Board of Directors
Meet the men and women that comprise the Dakotas Chapter of ISA Board.
Sam DeMarais
President
Sam is the Forester for the Fargo Park District. He was born and raised in Fargo, ND. He graduated from NDSU in 2011, with a degree in Horticultural Science. Sam is an ISA Certified Arborist Municipal Specialist, ISA Certified Master Arborist, and is ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualified. In his free time Sam enjoys spending time with his wife and children, archery, bow hunting, and anything to do with hiking and nature.
Christy Ames-Davis
Vice President
City of Bismarck Forestry Division
I am currently the Membership Liaison for the Dakotas Chapter. I am a ND native and in my free time enjoy spending time outdoors, gardening, crafting, and mixology. I have spent my career working with the City of Bismarck Forestry Division; most recently as City Forester. I am an ISA Certified Arborist, ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualified and an NDSU Extension Master Gardener.
Rex McDonald
Board Member
Rex graduated from the University of South Dakota with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Mass Communications; where he competed in football and was a senior captain on the USD Hall of Fame 2005 football team.
Rex began his career in arboriculture in 2007 with a landscaping company in Iowa and then as part of the Forestry District with the City of Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation Department in 2009. In 2018, Rex and his family relocated to Spearfish, SD, where he currently serves as the Parks and Forestry Superintendent for the City of Spearfish.
In his free time, Rex enjoys mountain biking, fly fishing, snowboarding, and coaching various youth sports.
Alec Miller
Board Member
Fargo Park District
Alec has worked in the arboriculture field since 2011 and has been with the Fargo Park District Forestry Division since 2015 holding various positions throughout that time. He has been a member of the ISA since 2016, becoming a Certified Arborist and then obtaining his Board-Certified Master Arborist credential in 2024. He holds a B.S. of Horticulture from NDSU.
Alec is currently on the professional development committee for the Dakotas chapter, helping to bring programing and educational opportunities to members across the Dakotas and bordering communities. He is also a Minnesota Master Naturalist, working to engage volunteers in the region to better our natural landscapes and public lands.
Katherine Nagel
Board Member
Katie was born and raised in rural SW Minnesota and attended NDSU where she got her BS in Natural Resources Management with an emphasis in social science and a minor in anthropology. She moved to Bismarck in 2012 and worked for Cashman Nursery as the assistant store manager until 2017. In 2016 she got her ISA arborist certification and became the city arborist in Mandan in May of 2017. While working for Mandan, she received a certificate of appreciation from the Mayor for the work she did within the city helping better connect people with the trees. Bismarck Forestry hired her in 2021 as an arborist where she is currently employed. She sat on the NDUCFA board as the secretary/treasurer from 2018 until it ended in 2021. She lives outside of Mandan with her husband where she enjoys gardening, her houseplants and cats. In her free time she and her husband enjoy attending concerts, going camping, fishing, foraging for wild edibles and hiking.
Bryan Peterson
Board Member
Bryan serves as the Urban Forestry Specialist for the City of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he oversees the city forestry program development and implementation. He also serves on the Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Committee with the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Bryan started his career in forestry with the Nebraska Forest Service working on the Great Plains Initiative. Since then, he has worked in the private sector as an arborist, an owner/operator of his own tree care company, and for the Kansas Forest Service as the Northwest District Forester administering rural and urban forestry programs across 24 counties. His ambition for excellence is only outweighed by his personality and commitment to customer service.
In addition to his love of trees, Bryan enjoys ice fishing, hunting, hiking, travel and spending quality time with his wife and three kids.
Cody Alan Thompson
Board Member
Glacial Lakes Tree Service, LLC.
Cody grew up on a small farm in Northwestern Iowa taking care of livestock on his family's farm. From a young age his parents and grandparents instilled work ethic into his everyday life. Cody was involved in 4-H and FFA throughout grade school. He showed livestock that frustrated the judges because he was always trying something new. After a while his father noticed him taking an interest in the orchard on his grandparent's farm. From that interest he pushed him into learning biotechnology and biology in college. That's where he took classes at SDSU in Arboriculture and Urban Forestry. After he graduated with an AS in Biotechnology and a BS in Biology he took up employment at Glacial Lakes Tree Service in Brookings, South Dakota. From there he has moved to being crew foreman, leading 4 others everyday. He currently lives and works in Brookings, South Dakota.
Joshua Wildeboer
Board Member
I’m a family man who loves the outdoors and working with trees. I am an ISA Certified Arborist and TRAQ qualified. My 24 years in Arboriculture has allowed me to experience ground level up to management in residential and utility. My career started with me going to work for my family’s tree service thinking my dad was crazy for starting it. I thought to myself “who has ever heard of a tree service.” As I attended STI in Sioux Falls working on my associates in business, I developed my initial passion and experience helping grow the family business. When my parents decided to sell, I went to work for Wright Tree Service (WTS). WTS helped me spread my wings and experience what I couldn’t with a family business. Working for a large company, I got the privilege of working in other parts of the country, on large contracts, and with many great people. I’ve enjoyed a lot of what I’ve done in my career and continue to. Going back to my climbing days, it’s definitely hard to top the feeling you get after tackling a challenging climb. The best part, without a doubt, has been the people. Recently, I’ve had the honor of joining a great team at Black Hills Energy as a vegetation manager in the Rapid City area. I look forward to the continued growth and experiences.
Scott Liudahl
Past President
Scott received a B.S. in Forest Management from Colorado State University. He spent time with the State of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah working in urban and traditional forestry. Originally from Minnesota, he is currently the City Forester of Fargo, ND. He works with various community groups, city departments, and other agencies in this "growing" part of the state. Scott is an ISA Board Certified Master Arborist, Tree Risk Assessment Qualified, SAF Certified Forester, Minnesota Certified Tree Inspector, and an ASCA Registered Consulting Arborist.
