Kiley Miller resigns as Trees Forever president and CEO

MARION — Kiley Miller has resigned from his role as president and chief executive officer of nonprofit Trees Forever after more than two years in the role.

The Trees Forever Board of Directors is launching a search for Miller’s successor to lead the Marion-based organization that has a footprint in Iowa and Illinois to connect people to the environment through tree planting and care.

“Kiley saw the organization through some of its most challenging years in the aftermath of a pandemic, a derecho, and managing the transition from our organization’s founder,” Board Chair Lynn Manternach said in a statement. “We appreciate his hard work and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

Asked to provide a rationale for his resignation, Manternach said “he chose to resign and we accepted his resignation” and declined to offer additional details.

Miller helped advance the Growing Futures program, which employs youth to plant and care for trees while educating them about environmental careers and equipping them with job skills. He also led the completion of the organization’s Marion campus redevelopment project that uses best practices in conservation; worked with the board of directors and staff to implement a new strategic plan; and helped build strategic partnerships with community partners.

“Trees are great, but the best part of Trees Forever is the people,” Miller said in a statement. “Volunteers, donors, directors and trustees, and the best staff imaginable, all working together to advance the Trees Forever objective of caring for communities and the environment.”

The board has appointed Director of Development Deb Powers as interim CEO. Manternach said a search committee will be formed within the next two weeks and then the board will work quickly to advance the search process.

Miller came to the organization in early 2021 as Trees Forever worked with the city of Cedar Rapids to draft the ReLeaf plan to reforest the city after the August 2020 derecho wiped out about two-thirds of Cedar Rapids’ tree canopy. He succeeded Shannon Ramsay, the nonprofit's founder. He previously served as president and chief executive of Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corp. in Spencer.

Both Trees Forever and the city of Cedar Rapids employ ReLeaf managers — Kent VonBehren and Carole Teator, respectively — who oversee their organizations’ ReLeaf programming.

The plan calls for the replanting of 42,000 trees on public parks and rights of way in 10 years with a focus on equity and place-making, prioritizing the most vulnerable neighborhoods. It also includes principles that private property owners can follow to replant on their own land.

To date, according to a city dashboard, 5,300 ReLeaf trees have been planted so far.

With work underway on ReLeaf, Miller’s departure is not expected to disrupt progress, Manternach said.

“ReLeaf is incredibly important and we are very focused on making sure we don’t skip a beat on that,” Manternach said. “ … Nothing has really changed.”

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