Trees Forever is excited to announce the election of five new Board members! These members will officially start in February of 2024. We are excited to have such a talented slate of members guiding us further in our mission.
Welcome to the Trees Forever Board!
Ben Curtis
Impact 7G – Urbandale, IA
Mr. Curtis leads the Sustainability group at Impact7G, which focuses on urban and regional planning, climate science, and renewable energy. His work aims to establish relationships with key stakeholders to foster realistic and impactful planning and sustainability initiatives. He finds creative ways to engage the public, elected officials, and business owners in a variety of planning processes including brownfield reuse, municipal comprehensive planning, community visioning, and natural resource management. Ben is an experienced public engagement coordinator, providing multidisciplinary outreach services for public, private, and non-profit sectors. Ben is skilled in graphic design, photography, videography, and is certified to operate drones commercially. He also has extensive grant writing and administration experience. Ben obtained his master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning in 2016, with an emphasis on land use and environmental planning.
Angela Funk
Friends of Sangamon River – Armington, IL
Ms. Funk is the Executive Director of the Friends of the Sangamon River, a non-profit land trust dedicated to protecting and stewarding natural areas within the Sangamon River Watershed. Before this, she was the Director of Sugar Grove Nature Center in Funks Grove for 19 years after a 12-year tenure as the Director of Douglas-Hart Nature Center in Mattoon. She has a B.S. from Eastern Illinois University in Environmental Biology with a minor in Botany. Angela has been involved in nature center administration, environmental education, and land acquisition, protection, and stewardship for over thirty-two years. Her service on the Environmental Education Association of Illinois Board spans twelve years, including six as president. She has been involved in various state and national environmental education initiatives and projects, served on the ParkLands Foundation Board, and continues to provide professional development training throughout the State of Illinois. Angela has received several awards including the Malcolm Swan Award for outstanding service and contribution to the field of environmental education in Illinois (2005), the John English Award of Merit for contributions to the field of
horticulture (2009), and the Conservation Educator of the Year Award from Pheasants Forever (2019).
Alex Gansen
University of Iowa Energy Collaborative – North Liberty, IA
My name is Alex Gansen and I am currently the CFO at the University of Iowa Energy Collaborative (UIEC). UIEC entered into a 50-year partnership with the University of Iowa on March 10, 2020, for the purposes of operating and maintaining the University’s on-campus utility systems with a focus on sustainability goals such as being coal free by 2025. As the CFO at UIEC, I am responsible for all finance and administrative functions of the Company including preparing financial statements and reports, preparing budgets, managing cash flows, maintaining lender relationships, etc. Before stepping into my current role, I was the CFO at Price Electric. Price Electric is an electrical contractor headquartered in Robins Iowa with ~200 employees and annual revenues of $50 million. Prior to the Price Electric role, I was the Controller of CRST Equipment Solutions for 7 years where I was responsible for managing fixed asset accounting, maintenance accounting, corporate purchasing, licensing & overall financial reporting. Before moving back to Cedar Rapids (born and raised) I was Assistant CFO at Dorman Trading in Chicago where I was responsible for month end financial statement preparation and submission to various regulatory bodies, daily reconciliation of prior day trading activity, and ongoing confirmation of compliance regarding capital regulations. Preceding Dorman, I was an Accountant at a law firm in Chicago where I performed month end closing, cash flow analysis, forecasting revenue and expenses, and managed accounts payable and receivable.
Pete Hamell
Black Hills Energy – Grimes, IA
Mr. Hamell is the General Manager of Gas Operations with Black Hills Energy. Pete joined Black Hills Energy in 2020 bringing extensive leadership experience in operations, logistics and customer service. Prior to joining Black Hills Energy, he spent time in the transportation industry with Ingram Barge and BNSF Railway, Hamell is building the utility’s customer focused and safety driven reputation. Hamell’s role as general manager reflects a strong track record of leadership and his commitment to guide the team as they work safely each day to serve the needs of our customers. He is an integral part of the team and will continue to drive excellence within every aspect of the utility business. Pete is an Iowa native and graduated Iowa State University with a degree in finance. He is a strong proponent of community-based outreach, and enjoys building a commitment of support within Black Hills.
Joe Razo
Directional Strategic Consulting – Marion, IA
Mr. Razo is the President of Directional Strategic Consulting, a business strategy, marketing, and product development firm. Joe helps companies and investment clients understand markets and develop products and strategic plans to grow their business. Joe served as the Director of Strategy for the Business and Regional Avionics Division of Collins Aerospace, Raytheon Technologies. Over his more than 35-year career at Collins Aerospace, Joe was a Business Development Director and Chief Systems Engineer for Business Aircraft Retrofit programs. He is a U.S. Patent holder for blockchain technology. Joe has an AAS in Computer Engineering Technology and a BS Electrical Engineering Technology degree from the Milwaukee School of Engineering University, He holds an MBA with a Concentration in Marketing from the University of Iowa. When not helping businesses with their strategic needs, Joe can be found on his 40-acre Iowa timber farm where he has restored a wetland and where he has planted over 12,000 native hardwood trees.
Welcome to the Board! From all your Bio’s, I can tell each and everyone of you brings much talent and skills to the organization. Thank You!