Ben Mertz Email & Phone Number

Queens, New York, United States

Project Manager for borough-wide multi-million dollar contract repairing city-owned infrastructure.Managing borough-wide project including database management, budgets, productivity, accomplishments and reporting on project status.Responding to inquiries from residents, community boards, elected officials, and more.Assessing planning documents for new construction and its potential impact to city-owned trees.Consulting with engineers, developers and contractors on a regular basis throughout projects.Reviewing construction designs and conducting tree valuation surveys around new or proposed construction.Assessing tree-related damage to city-owned infrastructure and designing tree-friendly repairs.Performing risk assessments on trees and reporting tree work needs to arborist crews.

New York, Ny

Coordinated project with dual forest research and community-building goals.Managed development of mobile app to assist in training, in-field research, and providing tools to community groups interested in caring for trees.Conducted training events for interns, volunteers, and field staff in multiple cities across the country.Developed training materials, promotional flyers, educational documents, maps, and more.Designed web dashboard and coordinated development with programming team.Worked with USDA Forest Service researchers to conduct rapid health and pest detection assessments of thousands of trees in cities across the United States.Trained volunteers, homeowners, and staff on how to identify tree species and assess tree health.Managed development of mobile app to assist in trainings, in-field research, and providing tools to community groups interested in caring for trees.Developed working knowledge of several commercial tree inventory systems.Coordinated multi-day workshop for Nature’s Impact on Human Health Toolkit involving participants from multiple states and organizations.Developed instruments and field surveys for use by TNC chapters participating in Human Health Toolkit pilot year based on literature review. Created training materials, promotional flyers, educational documents, and maps.Managed communications with partners in TNC chapters, non-profits, and state and local governments for cities nationwide.Coordinated work on nation-wide program with multiple local TNC chapters and balanced goals.Managed communications and tracked progress for contracts for mobile app and web dashboard development.Coordinated pilot partnerships between HTHC and other tree inventory software companies, including iTree and for-profit companies.

Bronx, Ny

Developed and ran volunteer program aimed to train citizen scientists to recognize ecological concepts, common plant species, and observe them using iNaturalist. Trained citizen scientists on use of iNaturalist as a mobile app, including troubleshooting technical issues.Taught plant identification skills to volunteer citizen scientists.Mentored three students from Wave Hill Woodland Ecology Research Mentorship program and assisted in their development of research questions that helped answer questions for the NYBG's citizen science project.Gave presentations on the New York City EcoFlora project to spread awareness about the ecology and nature of New York City and to encourage more people to participate.Ran volunteer tabling of NYBG events to promote the New York City EcoFlora project.Wrote, distributed, and analyzed the results of online surveys to improve the citizen science project. Coordinated multiple events, including arranging travel, scheduling catering, setting up equipment, and serving as point of communication for all attendees.

Conducted surveys of trees in urban and forest areas for insect damage. Developed knowledge and familiarity of New England environment and ecology, including mixed hardwood forests and wetlands. Informed landowners and surrounding community of policy and survey resultsPerformed GIS database managementCreated informative and attractive maps using ArcGISTracked performance of teams using GIS data

San Francisco

Addressed customer complaints and questions with a focus on improving customer experience. Relayed expertise of REI policies, procedures and services to help customers better understand their products and options.Managed staffing schedule.

Presidio, San Francisco, Ca

Conducted field surveys of rare, threatened, and endangered plantsAnalyzed field conditions for threats to rare plant populationsUsed statistical analyses to create population estimatesCommunicated information on rare plants and park policy to visitorsWorked independently and in team settingsCreated maps of rare plant populations using Trimble GPS and ESRI ArcMapSupervised interns during field workWrote annual reports for US FWS, California Natural Diversity Database, and NPS

San Francisco, Ca

Restored habitat through invasive plant removal and restoration of native plantsLearned native and invasive plants and ecology of numerous California ecosystemsCommunicated information on project information, hazardous conditions, and reasons for closures to park visitorsManaged electronic trail counter dataCreated monthly reports on trail counts and usage trendsStrategized effective day-to-day work plansCommunicated and discussed priorities with Project CoordinatorsPrioritized restoration efforts to best use crews’ resources

San Francisco, Ca

Managed and planned volunteer workdays with National Park Service Trail CrewsCoordinated workdays with volunteer groups with diverse skills and backgroundsAssisted the coordination of volunteer schedules with NPS Trail CrewsDeveloped interpretive talks to present to volunteers and park visitorsDeveloped strong knowledge of park history, ecology, and policyAnswered questions and took comments on park policy, events, and featuresWorked on NPS Trail Crews on maintenance and construction projectsWrote and managed monthly newsletters to volunteersManaged electronic trail use countersAnalyzed trail use data and created monthly reports on usage and trends

Bloomington, Indiana Area

Independently performed analyses on rock and clay samplesWrote protocols for standardized sample analysisDiagnosed and corrected issues with multiple analysis machinesDeveloped and adhered to safety protocols for X-Ray diffraction analysis of samplesDocumented and created analysis profiles for backlog of archived samplesTrained new employeesManaged scheduleMaintained safe environment and adhered to Indiana University lab safety guidelines

Ran volunteer stewardship events including trail work and weed control effortsPrioritized volunteer effortsCreated database of Century Farms in southern Indiana regionAssisted managing fundraising and development dinners and eventsAssisted maintaining land trust presence at local events

Bloomington, In

Indiana University

Bachelor Of Science, Environmental Management

Activities and Societies: Indiana University Men's Ultimate Team - Secretary & President

Masters Of Public Affairs & Masters Of Science In Environmental Science, Environmental Management

Activities and Societies: Indiana University Men's Ultimate Team - Secretary & President