I have been a lifelong student of the plants and trees around us, whether spending my days laying on my belly in the yard as a child, contemplating the blades of grass; mucking about in the woods as a pre-teen with a field guide to edible trees and plants dog-eared and in hand; or standing on a denuded Galápagos Island on a study abroad trip at twenty suddenly realizing my future would be one centered on trees, plants and trees have been my guides, sign posts, and touchstones in life. That quick but transformative epiphany in the Galápagos led to academic studies and then a career centered on plants, trees, and forests, first as a young field intern studying plant physiology while gradually inching westward and north, and later as a graduate student pursuing my Master's of Environmental Science degree in Forest Ecology & Management. Since moving to Alaska to lead a nonprofit organization centered on conservation of the Tongass, my childhood love of knowing (and eating) the plants that surround us has only grown. My partner and I are diligent foragers and growers of a myriad of Southeast Alaskan native plants, and I remain notoriously prone to distraction along our hikes and walks by the discovery and celebration of "a really great tree." During a job transition in 2024 I had the opportunity to work for a wonderful locally owned plant nursery and landscaping business, and it was there that I got really clear on what I loved about plants. Weeding established plant beds? Unfortunately rough on a back that has limited shelf life for leaning and pulling. Lawn maintenance? Even a small green space can create a lot of room for joy, but pushing a mower or wielding a weed whacker was not where I found my own (joy, that is). But pruning... is like art, meditation, and the zen of living, growing things, all wrapped up into one. It was really only a question of time before I began learning to prune those really great trees (and bushes) myself for purposes of their health, their beauty, our enjoyment, and the amendment of the millions of tiny offenses we inflict on our trees and bushes when we're still getting to know them (guilty as charged!) I discovered Plant Amnesty and their Master Pruner certificate in 2025, after pulling a landscape renovation and pruning book out of a neighbor's Little Free Library while getting into landscaping in my own yard. I read and annotated it once...twice...three times - and was hooked, and then learned Plant Amnesty was to place to learn more in the company of other plant-minded professionals. These days I derive great joy in helping your bushes and small trees grow beautifully and well, and in helping the organism of your plant thrive and achieve resilience along the way.