Speakers

Nick has been working in Vegetation Management professionally for almost 30 years, starting in wildland fire after high school at the municipal fire academy.  He spent the next 23 years as an EMT Firefighter with the Federal Government, working on engines, helicopters, The Eldorado Hotshots and retiring as a Battalion Chief. As a Nationally shared resource, he traveled across the US, Canda and Mexico responding to all risk incidents, working with national incident response teams. Nick started with PG&E as a Vegetation Program Manager in Northern California, overseeing all Vegetation Management scopes of work for electric distribution.  He was the Vegetation Branch director for the Vegetation Management response to the Dixie, North and multiple other fires. This led into a natural transition to PG&E’s Wildfire wood management program that was just being stood up.  This program reduced the burden to customers, and created efficiencies with local, state, tribal and federal partners.  Nick has been with PG&E’s Vegetation Management Competency assessment program for over two and half years.  This program is a first in the Nation, that will positively affect the arboriculture industry and change the safety culture, while reducing risk.