Municipal Forestry Institute
Focus Year

Over the last few years I've had a dream come true opportunity to partner with the Urban & Community Forestry Society (UCFS) and collaborate with urban forestry leaders from around the globe to review and update the curriculum for the Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI), the premier leadership training for urban forestry professionals.

2023 Focus Year Guidance

Proposed a MFI Focus Year to review and update the Institute goals, objectives, and curriculum before returning to its traditional schedule in February 2024. Developed a strategic plan and work plan to conduct outreach, compile feedback and process for reviewing and updated the curriculum. Led the process to identify and support returning and new education facilitators. Prepared pro-gram overview reports and manuals.

Engagement & Feedback

In close collaboration with UCFS, convened a monthly steering com-mittee meeting to develop an Institute statement of purpose, goals, and objectives. Convened a planning committee made up of former educational facilitators and MFI alumni to revise and update curriculum and lesson plans. Supported MFI alumni workshops and alumni survey aimed to gather feedback on MFI experiences.

Curriculum Review & Revision

Led the planning committee to meticulously review the Institute curriculum, lesson plans, and materials and identified areas for removal, revision or expansion. Benchmarked and evaluated similar professional leadership educational opportunities. Used feedback as a basis for guiding curriculum revisions and updates. Prepared a detailed curriculum with updated schedule, lesson plans and materials.

The Municipal Forestry Institute

In 2005, a pioneering group of municipal arborists joined forces with the Urban & Community Forestry Society (UCFS), then known as the Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA), to establish the Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI). Recognizing a pressing need to nurture leaders within arboriculture and urban forestry, this visionary collaboration set out to fill the gap in leadership development not addressed by traditional education. Emphasizing the human dimensions of urban forestry and the cultivation of leadership soft skills, MFI distinguishes itself by assembling a faculty of demonstrated urban forestry leaders renowned for their engaging teaching prowess, expertise, and dedication to fostering the next generation of leaders.

Now approaching its third decade since its inaugural session in 2006, MFI stands as the premier leadership training program, representing a pivotal milestone in the careers of many urban forestry professionals - this is true of my own transformative experience following my participation in MFI 2017. Through MFI, I not only established a foundational network of urban forestry peers but also gained the confidence to undertake new leadership roles that led me on a professional trajectory that I previously didn't think was possible.

Cultivating Urban Forestry Leaders

In 2021, I had the privilege of joining the MFI cadre (as the teaching faculty was then called) at the Institute in Bowling Green, Ohio. I presented daily sessions on leadership, community engagement, and professional development. The following year, I returned as an instructor and also assumed administrative responsibilities for the training. I coordinated participant registration, curriculum schedule and materials, grant and scholarship management, and logistical arrangements.

Traditionally MFI is held annually in February. However disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the Institute was held in September in 2021 and 2022. Eager to return to its customary February schedule and at the same time revitalize the almost 20 year old curriculum, UCFS embraced my proposal to conduct a Focus Year. The goal was clear: spend 2023 undertaking a comprehensive review of the program, curriculum, and instructors, with the aim of resuming the traditional schedule in February 2024. Entrusted with coordinating the MFI Focus Year, I embarked on a journey to refine and elevate this esteemed and critical leadership training.

MFI Focus YearSteering Committee

At the onset of the Focus Year, a distinguished steering committee was convened to guide the focus year process. Comprising national and international urban forestry leaders and key MFI stakeholders, the steering committee members represented specific skills, expertise, and diverse backgrounds and included urban forestry professionals in academia, governmental agencies, professional credentialing bodies, and non-profit organizations. The steering committee met monthly for most of 2024 and refined the Institute's statement of purpose, goals, objectives, curriculum, and educational facilitator selection criteria.

MFI Statement of Purpose

The Municipal Forestry Institute is an inclusive, immersive and transformative educational experience that empowers urban forestry leaders to gain valuable and practical insights from prominent figures, experts and peers in the field of urban forestry.

MFI 2024

Following a 17 month hiatus, MFI reconvened in 2024 on the beautiful and historic Jekyll Island, Georgia, showcasing the results of the MFI Focus Year: updated lesson plans based on the time-tested MFI curriculum. While retaining the Institute’s foundational pillars of leadership, strategic planning, coalition building, and public relations, the enhanced curriculum fostered deeper engagement and introspection, equipping participants to chart their professional and personal growth trajectories while synthesizing this understanding and knowledge to facilitate change in their lives and workplace.

The resounding success of the 2024 Institute, as echoed in participant feedback and the palpable enthusiasm within the cohort, underscored the enduring relevance and transformative power of MFI in empowering urban forestry leaders to effect positive change in their communities and beyond. The expanded cohort of instructors comprising both former and new education facilitators provided diversity and consistent support for the large group of participants. New and expanded program elements increased participant engagement before, during and after the Institute.

During the Institute, I had the privilege of facilitating the session "Communicating Your Vision," to share the essential skills for effectively promoting oneself and one's programs and the art of storytelling within the context of urban forestry. Through engaging and interactive discussions, I shared my personal journey of crafting and honing my narrative and the importance of controlling our own messages. I presented strategies for being ambushed by the media or in community meetings, outlined approaches for fostering productive media relationships, and recounted my experiences in navigating high-stakes conversations and crisis communication.

“I really liked the Communicating your Vision session, it gave me more confidence to come back and express my ideas."