Corporate Leadership
Peter Sortwell
Founder/CEO
ISA Certified Arborist WE-0361A, Tree Care Industry Association Board of Directors
Utilizing his 30+ years of tree contracting experience, Peter’s leadership has made Arborwell one of the fastest growing companies in California. As a past Board Member of the Tree Care Industry Association, he has been involved in the development of many industry safety and quality standards used to drive Arborwell’s success. Peter attended the University of Maine where he studied Plants & Soils Sciences.
Andy LaVelle
President
ISA Certified Arborist WE-7458A
Andy, an industry veteran with 25 years of experience in the tree and landscape business brings direct experience in developing business and relationships with commercial property managers and owners. Andy has a B.S. in Ornamental Horticulture from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and an MBA from Saint Mary’s College. He is an ISA certified arborist, focused on the sustained growth of Arborwell and executing its company vision and strategy.
Brad Carson
CFO
Carson brings over twenty years of experience in financial management to Arborwell to lead the Accounting and Finance team. A graduate with honors from the Master of Business Administration program at Saint Mary’s College, Carson is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of California and received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from University of California, Berkeley.
Cindy Kirkman
Senior Director of Human Resources
Cindy Kirkman is a Senior HR professional with over 20 years of management experience. Her HR areas of expertise are Recruiting and Employee Relations. Cindy has worked for both small and midsized companies in Retail, Technology, Health and Fitness and Consulting.
Bill Owen
Safety Director
ISA Board Certified Master Arborist WE-7113B, CTSP 147
Bill has over 22 years of industry experience. He is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, a Registered Consulting Arborist with A.S.C.A, and he has his California Qualified Applicators License. Bill has a strong background in arboricultural safety practices, and is a TCIA Certified Tree Care Safety Professional (CTSP).
Jerry White
Plant Health Care Program Director
Certified Arborist ISA IN1492a
California Pest Control Advisor #151057
California QAL #146109
Jerry has a Bachelor degree in Ornamental Horticulture from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo with an emphasis in Landscape. Jerry is a certified arborist with over 20 years’ experience in arboriculture. He is also a California Qualified Applicator. Besides California, Jerry has studied and worked in the Northwest and Midwest regions of the country.
Sam Diserens
Marketing Manager
Sam has a bachelors degree in Marketing from Menlo Collge in Menlo Park, CA. He is an experienced Marketing professional with a demonstrated history of working in the facilities services industry. Since beginning with the company over three years ago, Sam has gone through each level of the department and now leads the marketing efforts for the company.
Regional Leadership
Greg Rogers
Senior Vice President,
ISA Certified Arborist WE-3127
Greg holds a BS degree in Forestry and Natural Resources from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo with an emphasis in Environmental Management and Botany. Greg brings over 18 years of experience in the arboriculture industry to the company, is an ISA Certified Arborist and member of the American Society of Consulting Arborists.
Kris Yamaguchi
Vice President ISA Certified Arborist WE-8142A
Kris is a 1995 graduate of California Polytechnic State University with a degree in Forestry and Natural Resource Management. Prior to joining Arborwell, Kris spent 10 years as a Consulting Arborist covering the South Bay, San Jose area. He is now developing business and managing accounts in the San Jose area down to Monterey.
Neil Woolner
Vice President
ISA Certified Arborist WE-2329A
Neil’s vast experience in both arboriculture and horticulture provides leadership to bay area account managers and Arborwell’s largest commercial accounts. Neil has over 30 years of industry experience and is a member of England’s Royal Horticultural Society.
Matt Dickinson
Vice President
ISA Certified Arborist WE-7642A, CLT
Originally from North Carolina, Matt graduated with a degree in Biology from Western Carolina University. He has over 10 years of industry experience as an Account Manager and has a landscape construction background. Matt manages Arborwell’s commercial accounts in the East Bay.
JP Chibuk
Regional Manager ISA Certified Arborist WE-9385A, CTSP 1136
JP earned his B.S. in Forestry Business Management from the University of Alberta in Canada. JP is an ISA Certified Arborist, Certified Tree Safety Professional and manages the San Diego region.
Scott Selby
Regional Manager ISA Board Certified Master Arborist PN-1775B, Risk Assessor 1261, WSDA Pest Lic. #79052
Scott comes to Arborwell with over 30 years in the tree care industry. In 2000, he started his own (Seattle) company, which after a very successful run Scott decided sell in 2008. After selling his business Scott attained his Board Certified Master Arborist, Tree Risk Assessor and WSDA Pest Applicator certifications and ventured into tree consulting. Scott serves as the primary Arborist Representative in Seattle and assumes responsibility for day-to-day operations.
Jenn Hoppel
Account Manager, ISA Certified Arborist: WE-12121A, QAL Certification: 135880
Jenn has been with Arborwell for over 15 years, and has been building strong relationships with clients ever since. She takes the time to understand the clients needs, as well as the needs of the property she is dealing with.
Gina Phillips
Bay Area Business Development Manager
Gina Phillips is a green industry veteran, with over 24 years in the business. A graduate of The University of Iowa, she began her career in interior landscaping in downtown Chicago for Rentokil (now Ambius), then joined Environmental Care (now BrightView) in San Francisco. Phillips worked at Gachina Landscape Management for the past 14 years in sales and business development. Gina is passionate about the industry and enjoys building client relationships based on trust and excellent service.
