of Appeals. He also serves as a volunteer on open space and civic organizations. In 2005, he was the first recipient of the Millie Best Environmental Award by the Kiwanis Club of Weston. Tom holds a doctorate in management and marketing from Pace University. His dissertation focused on consumer behavior related to environmentally preferred products and services. During his career, he reported on the environmental beat for Connecticut newspapers and The Associated Press 1968-1976. Later (1976-1998), he held executive and consultant positions at American corporations working with research scientists and then taught business courses at Norwalk Community College and Pace University through 2022. He is director emeritus of Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts at Norwalk Community College.
CT DOT
Susan.Fiedler@ct.gov
Susan Fiedler has been a Landscape Architect for the CT Department of Transportation for almost 20 years. She is a member of the Complete Streets and Scenic Roads Committees, and provides support to engineers throughout the Department, as well as consultants and communities. She develops and implements tree protection and planting specifications for transportation projects to improve environmental quality and walkability.
The Nature Conservancy in CT - Urban Conservation Program Manager
55 Church St, Floor 3
New Haven, CT 06510-3029
203.568.6273
Drew.Goldsman@tnc.org
Drew Goldsman is the Urban Conservation Program Manager for The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut. The Urban Conservation Program provides support to cities across Connecticut, currently with a focus on Bridgeport, embracing natural solutions as an integral way of equitably fostering vibrant and healthy communities. Current initiatives range from supporting a resilient coastline to on-the-ground community engagement. The work includes investments in the urban forest and in green stormwater infrastructure. Drew has a strong background in urban environmental and social justice causes. With past positions focusing on transportation equity and affordable housing policy, Drew believes the built and natural environments are deeply tied and must equitably benefit all residents. Drew holds a Master of Urban Planning from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a Bachelor of Arts from Hampshire College.
Former Windsor CT Tree Warden
treewardenjim@gmail.com
Jim Gonovi retired from the Town of Windsor in 2021 as their former Municipal Forester- Tree Warden and former Town Councilman. During his career he established a Maple Sugar Tree grove which is currently used for Maple Sugaring Program as well as many roadside tree plantings, open space and public properties. (Urban Forest Succession). After attending the Meswaka Tree Program and Coverts Program his focus became the Urban Forest. Being Former President of the Tree Wardens Association of Ct., former member of the State Vegetative Management Task Force, member of the CT Urban Forest Council, Connecticut Tree Protection Association and current Co- President of the Windsor Garden Club he has had the honor of working together with this group with the support of DEEP Urban Forestry and CT Agriculture Experimental Station to manage CT’s Urban Forest and vegetation.
Education Director at the Connecticut Forest & Park Association
860.398.4541
Emerow@ctwoodlands.org
As the Education Director, Beth Merow works on programs that help people connect with forests, trails, and the outdoors. Her focus is on woodland stewardship, conservation education, and supporting landowners and communities in caring for the landscapes around them. She especially enjoys getting people of all ages outside to learn directly from the land and build lasting relationships with the natural world.
Active in Various Projects
860-604-6292
ronpitz1957@gmail.com
Ron Pitz is the retired executive director of Knox, Inc. A non profit organization that uses horticulture and agriculture to strengthen and feed urban communities. During his 25 years working with Knox he fully realized the importance of preserving existing and planting new trees in urban areas. Under his leadership thousands of trees were planted in Hartford by Knox and volunteers. He continues his work organizing tree planting events in Bloomfield with the Wintonbury Land Trust and Trees for Bloomfield. He also is a DEEP certified Master Wildlife Conservationist and a UConn certified Master Gardener.
Sophia Rodbell received her B.S. in Environmental Science, concentration in Biology and a minor in Sociology from Roanoke College in 2014. She has since worked in the Urban Forestry Field starting as a consulting urban forester with Davey Resource Group where she earned her ISA Arborist Certification, Tree Risk Assessment Qualification, and after attending the Municipal Forestry Institute in 2020, her ISA Certified Urban Forest Professional (formerly Municipal Arborist). She was a previous member of the NY State Urban Forestry Council and after moving to Bartlett Tree Experts to serve residential clients in Stamford, CT in 2021, she earned her CT State Certification. Sophia landed her dream job as a City Forester for Hartford, CT in 2024 where she got back to her Urban Forestry roots and jumped at the opportunity to join the Connecticut Urban Forest Council.
Dr. Mayra Rodríguez González is an Extension Urban Forester within the United States Cooperative Extension System through the University of Connecticut. She specializes in translating complex science into community action, advancing equitable, place-based solutions through participatory research, geospatial analysis, and culturally responsive outreach. With an interdisciplinary background in Urban Ecology and Socio-Ecological Systems, Mayra bridges the gap between scientific inquiry and practical resource access. Through a dedicated focus on conservation education and co-governance, she strives to cultivate sustainable, climate-resilient urban landscapes throughout the state of Connecticut.