About

Nick has over 20 years experience in climbing and caring for trees. He is a passionate educator, striving to make sure each client knows how to maintain their tree’s health, beauty, and value; either on their own or with some experienced help.

While attending Ripon College in Wisconsin, Nick started climbing trees – mostly for recreation, but always with a rope and harness. Knowing his passion for the outdoors and for trees, his friends recommended he become an arborist. Nick is from a very small Wisconsin town and didn’t even know what an arborist was! Following good advice, he started working for the best tree care company in the Midwest, The Care of Trees in Chicago. It was here that he first saw what proper tree care looks like and how it makes for bigger, better trees and a beautiful city. Over the next few years, Nick spent his time as a tree climbing nomad, working for some of the very best companies in the country, such as: Tree ReLeaf, Berkelhammer Tree Experts, and Aspen Tree Expert Co. Nick also worked for some of the worst tree services imaginable, experiencing the damage that improper care can have on a tree’s life!

In 2004, Nick moved to Southern California. While working for some of those “bad” tree companies, he learned that Los Angeles’ tree care culture is unlike that of the Midwest and East Coast – trees are not given the care and respect they deserve, especially given the incredible value they provide to Angelenos. Nick began volunteering for and was eventually hired by TreePeople to plant and care for thousands of trees throughout LA as the Senior Tree Care Supervisor.

TreeCareLA was officially launched in June of 2011. It has become a fun little tree care company where the team can be proud of doing great work in a city that desperately needs it. Nick is one of only a handful of Board Certified Master Arborists (BCMAs) in southern California – the highest level of certification offered by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). Fewer than 2% of all ISA certified arborists have the BCMA distinction.

Learn more about the value of hiring an ISA Certified Arborist and an ISA Qualified Tree Risk Assessor.

E-mail Nick directly at nick@treecarela.com.

Karina brings 15 years of experience in business management and her love of trees to TreeCareLA. She applies her knack for planning and managing details to keep us running smoothly! Prior to joining TreeCareLA, Karina spent 11 years in business management in the nonprofit sector helping to grow and sustain small businesses serving children and families.

Karina has found a home as part-owner of TreeCareLA. It’s a perfect blend of skills and passions. She’s an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist. She holds the company’s Qualified Applicator License (QAL) to manage treatments of tree pests and disease. Karina currently serves as a volunteer judge at regional climbing competitions to support the arborist community.

Oscar was TreeCareLA’s first employee over 10 years ago! Oscar is an ISA Certified Arborist, ISA Qualified Tree Risk Assessor, consulting arborist, and tree climber. He is an advocate for proper tree care practices and especially loves working with fruit trees!

Oscar has been working in arboriculture for more than 20 years. Upon getting hired at TreePeople in 1998, Oscar began as a high school environmental educator and later joined their forestry department to lead tree plantings, tree care events, and training workshops with community volunteers. He has planted thousands of trees over his career. After working his way through the ranks at TreePeople, Oscar transitioned to TreeCareLA in 2011.

Oscar serves on the Board of The BRITTON Fund and the Western Chapter ISA Spanish Education Committee to promote proper tree management and safety in our industry. He also teaches pruning classes at the annual Landscape Expo.

Fun fact about Oscar: For over 15 years, he has ridden his bicycle an average of 5,000 miles a year to get around LA!

Originally from Tennessee, Ricardo has been climbing and caring for trees for over 10 years. He brings expertise in large tree removals and crane work. He is an ISA Certified Arborist and an ISA Certified Tree Worker.

Ricardo is committed to training tree care professionals both locally and internationally, volunteer judging at tree climbing events and teaching safety courses, especially for Spanish-speaking arborists. Prior to joining TreeCareLA, he managed his own tree care company in the Antelope Valley.