Keith Mars

Austin

Keith Mars, AICP, CA, is Community Tree Preservation Division Manager, City of Austin Development Services Department. Keith works for the City of Austin where he manages 35 dedicated public servants that preserve, plan, promote, and study Austin’s urban forest. His division’s portfolio includes administering contentious tree preservation regulations during land development, implementing Austin’s comprehensive urban forest plan for public properties, a $5 million-dollar community urban forest grant program, a youth in the urban forest engagement plan, and a robust data analytics and GIS program that studies permitting and urban forest data. He firmly believes in an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to address the complex conditions of a challenging public policy landscape in a quickly urbanizing environment. Keith has a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Political Science from Carson-Newman University and a master’s degree in Forestry and Environmental Policy from the University of Tennessee. He is also a certified arborist, municipal arborist, and a scholarship attendee at the Society of Municipal Arborist Municipal Forestry Institute and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive Education program.