Trees, People, & the Law Symposium

Instructors

• Victor Merullo

  Attorney, Merullo, Reister & Swinford Co., L.P.A.

  Columbus, Ohio

  Mr. Merullo is co-author of Arboriculture and the Law, the first publication devoted exclusively to the law of trees, and is a featured speaker on these issues across the United States and Canada. In public practice, he worked for the Ohio Attorney General, assigned primarily to the Department of Agriculture. In private practice, he handles cases in various aspects of the law, particularly in matters concerning trees. He earned his J.D. degree from Capital University Law School and studied horticulture at The Ohio State University. He is the instructor for Arbor Day Foundation’s seminars on Trees, People, & the Law. Visit his website at treeandneighborlaw.com.

• Jill D. Pokorny

  Plant Pathologist, USDA Forest Service

  St. Paul, Minnesota

  Jill is a plant pathologist with the USDA Forest Service, State & Private Forestry branch, located in St. Paul, Minnesota. She provides technical assistance to seven Midwestern states in the area of tree risk management, plant disease diagnostics, and disease management in forest nurseries. Her work focuses on developing publications and other educational materials and conducting training workshops. Jill serves as the coordinating author of Urban Tree Risk Management: A Community Guide to Program Design and Implementation. Jill received her B.S. degree in plant health technology and her M.S. degree in plant pathology from the University of Minnesota. Prior to working with the Forest Service, Jill served as Director of the Plant Disease Clinic at the University of Minnesota for 12 years.

• Barri Kaplan Bonapart

  Attorney, Bonapart & Associates

  Sausalito, California

  At Bonapart & Associates, a law and mediation firm specializing in complex commercial litigation, and tree and neighbor law, Barri’s clientele includes local businesses, tree care companies, professionals, and property owners. She advises homeowners, arborists, attorneys and public entities regarding personal injury and property damage caused by trees, trespass, nuisance and encroachments. She represents parties in disputes about views, tree removal, threats to life and property from trees, boundaries, fences, insurance coverage, and the interpretation of local tree ordinances. She has authored numerous articles and is a featured speaker nationally on tree and neighbor law. Barri earned her law degree from Boalt Hall, School of Law, University of California, Berkeley.

• Mark Duntemann

  Owner, Natural Path Urban Forestry Consultants

  Chicago, Illinois

  Mark earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Resources from the University of Montana and a Master’s degree in Urban Forestry from the University of Wisconsin — Madison. Mark founded Natural Path in 1989 and focused mostly on developing tree inventories and management plans for communities in the United States, Canada, and Europe. In the last nine years, he has been retained on numerous tree-related fatality cases. Recently, he has concentrated on developing defensible tree risk management strategies for government agencies and is currently writing a book on the topic.

• Phil Andreen

  Former Assistant City Attorney, City of Pasadena, California

  A trial attorney for over 40 years, Phil Andreen recently completed 20 years as Assistant City Attorney for the City of Pasadena, California. His work there included defending Pasadena’s sidewalk and tree-related litigation. Phil is a graduate of Pomona College and UCLA Law School and a frequent Arbor Day Foundation speaker.