Our Team
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Iris Caldwell
Vice President
Iris supports Grow With Trees’ leadership team through business strategy and administration, leveraging two decades of experience integrating environmental protection and business operations. She previously founded and facilitated the internationally recognized Rights-of-Way as Habitat Working Group at the University of Illinois Chicago to convene people at the intersection of energy and transportation, conservation, research, and policy. A firm believer in the power of connection and collaboration, Iris is inspired to creatively tackle some of the planet’s most complex challenges through shared vision and action.
Iris Caldwell
Vice President
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Daryl Chesley
Director, Operations & Client Service
Daryl serves the vegetation management industry by directing operations and client services at Grow With Trees. He spearheads strategic planning, product innovation, and team optimization to ensure unparalleled client satisfaction, operational efficiency, and scalable business growth. Leveraging decades of executive leadership, he has empowered teams and transformed organizations in public education, nonprofit healthcare, and for-profit education. His extensive experience in adult education and professional development emphasizes innovative training programs that build high-performing teams and adapt to evolving industry demands. A U.S. Navy veteran, Daryl holds an undergraduate degree from Villanova University and a doctorate in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies from George Washington University.
Daryl Chesley
Director, Operations and Client Service
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Hannah Fallon
Office Administrator
Hannah provides administrative support to Grow With Trees, with a focus on the Boots Branch and integrated vegetation management-related training programs. Her responsibilities include coordinating training logistics, learner enrollment, CEU submissions, records tracking, and client reporting, as well as reviewing training materials to ensure clarity, accuracy, and consistency. With her keen attention to detail, she plays a key role in maintaining accurate training records and supporting Grow With Trees’ clients and contractors. Hannah holds an associate degree in Office Administration with a specialization in software applications.
Hannah Fallon
Office Administrator
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Nikki Hill
Compatible Species Specialist
Nikki brings 20 years of seasoned ecology field experience to both Grow With Trees’ Boots and Boardroom Branches. Her work is driven by a long-standing interest in how people shape, and are shaped by, the places they inhabit. An avid researcher, Nikki excels at finding "sweet spot" opportunities where smart vegetation strategies are guided by sound habitat protocols to enhance right-of-way risk reduction, reliability, and overall integration in the landscapes they transect. She also designs and leads classes and plant walks for a wide range of audiences from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast. Nikki holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Botany.
Nikki Hill
Compatible Species Specialist
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Tara Najim
Natural Resource & IVM Specialist
Tara works on Grow With Trees’ Boardroom Branch team, developing nature-positive policies, conducting advanced geospatial analyses, and helping our clients understand and manage their relationships with biodiversity and climate change. She brings a collaborative, creative approach to multi-objective projects that deliver benefits for nature, communities, and right-of-way operations. She holds a master’s degree in Natural Resources, with specializations in GIS, Python coding, and forest–climate interactions.
Tara Najim
Natural Resource & IVM Specialist
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Sarah Shattuck
Motion Graphic Designer
Sarah utilizes her creativity and skill in graphic design to bring to life the knowledge and expertise that Grow With Trees has to offer. She creates visual content ranging from informational graphics, diagrams, illustrations, and animated videos, as well as branding materials and other graphic assets used by Grow With Trees and our clients. Sarah graduated from the University of Connecticut's Digital Media and Design program with a bachelor’s degree in Motion Design & Animation.
Sarah Shattuck
Motion Graphic Designer
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John Steelman
Program Manager, Boardroom Branch
John is a forester by training, serving as a timber cruiser and supervising sawyer in addition to a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia, where he worked on grassroots development in a UNESCO Biosphere Forest Reserve. For the last decade, he has served as a program manager and now leads the Boardroom Branch at Grow With Trees. He oversees long-term strategic planning for integrated vegetation management program enhancement and Right-of-Way Stewardship Council accreditations (also serving as the co-chair of the Council), nature-based risk assessments, biodiversity reporting, and other projects and programs that advance intentional vegetation management on energy and transportation lands. John holds a bachelor’s degree in Forest Operations and a master’s degree in Environmental Sciences.
John Steelman
Program Manager - Boardroom Branch
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Mike Stein
Training & Communications Specialist
Mike supports Grow With Trees’ Boots Branch by designing and delivering training and communication strategies that bring integrated vegetation management to life for people in the field and in the boardroom. Drawing on his background in instructional design and workplace learning, he turns technical habitat and biodiversity goals into practical courses, field-ready tools, and clear messages that crews and managers can actually use. Mike is energized by helping organizations tell their stewardship story in ways that build understanding, pride, and lasting behavior change.
Mike Stein
Training & Communications Specialist
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Faith Ueckermann
IVM & ESG Specialist
Faith works on Grow With Trees’ Boardroom Branch team, supporting clients with Right-of-Way Stewardship Council accreditation; enrollment in conservation agreements, such as the Monarch CCAA; vegetation monitoring and reporting (both for conservation agreements and tracking of compatible, incompatible, and invasive species); and geospatial-driven analyses. She received a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and a GIS graduate certificate from the University of Delaware.
Faith Ueckermann
IVM & ESG Specialist
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Stan Vera-Art
President & Creative Catalyst
Stan has consulted for ecosystem restoration and right-of-way vegetation management companies for 25 years, with a special focus on integrating ecological and project management principles. In 2016, he founded Grow With Trees, inspired by the prospect that humanity can learn a lot from trees about how to co-exist on Earth for millennia. He strives for an out-of-the-box approach to catalyze positive environmental change in the industries where we work. He was the founding chair of the Utility Arborist Association’s Environmental Stewardship Committee and has contributed to the development of numerous utility industry environmental best practices and resources. He holds degrees in International Agriculture and Project Management.
Stan Vera-Art
President & Creative Catalyst
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Lindsey Wall
Program Manager, Boots Branch
Lindsey leads Grow With Trees' Boots Branch, which delivers a range of training and socialization products to vegetation management field teams. With 8+ years working in education and 6+ years designing and implementing in-person and online learning experiences related to integrated vegetation management, plant identification, and environmental stewardship, she brings a wealth of knowledge to engaging and empowering boots teams on the ground.
Lindsey Wall
Program Manager - Boots Branch
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Johnny White
Naturalist
Johnny is an avid naturalist, supporting Grow With Trees’ Boots Branch through in-person and online training in natural awareness and plant identification. Through a technique called coyote teaching, he inspires field teams to look at right-of-way vegetation through a different lens and build long-lasting plant-people connections. In his spare time, he and his wife, Karen, teach classes in animal tracking, edible and medicinal plants, homesteading, and organic farming.
Johnny White
Naturalist
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