Michelle Beisker selected as Trees Forever CEO

Michelle Beisker will be the new chief executive officer at Trees Forever, the Marion-based nonprofit announced Thursday.

Beisker, who begins April 29, succeeds Kiley Miller, who left last July. Interim CEO Debra Powers will remain with Trees Forever to help with the transition.

Trees Forever works with community leaders and landowners across Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin to plant and care for trees and the environment. It is part of a public-private partnership with the city of Cedar Rapids to reforest the city after the August 2020 derecho’s ferocious winds knocked down about 65 percent of the city’s tree canopy — about 720,000 trees.

Beisker most recently served as senior vice president of development at the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation. Additionally, she served as chief operating officer at Waypoint Services in Cedar Rapids, program director at Four Oaks in Cedar Rapids, assistant vice president at Mount Mercy University and global sales manager at PMX Industries.

“The work of Trees Forever aligns with my passion,” Beisker said in a statement. “I have been and continue to be dedicated to the betterment of our communities. I am so pleased to join this work that ensures access to nature in every neighborhood.”

“Future generations will benefit from our current efforts to address climate change through planting trees,” Beisker said. “We have a lot to do, and I can't wait to get started.”

Trees Forever said in a news release that Beisker was hired after an extensive search, saying she is a “proven leader with expertise in development, community advocacy, strategic planning and communications.”

Lynn Manternach, chair of the Trees Forever board, cited Beisker as a leader “who understands how to pull together diverse stakeholders to accomplish important things. Michelle is strategic, well-networked, people-focused and results-oriented.”

Beisker joins Trees Forever as it launches its “Grow the Love" campaign to raise money from individuals and smaller businesses toward post-derecho tree replanting. Currently, the organization has reached 61 percent of the $37 million fundraising goal to replant 42,000 public trees over 10 years.

“We are so fortunate to have someone with Michelle's experience to lead Trees Forever during this critical and challenging time,” Trees Forever founder Shannon Ramsay said in a statement.

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