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PROFESSIONAL ARBORIST
ASSOCIATION OF MISSISSIPPI
PAAM 2026 Executive Committee
PAAM Officers
President
Kevin Locke
Kevin has worked for the City of Meridian since 2002 as a Senior Planner, Urban Forester, and presently as the Planning Manager. Kevin earned his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Mississippi State University in 1997. He holds a MS Landscape Horticulturist License, is an ISA Certified Arborist, and holds the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification.
Vice-President
Vanessa Benson
Vanessa is the owner of Stump n' Grind Tree Service, which services the Gulfport, Biloxi, Ocean Springs, Gautier, Picayune, Bay Saint Louis, and Diberville area. Vanessa is an ISA Certified Arborist, and holds an ISA Prescription Pruning Qualification (PPQ). She is also a Mississippi Licensed Tree Surgeon and Tree Risk Assessor, and assists with Emergency Tree Disaster Relief.
Secretary
Ashley Schulz
Ashley Schulz is an assistant professor in the Department of Forestry at Mississippi State University. She earned her B.S. in Forestry from the University of Missouri-Columbia, M.S. in Forest Resources from the University of Georgia, and Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from Arkansas State University. She is a Registered Forester in Mississippi, and and an ISA Certified Arborist.
Treasurer
Joshua Granger
Joshua Granger is an associate professor in the Department of Forestry at Mississippi State University. He earned his B.S. and M.S. in Biology from the University of Nebraska, and M.S. in Statistics and Ph.D. in Forestry from the University of Tennessee. He is a Registered Forester in Mississippi, an ISA Certified Arborist, and SAF Candidate Certified Forester.
Board Members
Joe Loftus
Past President
Matt Nielson
Commercial Arborist
Darren Brinkley
Municipal Arborist
Stephen Dicke
ISA - Southern Chapter Rep
Ross Overstreet
Professional Education Coordinator
Brad Morris
Electric Power Association of Mississippi
Marshall Lyons
Investor-Owned Electric Utilities in Mississippi
Misty Booth
Exhibitors & Sponsors Coordinator
Bill Higginbotham
Member-at-Large
Alex Ballard
Advisory
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