Rare is the employer who does everything he or she can to help an employee secure their next job. But that was the case with Daniel Miraval, BCMA, and Brianna White, ISA Certified Arborist, co-owners of Emerald Tree Care LLC, a 14-year TCIA member company in Roselle, Illinois, when they sent Anthony Santisi, who had been with them for three years, off to his new job at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.

Anthony Santisi on the job at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. All photos courtesy of Anthony Santisi.

“My wife and I desired to live in or near the mountains of western North Carolina,” Santisi says.

Santisi put in an application for an Arborist II position at the Biltmore, and he says he knew that having TCIA’s Certified Treecare Safety Professional (CTSP) credential “would put me ahead of any other applicants.”

Anthony Santisi.

TCIA’s CTSP training is designed to help trainers, or “coaches,” develop and nurture a safe work environment at their companies.
Miraval says he and White hoped Santisi would stay in the industry. “I told him, ‘You made a commitment to us for these past three years. I’ve made a commitment to you and to the industry to help teach other arborists and help develop professionalism within in our industry,’” says Miraval.

“I was able to help Anthony because of TCIA; we’re a bridge, that’s it,” he says.

“Even though we were all very sad to see him go, I told the crew, ‘We didn’t lose anybody, we gained a valuable colleague.’”

Eight weeks into his new position, Santisi had already put his CTSP qualification to work, including conducting Tuesday tailgate meetings. He says CTSP training on presentation skills helped him, as the newest member of the team, have the confidence to lead an experienced crew of arborists.

He also plans to conduct four chain-saw safety sessions for those Biltmore workers in security, gardening and landscaping, people who aren’t arborists but who come across downed trees across the roads and paths on Biltmore property when the arborists are off the clock. “We want those people to be safe as well,” he says of the 48 people signed up for the class.

Santisi employs Tuesday tailgate meetings to go over all things safety, including proper PPE use.

The Asheville area of North Carolina is still doing a lot of storm-damage remediation from Hurricane Helene that hit in September 2024, according to Santisi. That cleanup also requires strict adherence to safety guidelines and standards, he adds. “There’s 8,000 acres, a lot of wooded area and downed trees, and never a shortage of work,” he says.

“A lot of this for me would not have been possible without the support of Daniel and Brianna when they hired me. I didn’t know anything about tree work. They went out on a limb and were 110% supportive since day one, never shied away from giving us an opportunity to grow. Even when they knew I was moving, they continued and pushed for me to get everything in order before I left. Without their support, I couldn’t do all these things that I’m doing now.”

Miraval knew that “having the ISA and CTSP credentials would help me land a great spot, and he was right,” Santisi says. “Biltmore is a great company to work for.”

He appreciates the small arborist crew at the Biltmore, similar to Emerald’s (nine employees). “It’s kind of my comfort zone, to be able to gain the trust and respect of your co-workers, considering that most of the time they have your life in their hands. The transition was really smooth.”

So far, the CTSP training seems to be helping him stay committed to the arboriculture industry, as his former boss hoped. And he recommends it.

“The CTSP credential provides an opportunity to stay working in the arboriculture industry as an educator or trainer, and to engage in a more professional manner with the community or with any person interested in working in the green industry,” says Santisi.

“More people should take the opportunity to get the credential; it opens doors, because we can’t climb trees or wield chain saws forever,” he says. “It would be disappointing to commit to a career and not be able to do that work anymore and still have a passion for it.”

For more information about the CTSP program and upcoming workshops, go to www.tcia.org and, in the pull-down menu, click on the Education/CEUs tab, then click CTSP & Qualifications.

Tamsin Venn is founding publisher of the former Atlantic Coastal Kayaker magazine and author of the book “Sea Kayaking Along the New England Coast,” and has been a contributing writer to TCI Magazine since 2011. She lives in Ipswich, Massachusetts.