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Fellow Akron Rotarian, Tina Graver was our presenter on November 3rd. She shared the inspirational story of her vocation including the numerous challenges she faced in her field before taking a leap to start her own company.
Graver is the founder and owner of Trees & Gardens Consulting, LLC, a woman-owned arboricultural consulting and plant health care company based in Northeast Ohio. An ISA Board Certified Master Arborist (BCMA), Tina has spent more than a decade working in professional arboriculture and holds degrees in Botany and Environmental Science. Total BCMAs: Fewer than 2% of all ISA Certified Arborists hold this certification (source: ISA Board Certifications).
In addition, estimates vary, but Zippia career and CareerExplorer both site that only 7-12% of all arborists are female.
If women hold BCMAs at about the same rate as they work in the field (7–12%), that would mean Graver is one of only around 70 to 150 women in the U.S. with this status. The real number could be lower, because the BCMA requires years of experience and the field had even fewer women in the past.
WOW! This puts Graver in a very rare group of specialists in her field and we are so very lucky to have her right here in NE Ohio.
Graver founded Trees & Gardens Consulting in 2024, took the business full-time in 2025, and has since grown it from a one-person operation into a growing company with employees, a dedicated facility, and an expanding range of consulting and plant health care services. Her work combines science, practical field experience, and a lifelong fascination with plants.
When she isn't talking about trees—which is admittedly rare—Tina is usually outside, working on the business, or spending time with her son and her dog, Star.
