Who We Are
CanopyBloomington is a social impact organization created to maximize Bloomington's tree canopy and sustainably manage Bloomington's urban forest for trees' many environmental, health, economic, and social benefits, with a focus on tree equity and community engagement.
Why We Care
Trees improve our quality of life in numerous, diverse, and important ways! It is critical that we plant more trees where they're lacking, help those trees survive and grow into mature trees that provide real benefits as canopy and carbon sinks, diversify our tree species so that a single disease can't destroy our urban forest, and engage and educate homeowners and citizens on how to properly care for their trees. Without a long term vision and investment in our urban forest, we will see this vital resource and our quality of life in Bloomington disintegrate. We must start now, for the benefit of current and future generations.
Canopy's Mission
Our mission is to engage the Bloomington community in planting and caring for our urban forest together, in order to build a resilient and equitably green city for all.
Canopy's Vision
Core Values
We envision a well-connected and informed community where we all get to reap the economic, health, and ecological benefits of trees! We do this by working together as neighbors to steward Bloomington’s urban forests and other green infrastructure. We imagine a resilient and equitable urban forest created by everyone for everyone.
Community and Cooperation Inspire, educate, empower, and employ the community toward our common goals, working with all stakeholders for the benefit of Bloomington and our urban forest.
Equity and Inclusion Ensure communities that need greening the most are prioritized and have equitable access to opportunities and resources; support youth and those in need with job opportunities.
Environmental Sustainability Promote the stewardship and management of a resilient and sustainably-structured urban forest to yield a highly functional urban ecosystem now and into the future.
Public Health and Happiness Facilitate improved physical and mental health of residents and increase community capacity by building a greener city through community engagement.
Science and Creativity Dedicated to transparent, data-driven decision-making integrated with creative and inspirational initiatives that celebrate and communicate our green goals.
Staff
AVA HARTMAN
Executive Director
Ava Hartman graduated from the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University with a BA in Environmental Sustainability and Biology in 2023. She serves as the McKinney Climate Fellow Project and Outreach Coordinator for the Environmental Resilience Institute where she assists with partner outreach and student recruitment. She now serves as the Forestry and Administrative Director for CanopyBloomington, where she organizes tree plantings for the fall and spring and leads the Youth Tree Tender program in the summer.
JON VICKERS
Community Engagement Specialist
After 15 years in engineering and manufacturing, Jon Vickers spent the second half of his career engaging communities, mostly through the arts. He is the founding director emeritus of Indiana University Cinema, having previously opened two other thriving arthouse film venues and programs—Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks, Michigan and Browning Cinema at the University of Notre Dame. Each program has presented thousands of films and events, engaging broad communities in meaningful ways. His volunteer work launched several arts organizations and programs in the Midwest, helped start a nature conservancy in Southwest Michigan and has been devoted to caring for public greenspaces here in Bloomington. This love of nature, people and impactful work led him to CanopyBloomington.
Board of Directors
PHILIPPA GUTHRIE
President
Philippa has experience in business, as an environmental attorney, and as General Counsel at the Indiana University Foundation. In 2016, she joined the City of Bloomington as Corporation Counsel. Philippa has served on the Bloomington Growth Policies Plan Steering Committee and the Environmental Commission, Volunteers in Medicine of Monroe and Owen Counties (now HealthNet), and Centerstone, Inc., and is currently a board member of Cardinal Stage Company. She was born and raised in Green Bay, WI where she was a girl scout and first developed her love for the outdoors, particularly trees. She has an A.B. in History from Dartmouth College, a JD from the IU Maurer School of Law and an MPA in Environmental Policy from the O’Neill School at Indiana University-Bloomington.
SARAH MINCEY
Co-founder, Vice President
Sarah Mincey is a social-ecological systems scientist who studies community-based natural resource management and environmental governance, with particular emphasis on urban forest management. In her current role as faculty at the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University (IU), she serves as the director for the Integrated Program in the Environment, administrative director for the IU Research and Teaching Preserve, and managing director of the Environmental Resilience Institute. She maintains much of her research activity through her affiliation as research associate with the Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis.
JULIE ROBERTS
Education and Outreach Committee Chair, Treasurer
Julie Roberts believes Nature is the ultimate tech genius and that we are lost as a species unless we harness the Power of Trees. She sees a peoples’ movement of Suburban & Urban Victory Forests to cool our cities and homes, channel and harness our massive rainfalls, and surround ourselves with the beauty of Nature that everyone deserves.
Julie served 16 years on the Utilities Service Board overseeing Bloomington’s stormwater, drinking water and sewer systems. She had a brief career in advertising followed by 20 years as an educator and 10 years running the Ivy Tech Waldron art galleries.
HANNAH GREGORY
Forestry Committee Chair
Hannah Gregory graduated from the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University with a BS in Environmental Science in 2019. She’s the former Forestry Director of CanopyBloomington. Hannah previously served as a Tree and GIS Technician for IU’s Landscape Services where she facilitated the second and third comprehensive tree inventory of IU’s campus and the subsequent analysis and development of a tree health care plan. She is a research associate with the Environmental Resilience Institute, where she assisted in processing and analyzing statewide urban tree inventories, provided technical assistance to the McKinney Climate Fellow program, and curated the Indiana Green City Mapper platform. Hannah is an ISA certified arborist and sits on the City of Bloomington’s Commission on Sustainability. She currently works for urban forestry consulting and software development firm PlanIT Geo as a GIS and Natural Resource specialist.
DAVID ST. JOHN
Development Committee Chair
David has been an active member of the Bloomington community for over 30 years. He has served numerous organizations in a volunteer capacity including the Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington, the YMCA of Monroe County, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Hoosiers Outrun Cancer, and Habitat for Humanity. He was appointed by the Governor to Chair the Region 8 Workforce Board to partner with for-profit, non-profit, and educational organizations to develop training pipelines preparing area Hoosiers for high-demand jobs. In 2017 he received the Workforce Development Award from the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. David has worked at Cook Medical in Bloomington for over 30 years in Leadership roles in Product Development, HR, and IT. He has a BS in engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from UCLA. He has enjoyed replacing and maintaining over a dozen aged-out trees in his yard, including a Kentucky Coffeetree planted by Canopy at their first neighborhood planting.
REGAN MANGRUM
Board Member
Regan Mangrum graduated from the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University with a BS in Environmental Science in 2023. Currently, Regan is in the MPA-MSES dual degree program at O'Neill with a concentration in Ecology and Conservation. She serves as the graduate assistant for the Integrated Program in the Environment (IPE) where she manages the social media accounts, assists the BSES and BAESS curriculum committees, and volunteers at the Research and Teaching Preserve (RTP).
ANGELA VAN ROOY
Board Member
Angela works as the Neighborhood Services Program Manager for the City of Bloomington department of Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND). In that capacity, she helps neighborhood residents improve their neighborhoods through community building and through physical improvement projects. Last year, her own Bloomington neighborhood was the recipient of nearly 20 Canopy trees, and she discovered firsthand how tree planting can bring neighbors together in meaningful ways. After many years of moving around–from coast to coast and overseas–Angela and her family settled in Bloomington about a dozen years ago. She is proud to call Bloomington home, and is excited to work with CanopyBloomington to have a lasting impact on the community she loves.
ANDY GRINSTEAD
Board Member
Andy Grinstead is a community steward, dedicated to fostering equitable access to natural resources and nature-based experiences. He currently works with the non-profit Pollinator Partnership managing habitat enhancement, ecological restoration, technical certification, and outreach programs throughout the country. Additionally, Andy is a member of the Monroe County Environmental Commission, advocating for educational efforts and initiatives that support a healthier and more economically viable future for the county. Andy is excited to share his enthusiasm for collaborative engagement and volunteerism with the CanopyBloomington community.
LINDSEY ALEXANDER
Board Member
Lindsey Alexander works in communications for IU's Integrated Program in the Environment. For over a decade, she ran a writing and editing business with a focus on making technical topics easy to understand for non-expert audiences. She is the author of Rodeo in Reverse, a New Southern Voices Poetry Prize winner. A poem she knows by heart is "The Trees" by Philip Larkin. The Kentuckian-turned-Bloomerang is happy to put her writing to use to support her community's resilience and health.
TRAVIS VENCEL
Board Member
Mr. Vencel has been in real estate since 1990 as a broker, appraiser, consultant and developer. For the last 15 years Travis has worked for several groups developing multi-family housing across the US, specifically focused on Student and Low-Income markets. Travis is an Indiana real estate broker, Indiana certified general appraiser and holds an SRA designation from the Appraisal Institute.
Mr. Vencel is a graduate of Hanover College and holds a designation from the Appraisal Institute. Mr. Vencel has served on many boards and commissions, including the Bloomington Plan Commission and the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, where he served as chair. In addition, Travis has been a member of the board of directors for the Apartment Association of Indiana and the Appraisal Institute’s Hoosier State Chapter and the Monroe County Airport Board of Directors. He has also served on a variety of community boards and commissions (Wonderlab, Bloomington Parks Foundation, and Cardinal Stage) and has a passion for supporting youth services.
When not developing real estate, Travis is a commercial hot air balloon pilot and competes and fly’s professionally across the country. Travis has five children and lives in Bloomington, Indiana in the rolling hills of southern Indiana and home of Indiana University.
ASHTON PHELPS
Board Member
Ashton Phelps served as an Infantryman and Combat Marksmanship Instructor in the United States Marine Corps. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs (BSPA) with a focus on Environmental Management from the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. Following university, Ashton pursued a career in arboriculture, becoming an ISA Certified Arborist and obtaining the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ). He has worked as a climbing arborist for Davey Tree Service in Indianapolis, at Indiana University in Bloomington, and is currently working as a sales arborist for Bluestone Tree Service.
SAM ARMSTRONG
Board Member
Sam Armstrong holds a B.A. in Environmental & Sustainability Studies with a focus on Environmental Justice and a Certificate in Geographic Information Systems & Remote Sensing from the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University. He is the Chair Emeritus of the City of Bloomington Environmental Commission, where he led urban biodiversity public outreach initiatives. Sam has also worked as an ecological restorationist with Eco Logic, focusing on urban green infrastructure and tree planting projects. Currently, he serves as the Geospatial Conservation Consultant for the Indiana Forest Alliance, where he utilizes GIS technology to advocate for the protection and preservation of Indiana's forests.
Advisory Board
JERAD OREN
MATT BALDWIN
JODI BAKER
MARCELLA HUGHES
BURNELL FISCHER
ROBERT KENDALL
Leadership Launch Supporters
Launch Supporters
Anonymous Donor-Advised Component Fund of the Community Foundation of Bloomington & Monroe County
​
​
David & Kathryn Mincey
Sarah Mincey
​
James Capshew
Burney and Barb Fischer
Philippa Guthrie
​
Jeff & Legene White
Sheryl Woodhouse
Sky Adams
Andrews Family
Mary Claire Bassett
Marcia Veldman & Bryan Berkly
Emily Chester
Amy Countryman & Jeff Mansfield
Sybil Eakin
Nancy Fribley
Eric Fritz
Coley Gillespie
Alejandro Gomez-Pamplona
Joel Grant & Erin Duff
D. Granger
Jeff Greene
Michael & Stephanie Gregory
Erin Hatch & Daniel Ishmael
Gail Hatch
Erin Hollinden
Marcella Hughes & James Russell
Sue Hughes
Heather Jones
Rob Kendall
Lara Kriegel
Lawrence Kulish
Autumn Lewis
Allegra Mautner
Jeff Mease
Wayne & Cindy Mincey
Laura Mojonnier
Darlene Noesen​
Oiko
Gwen Pickett
Andrew Predmore
Matt & Jennifer Prusa
Kori Renn
Patricia Russo
Drew Schrader
Kelli Shannon
Tina & Tony Somes
Robert D. Specht
Veda Stanfield
Mia Williams
Sharon Woodhouse
Ken & Pat Woodhouse
​
Sponsors & Grantors
Limestone Post Magazine
Limestone Post Magazine is the flagship publication of Limestone Media, Inc., an independent, nonprofit organization created to better inform all residents in Bloomington and the surrounding communities about their vital interests and concerns. Limestone Post publishes inclusive stories covering a range of topics, and since they became a nonprofit in 2019, their focus has shifted even more to solutions-based journalism to show how people and organizations are responding to issues in their communities.
Ivy Tech Community College
Ivy Tech Community College is the largest singly-accredited community college in the country, with classes available in 75+ communities across the Indiana, including in Bloomington! Ivy Tech has 70+ academic programs and tuition-free certification programs, and prides themselves on meeting students where they are and giving them the resources and flexibility they need to succeed.
Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County
The Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County brings together individuals, families, and businesses who care deeply about Monroe County and supports important causes, resources, and community initiatives for the betterment of the county's future. They offer grant funding, collaboration opportunities, and advice for innovative ideas and people that will have a lasting impact in Monroe County.
Eco Logic LLC
Eco Logic LLC is an ecological restoration and green infrastructure firm founded in Bloomington Indiana in 1999. We work with clients focused on restoring natural areas and improving the sustainability of our urban environment. We bring over 20 years of experience to every project from assessment and planning through to implementation and long-term management.