Planting for Impact: San Francisco's Street Tree Planting Strategy

Carla Short was appointed Director of San Francisco Public Works in November 2023, after serving as Interim Director since August 2021. She began her career with Public Works in 2004 as the City’s Urban Forester and became superintendent of the Bureau of Urban Forestry in 2015. During her tenure, she led the development and implementation of StreetTreeSF, a voter-approved initiative to transfer maintenance responsibility of San Francisco’s 124,000-plus street trees to Public Works. Short holds a Master of Environmental Management from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies and English from Vassar College. She also studied African literature, history, religion and culture at University of Ibadan in Nigeria. Prior to joining Public Works, she worked for several nonprofits, including Conservation International, Conservation Society of Sierra Leone and Tombo Wallah Farmers Association, spearheading conservation initiatives in West Africa.