You may know the name Ash Connelly. If you don’t, you will. She is arguably one of the fastest up-and-coming young guns in tree care.

Ash is passionate about continued education. She is front and center here attending an ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ) course with colleagues. All photos courtesy of Ash Connelly.

Ash, who says she goes by only her first name, is assistant market leader – essentially assistant branch manager – in South Carolina for Charleston Tree Experts, now a SavATree company.

SavATree is an accredited, 40-year TCIA member company headquartered in Bedford Hills, New York. A vice president for Charleston Tree Experts before it became part of SavATree, Ash describes herself now as in charge of overall management of the branch’s processes and procedures. She also manages the sales team and acts as lead salesperson, logging more than $3 million herself in work for the company last year.

But Ash’s journey to tree care is quite novel. Lurking behind this highly successful management track record is a resume that includes a serious stint as a paralegal in a law firm specializing in labor law.

“The best way to effect change is through the eyes of the future,” Ash says about teaching kids the benefits of trees and tree care.

Novel path
TCIA caught up with Ash in mid-January, one day shy of her fifth anniversary in the industry. She had been in the process some years ago of building a home, replete with live oaks that needed work, when she called a local arborist. She notes, “I had gotten to the point where I was burned out and was looking for a change.” It was in that environment, Ash says, that “I fell in love with tree care and being outside.”

Subsequently, she inquired about jobs with very large tree companies as she explored the education she might need, Ash explains. But a mentor suggested she shadow – essentially observe – a local tree care company in action to see if tree care was truly where she wanted to be. “I called (Charleston Tree Experts) and explained to the owner what I was looking to do,” she recalls. To shorten that part of the story, each took a chance on the other. In short order, Ash says, she assisted in the development of tree-
inventory software, along with procedures for Charleston Tree Experts’ office staff, and worked with the sales arborists. Sales tripled in her first two years, and, “I became fascinated with the process,” she says.

“Since then,” Ash says, “the business has been growing fast, and I hired the (company’s) first all-female team of sales arborists. Everyone I have trained has sold more than $1 million their first year, which is impressive, since none had prior tree care experience.”

Customers’ decision-making
She says the key, starting with initial customer contact, is to get customers to see the salesperson more as a consultant, and thus to make better decisions.

Ash’s twins, Emilia and Olivia, tried the bucket on for size, but did not go for a ride in it. Ash’s son, Chaston, worked with the Charleston crew as a PHC technician during the summer months while in college.

A self-described born and self-directed go-getter, Ash says her mentorship can be traced to her associations and mentors in the legal field – first working for a female attorney and judge, and continued relationships with male and female lawyers, including law-firm managing partners. The biggest lesson Ash took away and now shares with others she mentors, particularly women in tree care, is that, “I am not responsible for how I am treated, but rather, how I respond,” she declares. That response, she believes, determines how the next interaction will transpire, thereby impacting the progress of the industry.

Applying that to the status of women in this industry, Ash acknowledges that strides have been made in bridging the gender gap. “Women are not entirely common in the tree care industry, but are becoming so,” she observes.

“I see people…”
The industry still has a way to go with equity and, from her perspective, until then must “unify and not divide,” she says. “We are and must continue gaining support of the workforce majority, which is male,” she states, fully recognizing the history and legacy of the industry’s overall job environment. From subtle to not-so-subtle examples, whether it is in tree care or any enterprise environment, “If you divide, you’ll not get anywhere.” This is a viewpoint she attributes to being raised with seven brothers and three sisters.

Her personal take is that she does not see men or women in tree care, rather, Ash says, “What I see are people in tree care.”

Ask her and Ash will tell you, “The role I serve is being a leader to a movement that has a history of creating a divide. Where there is a divide, we need to unify.” The best and most powerful way to do that, she explains, is, “We need to add value regardless of gender.

“We have to look at the strength of each gender and each person,” she proclaims. “If you foster individual growth and development, that yields money and loyalty for both the individual and the company.” That kind of result can only serve to resonate throughout the organization and have a positive, permanent impact on older-generation workers, management and owners.

Unity and positivity can manifest in the simplest of ways, Ash says. Of any team member, male or female, “If you have someone who wants to climb, the company has an opportunity to foster growth for the team as a whole.”

Ash moderated a panel discussion during a Women in Tree Care session at TCI EXPO ’24 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Unity as a byword
Unity is, therefore, one of her bywords. You will find it in her writings, interviews, training and presentations for Women in Tree Care programs and presentations. Unity.

With respect to women in tree care, Ash says, as she has been quoted previously, including in this magazine, “We have made incredible forward progress as an industry in the last five years. There are more people on board for change than those fighting against it. To achieve greater progress, all industry professionals, men and women, must feel connected to the cause. I hope in 10 years that DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion) isn’t an initiative or topic, but remains as the catalyst for workforce expansion, safety advancements and product development.”

Continuing, she says, “In addition to being involved in women in tree care platforms and developing an all-female sales force, I personally believe that the best way to effect change is through the eyes of the future. With that belief, I seek most to bring awareness of arboriculture as a career choice to school-aged children.” She is quite proud of this initiative and especially of connecting with young girls and watching their eyes open wide at the concept of a career for them in tree care. Ash has three children herself, a 20-year-old son and twin 15-year-old daughters. Modeling the change she desires to see in the world is a responsibility she, as a mother, takes seriously.

Conclusion
Similarly, as a tree care industry ambassador, Ash says she also is proud of the fact that, “I’ve found that the more familiar we all become with seeing an otherwise unexpected demographic in the green industry, the more bridges will be built. In addition to speaking at schools, I’ve found success in networking and other forms of community outreach. Each connection has a butterfly effect on diversity and unity. It allows us to receive and provide support simultaneously.”

While progress is, well, progressing with respect to women in tree care, Ash says, “Women still are underrepresented, but it’s just a matter of time until that changes.”

While on the topic of unity, Ash’s take on TCIA is that, “It’s been a space to network, a vehicle and unifying platform for bringing people together, especially women in tree care.”

She should know, being a young veteran of the business, having received from – and now giving to – women in tree care.

Rick Howland is a veteran newspaper reporter and editor, former national magazine owner and editor and retired international consultant in public relations, advertising, merchandising and training. He lives in the upper Hudson River Valley of New York.