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(L-R above) Individual: Marcia Bansley | Community: Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta | Volunteer: Jeff Hawthorne | Corporate: Arbor Day Foundation | Neighborhood: Oak Grove Lavista Road

From the very first trees planted in Downtown Atlanta in 1985 to the milestone 180,000th tree set to take root in 2025, Trees Atlanta has spent four decades transforming our city’s landscape one tree at a time. The impact of volunteers and community partnerships isn’t just measured in numbers; it’s visible in the shade that cools our streets, the roots that strengthen our soil, and the branches that bring life to our neighborhoods.

Collaboration has been at the heart of our mission from day one. Trees Atlanta was founded as a community group to protect and improve our urban canopy, and every project we take on is powered by partnerships with dedicated individuals, organizations, and communities. None of this work happens alone. Everything we do is with the talent, support, and work of people like you.

Trees Atlanta is honored to recognize the 2025 Tree Champions. They represent our core belief that together, we are strong, and together, we can do more. These champions embrace the power of connecting to their community and collaboration to help carry out the mission of Trees Atlanta. We are deeply grateful for their commitment and the lasting impact they make.

Individual: Marcia Bansley

Community: Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta

Volunteer: Jeff Hawthorne

Corporate: Arbor Day Foundation

Neighborhood: Oak Grove Lavista Road

Please read more about each of our 2025 Tree Champions below.

Congratulate the Trees Atlanta 2025 Tree Champions at Root Ball

Join us at our annual fundraiser and support another successful year of planting, conserving, and educating in Metro Atlanta.

The support of organizations and individuals (like you!) made it possible for Trees Atlanta to organize 10,000 volunteers, plant over 78,000 trees, work in 1,000 acres of forest spaces, and educate 25,000 individuals last year! Help us celebrate the past 40 years and look forward to 40 more by attending Root Ball 2025: Thursday, May 1, 2025 at The Dogwood at Westside Paper.  Purchase tickets or donate

Marcia Bansley

Trees Atlanta 2025 Tree Champion – Individual

As Trees Atlanta celebrates our 40th year of service, it’s our honor to name Marcia Bansley our 2025 Individual Tree Champion for her important role in setting our sound foundation and being a consistent leader who continues to inspire our growth. When Trees Atlanta was founded in 1985, Marcia Bansley was hired as Trees Atlanta’s first Executive Director. She was the first and only employee for eight years. In the 1980s, Atlanta was experiencing a major economic boom, yet there wasn’t a priority to reflect Atlanta’s verdant landscape in the city center. Marcia’s vision was to showcase Downtown Atlanta as a vibrant place that would attract businesses and tourists. In the first year 46 trees were planted in downtown Atlanta, and people began calling  her “The Tree Lady.” Her tree planting tools were her Rolodex and her “hustle,” the latter is the word Marcia uses to refer to her tenacity and energy.  

Marcia inspired a network of civic and business leaders, including Maynard Jackson, who served on the Trees Atlanta Board of Directors in between his terms as Mayor of Atlanta. Her legacy is intertwined in the trees and the people who have worked and volunteered with the organization. Cheryl Kortemeier, Executive Director of Corporate Volunteer Council of Atlanta, and one of Trees Atlanta’s earliest staff members reflects, “The strong roots Marcia established at Trees Atlanta have empowered it to keep growing onward and upward—and that momentum isn’t slowing down anytime soon.” Marcia mentored many Trees Atlanta employees who have risen to leadership roles in many conservation organizations in Atlanta and nationally. Marcia’s impact is also reflected across the country as other tree organizations in other cities have grown through the Alliance for Community Trees (ACTrees) that Marcia helped to organize. Trees Atlanta’s growth has frequently been guided and inspired by our participation in ACTrees. You can say most of the.

Many (if not most) of the mature trees that stand tall along Atlanta’s major downtown and midtown streets were planted because of Marcia’s leadership and influence, including those planted at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, at One Atlantic Center, and on entrance corridors to downtown which were planted during a six-year, $4.5 million project for the 1996 Olympics. In her 26 years as Executive Director of Trees Atlanta, she led a successful effort to preserve Connally Nature Park and helped pass the first tree protection/planting laws in three major metropolitan Atlanta counties, along with improving Atlanta’s tree protection ordinance. 

Marcia challenged Atlanta to make trees an integral icon of its identity. Trees Atlanta and the canopy of our city grew with her vision and effort. In 2025, Trees Atlanta will be planting its 180,000th tree. Our tree planting work has expanded to include tree care and forest restoration, education, and workforce development, all centered around the mission of protecting and improving our community trees. Marcia insists that, “No one can do this by themselves. A choir of angels makes it possible.” Yes, and it’s the voice of Atlanta’s Tree Lady speaking for the trees that continues to echo on in the City in the Forest.

Pro Bono Partnership Atlanta

Trees Atlanta 2025 Tree Champion – Community

Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta matches nonprofit clients with experienced corporate attorneys to provide business legal services at no cost to the nonprofit. Trees Atlanta is grateful for the legal support this organization has given us. Over the past four decades, Trees Atlanta has grown in scope, scale, and complexity: from one borrowed truck to a fleet of vehicles, from a single employee to over 160 during our busiest seasons, and beginning with the City of Atlanta to partnerships in 13 cities across metro Atlanta. In 2023, Trees Atlanta called upon the assistance and counsel of Pro Bono Partnership to help us review legal matters, update documents, and identify measures that could lower exposure to risks. This quiet and vitally important work is not celebrated often and deserves more spotlight. In naming Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta as our 2025 Community Tree Champion, we show our appreciation for the important work of this nonprofit and the attorneys who have volunteered their time and expertise to make Trees Atlanta stronger.

Last year, over 1,000 volunteer attorneys donated $8 million in free legal services through Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta. Nonprofits in the greater Atlanta area who serve low income and disadvantaged individuals can apply to be a client by submitting a questionnaire to see if they qualify. “There is an expectation that members of the Georgia Bar provide 50 hours of pro bono legal services each year, but it’s not a requirement,” explained Rachel Spears, Executive Director of Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta. She continued, “Our attorneys enjoy helping nonprofits like Trees Atlanta. Trees Atlanta is a respected nonprofit organization, and it’s motivating to help a cause they support.” In the past two years, pro bono lawyers have given Trees Atlanta several hundred hours of pro bono work representing over $150,000 of legal services from firms including Troutman Pepper Locke and Alston & Bird, as well as the inhouse counsel of corporations, such as Cox Enterprises and Delta Air Lines. Through Pro Bono Partnership, lawyers are able to lend their expertise in contracts, employment, or other specialties to nonprofits that need their legal services. Those services help ensure nonprofits can continue providing their important work in the community. Justine Thompson Cowan, Senior Counsel at Pro Bono Partnership, who has an extensive background working in and with environmental organizations, observes that many attorneys like the mission of Trees Atlanta and enjoy sharing their expertise to support us. Cowan points out that the culture of pro bono services is somewhat unique to the legal field, “Few other professions set the expectation to do this, but the opportunity to have this impact in our community is a special experience.”

Jeff Hawthorne

Trees Atlanta 2025 Tree Champion – Volunteer

When Jeff Hawthorne saw a street sign that read, “Another Tree Planted by Trees Atlanta,” over twenty years ago, he suggested to his friend Mark, “Let’s find out what that’s about.” They volunteered and mulched trees on Moreland Avenue just south of Little Five Points. From that first project, Jeff said he went “from zero to a hundred” and found himself volunteering nearly every weekend. With over 3,500 volunteer hours served with Trees Atlanta to date, there are few volunteer tasks Jeff hasn’t tried. His favorite work is to plant trees, but his most impactful service may be his kindness to make others feel welcomed. He invites a new volunteer to plant with him or asks, “Is this your first project?” The conversation may open up to him sharing his story and connection to Trees Atlanta. His intentional effort to spark a deeper connection to Trees Atlanta epitomizes how our work is strengthened through these small but important ways. For Jeff, the benefit of his service with Trees Atlanta is more than the trees. For him, “Trees Atlanta is a community and fun group of people. We’re not only just coming out to work, it’s fun. With both, that creates a community.” We’re always glad to see Jeff’s smiling face and warm welcome. Congratulations to Jeff for being honored as our 2025 Volunteer Tree Champion.

Today, Trees Atlanta organizes volunteer projects 50 weeks out of the year across the metro Atlanta area. The expansion of our work is made possible through dedicated volunteers who help to multiply our reach, especially experienced Green Shirt Volunteers like Jeff. He remembers the days of printing out directions to the project site on MapQuest or getting vague turn-by-turn directions from someone, which could be a challenge in the days before everyone had a cell phone. Many things have changed since the late 1990s when Jeff first volunteered, but what remains is the importance of connecting with other volunteers one by one and the friendships that could grow through the shared work. As the Volunteer Services Associate Director, Susan Pierce Cunningham, sees his effect on other volunteers: “I love seeing Jeff work alongside new volunteers, welcoming them in the most relaxed and inviting way. He makes people feel at ease and he makes the volunteer projects more enjoyable.” After assisting someone finish planting their first tree, Jeff might invite them to a group lunch after the project or tell them about the Green Shirt softball team or upcoming social event. His sincere invitation to “come back” encourages repeat volunteers. “If you persist with enough dedication for a long time, it’s amazing what can be accomplished,” Jeff remarked. With appreciation, we know this to be true for planting trees as well as building a sense of belonging.

Arbor Day Foundation

Trees Atlanta 2025 Tree Champion – Corporate

The Arbor Day Foundation (ADF) is a global nonprofit that has supported the planting of half a billion trees worldwide over 50 years. The scale of their reach, relationships, and expertise is an important resource for hundreds of community tree planting partners in 28 countries, including Trees Atlanta. Through our partnership with ADF, Trees Atlanta has been connected to critical funding from large corporate sponsors who are investing in Atlanta and across their national or global footprint. ADF brought much needed corporate support for the Flowering Forest project, a living tree tribute to the late Congressman John Lewis with more than a thousand trees planted along John Lewis Freedom Parkway. ADF connects partners and funders. They matched American Forests and Trees Atlanta to replant trees at Standing Peachtree Park in the Chattahoochee River watershed, recruited volunteers from UPS to plant at the newly opened CHaRM recycling centers in DeKalb County, connected State Farm to an ongoing effort to replace hundreds of destroyed trees along Lavista Road, and supported many other efforts. We are grateful to name Arbor Day Foundation as our 2025 Corporate Tree Champion.

Dan Lambe, CEO of Arbor Day Foundation, said “Supporting Trees Atlanta goes beyond getting trees in the ground. We know the trees will be stewarded as part of a holistic community strategy.” Lambe added “We don’t think of ourselves as a corporate partner, but as a collaborator who can help create meaningful connections between funders and planting partners in order to bring trees in the areas that need it most. We each have a unique part to play in making our communities healthier and happier, and Trees Atlanta has embraced its role as a leader by fostering a thriving urban forest. Our team has enormous respect for their organization and we’re proud to work alongside them.” Arbor Day Foundation’s support of Trees Atlanta goes beyond connection to funding. ADF’s commitment to local tree organizations was reinforced in 2016 when the Alliance for Community Trees (ACTrees) became a part of Arbor Day Foundation. Our special connection to ACTrees goes back to 1990 when Marcia Bansley, Trees Atlanta’s first Executive Director, helped to establish the organization. ACTree partners originated the concept of volunteer-based, community tree plantings as a program called NeighborWoods. Under ADF’s leadership, ACTrees is now a network of more than 220 local partners. ACTrees hosts an annual conference that is an important platform to exchange ideas, connect to other tree organizations, and coordinate larger advocacy efforts that position trees as critical infrastructure. “Arbor Day Foundation creates a national community,” according to Greg Levine, Executive Director of Trees Atlanta.

Oak Grove Lavista Road

Trees Atlanta 2025 Tree Champion – Neighborhood

It’s stressful to see hundreds of trees being removed from your neighborhood then more confusing to discover there is no plan to replant trees. This story ends with recovery, and it’s a saga that stretches decades and has many chapters about how a sidewalk inspired a community. Connected not by the boundaries of a neighborhood, per se, this group became neighbors through their shared efforts and collaboration. We admired their story of cooperation, connections, and continued dedication to replacing their lost trees. Oak Grove Lavista Road became a “neighborhood” in the true sense and is named our 2025 Neighborhood Tree Champion. 

Lavista Road is a highly travelled route that connects and feeds into subdivisions with many houses, multi-family dwellings, schools, churches, and businesses. Mount Zion A.M.E. Church, the oldest church in DeKalb, has stood there since 1870 on a road that was first built long ago to rural standards. There were no sidewalks along the one-mile stretch between Oak Grove Drive and Pangborn Road, but there is a new park nearby, schools that children could walk to, and local businesses to patronize. According to long-term resident Gordon Kenna, who has lived near this stretch for over 20 years, an earlier effort to get sidewalks installed faltered and went nowhere in the early 1990s. Then in 2014, Gordon and Andy Abend, a neighbor, reignited the project and obtained a meeting with Georgia DOT to make their case. Andy and Sarah Abend created a Facebook group, Sidewalk Lavista, and the neighbors got to work, including Bonnie Davis, Cynthia Alexander, Betty Rowe, Vernon Rowe, Val Wolpe and Beverly Cox. With each community project they engaged more neighbors to attend meetings, sign petitions, and talk to their elected officials. 

The next chapter of the story jumps to 2023. After years of attending meetings, signing petitions, and talking to elected officials, neighbors learned that Georgia DOT would install a sidewalk and major drainage improvements along both sides of Lavista Road. While the project was needed and would benefit the community in many ways, it required the removal of several hundred trees along the road. The state’s plan was to seed the disturbed area with grass once completed. That was a plot twist the neighbors did not expect. The neighbors organized once again: what would it take to get trees replanted along their road? Gordon suggested contacting Trees Atlanta. After a series of conversations, the neighbors were motivated to help raise the funding needed for the replanting along the new sidewalks. The goal was set to plant 290 trees along the route, and the neighbors worked together to begin fundraising for $140,000. They hosted fundraising events, including an old-style cider press with live music and a neighborhood 5K. These events allowed neighbors to meet new neighbors. They used their Facebook page to encourage donations and recruit volunteers to participate in Trees Atlanta tree planting projects on the road. Trees Atlanta leveraged this organized neighborhood effort to raise additional funding from its corporate partners, including Delta Air Lines, Atlanta Gas Light, and State Farm (with the help of Arbor Day Foundation). DeKalb County also supported the effort through its Tree Trust Fund. Currently, the neighborhood is nearly 70% toward their goal, and three community planting projects have installed 165 trees to date.

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