Meet Our Team

Brie Frickenstein, Program Coordinator, Reforestation

What do you love about your work at the Arbor Day Foundation?

The thing I love most about my job is seeing our work in action. I love getting to build relationships with new and existing planting partners, understanding the needs of their area, why they plant, and the positive changes they are making by planting trees.

How did you develop a connection with trees?

I remember having a mulberry tree as a child that our family would pick berries from to make jam. It was something my mom used to do with her mother and then did with me. Now, as an adult, I have a mulberry tree in my front yard. My neighbors love picking the berries, which has helped us get to know each other!

What is your favorite tree?

I have always been drawn to weeping willow trees. There were some at a nearby park that I would climb or read under as a child. I spent a lot of time under those trees as a kid. Not only do they provide a lot of shade, they’re also whimsical; it’s beautiful and peaceful to listen to the wind blowing through their leaves. A weeping willow was also the first tree I ever planted!