Speakers Bureau

Welcome to the Ohio Chapter International Society of Arboriculture’s Speakers Bureau. Whether you’re looking for a presenter for your Garden Club, Kiwanis, Scouts, School or employer, we are here to help.

Read each speaker’s information below and contact them directly to answer any questions and to check their schedule. There is no cost from the Chapter for this service; speakers, however, may request travel reimbursement, etc. Speakers are listed in alphabetic order.

Chad Clink – Cleveland, OH

Email: chadclink@gmail.com / Phone: (330) 760-1476

Chad Clink – Cleveland, OH

Chad has a passion for trees and providing high quality care towards their preservation. As a child and adolescent, working outside in the garden and long walks in the woods led to an interest in outdoor careers. As a student at Kent State University studying horticulture, Chad took arboriculture and urban forestry classes refining his career pathway to the tree care industry. Upon graduating from Kent State with an Associate and Bachelors’ degree in Horticulture, Chad worked across the country as an arborist and urban forester providing expertise to various communities. During this time, Chad was able to achieve the Board Certified Master Arborist (OH-6204BM) credential and complete his master’s degree from the University of Idaho in Natural Resource Management. His most recent accomplishment was becoming a Registered Consulting Arborist (#589) with the American Society of Consulting Arborists. Chad is also a Municipal Specialist and Tree Risk Assessment Qualified with the International Society of Arboriculture and a Licensed Commercial Applicator with the Ohio Department of Agriculture. He has enjoyed working as both an arborist and urban & community forester for 7 years in the industry, while giving back through education and outreach with the Ohio Chapter International Society of Arboriculture. You will find Chad hiking with his wife, son, and dogs in his free time – adding a new tree to the yard – or up a tree for a recreational climb. 

John Palmer – Lakewood, OH

Email: treephd@protonmail.com / Phone: (440) 227-8158

John Palmer – Lakewood, OH

John Palmer is a Consulting Arborist, ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, and is an advanced Tree Risk Assessor. His areas of expertise include pruning and trimming, young tree training, pest ID and management, with a specialty in Emerald Ash Borer. He is an Arborjet-trained Injection specialist, with training in Arborceuticals. His focus includes proper pruning and planting practices, Biomechanics, soil and water management, urban forestry, tree biology, and healthy root system development.

He is an author, speaker, and trainer, on subjects including The Future of Urban Forestry, Deforestation by Design™, The New Construction Paradigm, and The Leadership Laws of Nature. He has spoken to the construction industry, advanced high school science classes, municipal forestry departments, garden clubs, home and garden shows, and at national arborist conventions. He’s been featured in news and magazine articles, and in radio and TV segments, and has had a regular social media presence with tips and advice for nearly 10 years.

Previously John had a very successful 20-year career in radio. He can comfortably speak to any size group, making sure he is both understood and entertaining. He proudly embraces the title of Tree Nerd and is very determined to help people understand the difference between a tree doctor and a tree undertaker!

Ronald Rothhaas – Cincinnati, OH

Email: ron@arbordoctor.com / Phone: (513) 661-2673

Ronald Rothhaas – Cincinnati, OH

Ronald Rothhaas is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist® and owner of Arbor Doctor LLC, specializing in plant health care, tree preservation, and landscaping. He got his start in horticulture by joining his community tree board while in high school. Ron is a graduate in Ornamental Horticulture from Cincinnati State Technical and Community College and Horticulture Interpretation from The Ohio State University. Ron is a member of the International Society of Arboriculture and is a member of the Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky ISA chapters. He is ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualified and is a member of the American Society of Consulting Arborists and the Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association. Ron is a frequent guest on In the Garden with Ron Wilson on 55WKRC where he talks about trees, horticulture, and his other favorite topic, meteorology. Ron has been married for 26 years and has an adopted daughter who is a gymnast. He lives in Green Township on the west side of Cincinnati but has clients throughout the Cincinnati metro area. In his spare time Ron is civilian coordinator for Westwood Citizens on Patrol, Cincinnati Police Department District 3. Arbor Doctor has an extensive website, blog site, and Facebook presence. The website is www.ArborDoctor.com.

Elliott Schaffer – Powell, OH

Email: schaffer495@gmail.com / Phone: (614) 668-2026

Elliott Schaffer – Powell, OH

Elliott Schaffer is a Landscape Horticulture graduate of The Ohio State University. He is also an ISA Certified Arborist and licensed pesticide applicator. Elliott gained important experience in consumer tree and shrub care with the ChemScape® division of ChemLawn®. First by running a route in Chicago, then opening and managing a tree and shrub care operation in Cleveland. As zone horticulturist then zone service line manager, Elliott applied his experience to teaching, coaching, and growing the field organization. Elliott held training seminars across the country and at ChemLawn's world headquarters in Ohio.

In the mid-1980's, Elliott began supporting ChemLawn franchisees. This support included developing original training programs for functional areas of the company; not only agronomic and horticultural topics but, safety and environmental stewardship as well. In the 1990's, Elliott started selling for different Green Industry vendors; CLC LABS®, IMC Vigoro® and Plant Health Care®. In late 2000, Elliott became training manager at Scotts LawnService® where he had the responsibility for building training programs and materials for 1,700 field personnel all over the United States.

In June 2007, Elliott established "Environmental Horticultural Services"; an owner- operated horticultural training and consulting business in Dublin, Ohio. In this new venture, Elliott applies his over 30+ years of tree and shrub care service experience to the training and development of growing small businesses in the service industry.

Daniel Smith – Hartville, OH

Email: treecision247@gmail.com / Phone: (330) 554-7612

Daniel Smith – Hartville, OH

Daniel J. Smith, is an ISA Certified Arborist and Tree Risk Assessment Qualified (TRAQ) - ISA #OH-6673A who has specialized in helping homeowners and property managers in the NE Ohio area understand and manage their tree and shrub care needs for the past 15+ years.

Dan’s interest in trees started as a kid clearing brush on the family farm, learning to identify various trees with his father, and making maple syrup with the family for nearly 40 years.  “I love to talk with people about their trees,” Dan says; “Trees are fascinating and full of benefits for property owners and communities that care for them.” “The more I learn, the more I want to learn and share what I know with those interested in the growth, health, and proper maintenance of these living resources.”

Dan started professionally in tree service as a groundsman for the Lumberjack Complete Tree Service in 1999 literally “learning the ropes.” Between then and now he has gained experience and knowledge in a wide variety of tree-related aspects of the tree care industry including climbing, small business ownership, portable band-sawmill operation, lumber sales (including a course in lumber grading), plant health care (PHC) technician, sales arborist, and consulting arborist.

Additionally, Dan has been an ISA Certified Arborist with a Tree Risk Assessment Qualified designation since 2017 and has attended several tree conferences (ISA and TCIA), as well as ASCA academy for Consulting Arborists. Dan is a current member of the ISA and the Ohio Chapter ISA and has enjoyed serving on the marketing committee for the Ohio Chapter.

Dan currently works as an independent Consulting Arborist and owner of Treecision Arborcare. “My mission is to equip my clients by providing an independent professional resource of experience and expertise with candid assessment using various tools (Tree Risk Assessment, Tree Inventories, Condition Reports, Protection Planning and etc.) to make informed TREE-CISIONs with confidence.”

Dan is also available as a speaker and trainer with experience presenting to groups in various settings. His passion, knowledge, and concern for trees is self-evident and enjoyable. From open Q&A to specific topical interests Dan is available to impact your group positively. For a list of presentations or to discuss options contact Dan by phone, text, or email.

Mark Webber, BCMA, CPH, LTE, MArborA, OCMNT, TPAQ, TRAQ

Email: mwebber@webberlandscaping.com / Phone: (888) 298-3973

Mark Webber, BCMA, CPH, LTE,  MArborA, OCMNT, TPAQ, TRAQ

Mark is a professional arborist and horticulturist with well over 40 years of combined experience with the science and care of trees and plants. He earned his A.A.S and B.S from The Ohio State University with a major in horticulture and a minor in agricultural economics. Mark is designated by the International Society of Arboriculture as a Board Certified Master Arborist and is a Tree Risk Assessment Qualified arborist. The New Jersey Board of Tree Experts has designated Mark as Licensed Tree Expert, and he is the only arborist in the United States designated by the Arboricultural Association in the United Kingdom as a category 5 arborist. He is also designated by the American Society of Consulting Arborist is a Qualified Tree & Plant Appraiser. The American Society for Horticultural Science has designated Mark, a Certified Horticultural Professional. Mark has hosted a call-in radio gardening show on WHIO radio for 28 years and hosted a television program on WDTN Channel 2 called “Test Garden” for 10 years. Additionally, he has written over 30 articles that have been published in various professional publications in the United States and Australia.

Mark can speak to your organization about a wide range of arboricultural and horticultural topics and provide a point of the presentation.  

Those presentations include topics like:

  • Tree Decay
  • Tree Risk Management
  • Tree Roots
  • Tree Planting
  • Soil & Nutrient Management
  • Storm Damage Trees
  • Other topics upon request