Jennifer Greenfeld

The field of forestry and arboriculture has matured greatly in the last several decades. Researchers and policy-makers have recommended and developed best management guides, systems for tree assessment and inventory and operational databases, to name a few advances. New York City has had the opportunity to put many of these recommendations to the test. This talk will look at three areas of urban forest management: tree risk, pest, and storm response to explore how the Parks Department has adapted standards.

Speaker Biography

Jennifer Greenfeld is the Assistant Commissioner of Forestry, Horticulture, and Natural Resources for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. In this role, she protects, restores, expands, and manages New York City’s urban forest, natural spaces and green infrastructure.  Over the last 24 years at Parks, Jennifer led critical efforts to study the health and mortality of street trees and to quantify the impact of trees on the urban environment. She played an important role in MillionTreesNYC, initiated and implemented the agency’s transition to Tree Risk Management, and has overseen the restoration and management of thousands of acres of natural areas including the completion of the first fish passage in New York City, on the Bronx River; the restoration of salt marshes and the planting of over 550,000 trees, shrubs, perennials, and grasses as a part of this management.

Prior to working for New York City Parks, Jennifer worked on land conservation and urban forestry in San Francisco and Washington DC . She obtained a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Forest Science from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.