About Us

Cathy Bentley
CTF Co-Chair and Grant Coordinator
Cathy is an ISA Certified Arborist and a Professional Forester, with her own business for 30+ years. She specializes in tree appraisals and inventories for road widening and expropriation projects. She enjoys golf, fishing and being in the forest, in both BC and Ontario, as well as travelling and seeing trees everywhere.

Catherine Dowdell
CTF Co-Chair
Catherine Dowdell is an Urban Forestry Technologist with over 20 years in the green industry. She holds a Master’s in Urban Forestry Leadership, is a Red Seal Landscape Horticulturist, ISA Certified Arborist, and Tree Risk Assessor. She’s passionate about integrating the urban forest amidst development and urbanization, and pushing hardiness zones when selecting species for a changing climate.

John Wilson
Treasurer and Fundraising
John is a Forestry Technology graduate of Lakehead University and a Horticulture graduate from University of Guelph. John is a retired ISA Certified Arborist, with a 30+ year career working with Campus Services and Business Operations at York University. Currently, John is a volunteer with Aurora Community Arboretum. He is a passionate golfer, cyclist and tireless tree advocate!

Kyle Berwick
CTF Trustee – Chapter Liaison
Kyle Berwick is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualified, Butternut Health Assessor, RPF in training, and graduated magna cum laude from the Niagara Parks Commission School of Horticulture. He spent nine years in the horticulture industry before transitioning into arboriculture and urban forestry in 2013 where he got his start as an Urban Forestry Consultant. He worked in the public sector for eight years before starting Urban Arboretum Inc. full time in 2022. In his spare time Kyle enjoys hiking, canoeing, kayaking and backcountry camping.

Warren Hoselton
CTF Trustee – Fundraising, Cyclist in Team Canada’s Tour Des Trees
Warren is an ISA Certified Arborist and has spent much of his 40-year career with the City of Toronto as the Parks Supervisor on Toronto Island.  He has been on the Tree Fund Board since 2007 and is a 23-year veteran of the Tour des Trees (the world’s largest fundraising event to benefit trees).  Since his recent retirement, he is now able to spend more time with his “Arbor-Ego”, Professor Pricklethorn, where his goal is to teach children of all ages about the importance of our urban trees.

Serena Soucy
CTF Trustee – Communications and Scholarships
Serena is an ISA Certified Arborist who has experience working in private tree care, consulting and the municipal sector. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Conservation from the University of British Columbia and studied Arboriculture at Humber College. Serena loves sharing her passion about trees and their unique qualities with anyone who will listen and can often be found reading or sewing in her spare time.

Simon Ouimet
CTF Trustee
Simon Ouimet is an certified ISA arborist with over 17 years of experience in tree care, climbing, and production work. He has a passion for tree care and environmental stewardship and holds a DEP in Arboriculture and Tree Work from the Horticultural Centre of Laval. Simon has been actively involved in the Board of Directors of the Société internationale d’arboriculture – Quebec (SIAQ) since 2021 and also contributes as a board member of the Horticultural Mutual Prevention CNESST Telus Santé.

Maureen Sexsmith-West
CTF Trustee
Maureen found her way to tree care through horticulture and has worked in the industry since 1996. She holds her ISA Certified Arborist and Tree Risk Assessment Qualification. Maureen ownes and runs Ladybug Arborists in Airdrie, Alberta, offering tree care, consulting and horticultural services, as well as public education programs and one-on-one training for a wide range of clients. A passionate volunteer, she serves as a Communities in Bloom judge and represents the Prairie Chapter with the Canadian TREE Fund.