Scientific committee members

Paloma Carriñanos

Paloma Cariñanos is Professor of Botany at the University of Granada, Spain. As a teacher, she has taught numerous courses on Urban Green Infrastructure, Urban Forests and Biodiversity Management in urban environments. Among its lines of research are those dedicated to the identification, characterization and mitigation of the impact of allergenic species in urban forests, assessment of the ecosystem services provided by urban forests, and identification of the impacts of climate change on urban tree species in the Mediterranean area. She is coordinator of FAO’s SilvaMediterranea WG on urban and periurban forestry since 2020, and Vice-President of the Spanish Association of Public Parks and Gardens (AEPJP) since the beginning of this year.

Wendy Chen

Dr Wendy Chen is a professor of Department of Geography, and the Director of the International Centre for China Development Studies, at the University of Hong Kong.

She also serves as the Editor-in-Chief for Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, a top international journal in the field of urban greening design and management. She is the coordinator of the Urban Forestry Unit under the International Union of Forest Research Organisation, and the Executive Board Member of Urban Forest Division, Chinese Society of Forestry. 

Dr. Chen’s research focuses on urban forestry, urban river restoration, environmental externality of urban landscape planning and design, urban environmental governance and urban sustainability.

Stefania Gasperini

Inma Gascón

Inma Gascón has a background in Agricultural Engineering. She has held the position of Head of Parks and Gardens Services at the Palma City Council for 17 years. She currently works as an independent Professional in her own Engineering and Landscape Consulting firm, which she balances alongside educational pursuits and outreach projects aimed at enhancing and integrating Urban Nature. She is the current Vice President of the Spanish Arboriculture Association.

Her prior experience encompasses work within the private sector, and she has worked as an associate professor at the School of Agricultural Engineering at the University of the Balearic Islands and lecturer in the Master’s program in Historical Gardens and Ecosystem Services at the Polytechnic University of Madrid. She is also occassional speaker at various professional forums including professional associations, Iberflora, the Balearic Association of Trees, among others.

Richard Hauer

Andrew Hirons

Andrew D. Hirons is a Senior Lecturer in Arboriculture at Myerscough College, UK. He began his career in arboriculture as a climbing arborist and plant health care technician, gaining experience in Australia, America and the UK before joining the arboriculture department at Myerscough College in 2004. As well as acting as a Course Tutor for the Online Foundation Degree in Arboriculture and Tree Management, he teaches modules relating to tree biology, tree establishment and tree management. His current research activity is motivated by the need to create resilience in our urban forests, and is focused on using plant traits to inform species selection for urban environments.

Andrew Koeser

Andrew Koeser is an Associate Professor of Urban Tree and Landscape Management at the University of Florida Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. His research focuses on urban tree diversity, trees and storms, and urban forest policy. Andrew is a past recipient of the International Society of Arboriculture’s Early Career, R.W. Harris Author’s Citation, L.C. Chadwick Award for Arboricultural Research Awards. He currently serves as the President and Education Chair of the Florida Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. Andrew has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and presented over 200 invited and submitted research and extension talks. He is an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Horticulture.

Cecil Konijnendijk

Cecil Konijnendijk co-leads the Nature Based Solutions Institute, a think tank for the evidence-based greening of cities. He is also an honorary professor at the University of British Columbia and a visiting scholar at Wageningen University. Cecil has over 25 years of experience studying, teaching, and advising on aspects of urban forestry and nature-based solutions. He is widely considered as one of the world’s leading urban forestry experts. A Dutch national, he has lived and worked in Europe, Asia, and North America. Cecil helped found the leading academic journal Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, and edited seminal textbooks such as ‘Urban Forests and Trees’ and ‘The Routledge Handbook of Urban Forestry’. He is currently Editor-in-chief of the journal Arboriculture and Urban Forestry. He has advised international organisations such as the United Nations, as well as national and local governments in more than 30 countries.

Stephen Livesley

Stephen focusses his research on quantifying and modelling the ecosystem services and biodiversity benefits provided by urban forests. Stephen leads urban forest research at The University of Melbourne, Australia and leads the UrbanFoRCCE (Urban Forests for Resilient Communities, Climate and Environment). He is a leading urban forest researcher, having published extensively and supervised many young researchers through their own Masters and PhD studies.  He works closely with local governments and industry within Australia to ensure his research is applied and has impact for society and environmental benefit. Stephen believes that a scientific evidence-base is essential for the role of urban forests to be front and centre of future urban planning and climate change adaptation actions.

Ana Macías

Ana Macias is a Forestry Engineer with a PhD in urban forestry. She is the president of Arbocity, a non-profit association dedicated to disseminating the benefits of the urban forest and the importance of its care and management. She collaborates as a researcher and lecturer at the Urban Forestry Research Group in the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid and is author of the Visualisation Protocol for Urban Forestry published by the London Tree Officers Association. Her work focusses on urban forests ecosystem services and in the use of citizen science and visualizations to improve communication in urban green infrastructure management and planning.

Antonio Morcillo

Dr. Forest Engineer. Head of Green Area Conservation Service at the Madrid City Council for the past 10 years and associated professor at the Higher Technical School of Forest Engineers, Forestry, and Natural Environment of the UPM (Technical University of Madrid). He has served as an expert evaluator for European Union projects on forest policy in Brussels. Antonio is author of numerous articles on the environment and books, the latest of which is titled “Parks and Gardens of Madrid”.

Johan Östberg

Johan Östberg is Associate Professor with a PhD in Landscape Planning. Over the course of his career to date, he has produced over 200 publications, including reports, book chapters, popular and scientific reports, and peer-reviewed articles. Apart from his academic career he is also an active as a consultant and co-owner of The Tree Office, an consultancy firm in Sweden working in the Nordic countries, where he is working to create green and sustainable urban areas.

Sonia Roig

Sonia Roig is full Professor at the University in the Department of Systems and Natural Resources at UPM (Technical University of Madrid). Teaching responsibilities include Silviculture and Forest Reforestation in undergraduate and master’s degree programs. Also, serving as the Coordinator of the Advanced Forest Research Doctoral Program and leading the research group ECOGESFOR, focused on Ecology and Sustainable Forest Management.

Jamie Vidich

Jamie Vidich is the Director of Educational Products and Services at the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), where he leads the department responsible for ISA’s book and serial publications, eLearning programs, and annual conference programming. In addition to coordinating the Conference Program Committee for ISA’s Annual International Conference, he has served on the Partners in Community Forestry Conference Program Advisory Committee and the Second World Forum on Urban Forests Organizing Committee.