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Like so many people across the globe, we are distraught by the recent events that have shaken our country, our capital building, and our democracy. These efforts have shaken us too, but not broken our wills. Instead, we are more committed than ever to building a resilient democracy rooted in the values of empathy, understanding, and care. These values - values embodied by our trees - guide our work.
At Speak for the Trees we make this promise for 2021: we will continue to relentlessly advocate for equity in all its forms - social, environmental, economic, and racial - and redouble our efforts to dismantle racism and white supremacy. We are heartened to know Sen. John Kerry, Gina McCarthy, and Mayor Marty Walsh, three environmental leaders from Boston, will be moving to DC. Brighter and greener days surely lie ahead.
In the coming weeks we aim to profile the positive local work in Boston to build stronger bonds of connection between all residents. If you have stories or events to share, we welcome them.
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 Growing in the New Year
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Please welcome to our Advisory Board
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Dr. Tariana V. Little is the CEO and co-founder of EmVision Productions, a media boutique that helps forward-thinking organizations convey how they are changing the world. Leveraging their Social Impact Storytelling™ framework, their portfolio includes Hasbro, The Jimmy Fund, The City of Chelsea, and other notable entities. Working at the intersections of media, public health, and business, she teaches about entrepreneurship and innovation at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, serves on various non-profit boards, and is an emerging philanthropist in her native Boston, MA. She holds a Doctor of Public Health from Harvard Chan and is an alumna of Tufts University, UMass Boston, and Roxbury Community College. Driven by science, storytelling, and social justice, Tariana’s work embodies what she calls “intentional creativity for social change.”
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Dr. Howard Birnbaum joined Analysis Group in 1997, and, has been instrumental in establishing the national prominence of the firm’s Health Economics and Outcomes Research practice. An applied microeconomist, he has conducted economic investigations regarding the real world comparative effectiveness of new treatments, the direct and indirect costs of illness, and models regarding the budget impacts and societal costs of various pharmaceutical, device, and medical interventions. Recently, Dr. Birnbaum has focused on the health care costs of air pollution and estimating potential savings in health care costs associated with reduced air pollution from increased urban tree planting. He is an expert on the use of public and private payer claims databases and has used these and other data sources to conduct health economics and outcomes research for pharmaceutical and device manufacturers, managed care organizations, government agencies, and environmental organizations.
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Caring for Clean Air: CLF Settlement
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Andrew Petitdemange shared his research on the Boston Urban Forestry Council at our first Boston Urban Forest Friends meeting of 2021
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Boston Urban Forest Council: What Makes a Successful Partnership?
A huge thank you to everyone who joined the first Boston Urban Forest Friends meeting of the year, and a special thank you to Andrew Petitdemange for an informative and engaging presentation. We learned a lot about the Boston Urban Forest Friends and what and who came before us and where we can go from here. There was great discussion, with many raising critical issues for us to think about and continue to discuss, including insight from past BUFC members. If you missed the meeting or would like to go back to certain points in the conversation, you can watch it on youtube.
Here's Andrew's presentation. Or, if you you'd like to read Andrew's thesis on BUFC, here's the link. Thank you all for your continued enthusiasm sharing your passion for this work. Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for information on our next meeting on Friday February 12th at 11am.
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Meet our new MassCEC interns!
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Megan Blagden
Megan is a recent graduate of Boston University, where she studied Earth and Environmental Science, and aided research efforts to study the impacts of climate change on northeastern forests. As a lifelong New England resident, Megan grew up with an appreciation for the maples in her backyard and the oaks at her favorite beaches, and is a passionate supporter of conservation and restoration in ever-changing urban ecosystems. She is excited to be joining the Speak for the Trees team as a fundraising intern, and to be working towards the mission of tree equity and environmental justice in Boston.
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Emika Brown
Emika is from Boulder, Colorado where she grew up exploring the mountains and climbing trees around her home. She is a sophomore at Tufts University where she is involved with the Student Garden and the Society for Women Engineers. She is majoring in Environmental Engineering with a minor in computer science. Her love of trees was inspired by a research project on Ponderosa Pine forests, and her interest in green infrastructure was sparked by her involvement in a land stewardship program with the City of Boulder. Emika is excited to join our team as an outreach intern (and newsletter author!) and to learn about environmental justice in her new home.
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Our ED Now Co-Chair of the Urban Ecology Collaborative
We'd like to congratulate our Executive Director, David Meshoulam, for recently becoming Co-Chair of the Urban Ecology Collaborative. The UEC connects urban forestry researchers and practitioners in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic through a monthly seminar series and annual in-person meetings. If you'd like to learn more about the group, please email urbanecologycollaborative@gmail.com.
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AND FINALLY....
Check out our events page for upcoming webinars and events!
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