18
THE DAVEY BULLETIN
|
March/April 2018
DAVEY WOMEN GROWING STRONGER TOGETHER
In a male-dominated industry, three female employees
of the Davey Resource Group (DRG) united at an event
created by women climbers for women climbers. In early
October, as the sun shined brightly during a balmy weekend,
they learned about climbing equipment and techniques at
the Western Chapter of the International Society of
Arboriculture's three-day workshop.
"As soon as I got the email from my project manager,
Anthony Camacho, I knew I wanted to go," Jenn Mahley,
senior consulting utility forester, DRG, said. Mahley ended
up rooming (and bonding) with Jillian Keller, consulting utility
forester, DRG. While there, they also met another DRG
woman: Jessika Mitchell, associate consultant.
"It was really cool to meet them," Mahley said. "At the
event, I ended up making a couple of really good friends,
who I still keep in contact with. It was eye-opening being
around other women in the industry, to see how their
struggles and successes matched my own."
Together, the DRG crew comprised nearly 20 percent of the
event's attendees. They learned climbing and safety skills –
Above: From left to right, Jessika Mitchell, Jenn Mahley and
Jillian Keller join arms at the second Western Chapter of the
International Society of Arboriculture's women's tree climbing
workshop. Photo credit: Sara Toney, SaraToneyPhoto.com
everything from planning a route and inspecting gear to
tying knots and throwing lines.
"Not only was I excited about learning how to climb,"
Mahley said, "but I knew that it would also improve my skill
set and advance my career."
In the past year, Mahley completed this workshop and also
became an ISA Certified Arborist
®
and ISA Arborist Utility
Specialist
™
.
For Mahley, investing in industry education worked. She
got promoted after a year because of her dedication. If
you're contemplating investing the time or money in training,
Mahley advises taking the leap.
"It can be difficult to make time for events like these, but
it helps that, in this case, the company contributed to the
cost," Mahley said. If you need motivation, Mahley is proof
that this tactic works.
MY DAVEY