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Meet Matt Johns

Matt Johns

Consulting Urban Forester

“I always try to leave whatever environment I’m in, both personal and professional, at least some fraction of a percent better than it was when I got there.”

Matt Johns was initially drawn to forestry, specifically urban forestry, after working years in buildings with no windows, where he found himself taking every opportunity to take the trash out just to get some fresh air.

After serving in the United States Air Force for six years, Matt left active duty and began undergraduate studies in urban forestry at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. “I was fortunate enough to have my now boss, Rich Hauer, as my advisor during that time who ultimately was my link to the position I’m currently in.”

After graduating in 2023, he started working for CN Utility Consulting (now our forestry & utility division) in May that same year. Matt loved the idea of using his forestry knowledge to support community tree canopies across the country, most notably reducing the negative impact of tree failures.

“That’s what I believe drew me to the company in the first place, and that’s what keeps me here now.”

“My favorite part of my current role is the variety of tasks that I can take on from one day to the next,” Matthew says. As an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist, he has performed inventory and health assessments for several communities, leading to management plan writing and data reporting on the back end.

“Being able to provide an actual product that will hopefully help communities make better decisions with their trees has been very fulfilling. I have also taken on work developing our urban forestry remote sensing/geographic information systems (GIS) capabilities and hope to expand our division’s said capabilities going forward.”

Similar to the environment that Matt vows to leave in a better state than what he found it, he also holds the responsibility of raising his son Oliver in the highest regard. “The idea that my wife Natalia and I get to raise a human that we get to teach about the world is extremely exciting.” Matthew says that his son, who was born in the fall of 2024, has given him an experience that has been “exponentially more incredible than it has been exciting, which is saying a lot about how amazing it is considering how tired I’ve been.”

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