SavATree is shedding light on what it means to be a woman in arboriculture. The three-woman team that operates out of SavATree’s Denver branch is an exemplary unit that SavATree hopes signals the future of arboriculture.
While it’s not uncommon for women considering a career in the tree care industry to experience feelings of being underestimated in strength and abilities, this team feels SavATree never discriminated based on gender. This trio expressed many of the challenges that exist for women have a great deal to do with a companies’ culture and their tolerance of the stereotypes plaguing the industry.
The Denver field crew is comprised of Sarah Kieffer, Presley Laryea and Whitney Lippert. Their formation was more logistical than calculated.
“Sarah, Presley, and Whitney all joined the SavATree tribe around the same time, and our Operations Manager, Phil Jankovich, suggested pairing them together for a trial run to see how they’d be received both internally and externally,” said Branch Manager, Randy Duet-Champagne. What may have started as unintentional has certainly generated a lot of attention in the market.
“The team has been getting rave reviews from customers, not because they’re all females, but they’re doing an amazing job in the field with great attitudes. They’re approachable and take the time to walk through the process with the customer – making sure to build a level of trust through education and engagement we all could learn from.”
“SavATree didn’t hire us because we had a feminine touch. Instead, they saw that we could truly do the work,” said Laryea. “They gave us the same opportunities as anyone.”
Added Kieffer, “They’ve always supported us. SavATree provided us the tools and training we needed for success and never treated us differently.”
“We go out and do our job every day knowing we’ve got the support of the organization behind us,’ said Lippert. “That’s a great feeling.”