Alastair Sandels FICFor is the new ICF President and Sharon Hosegood FICFor the new Vice President, both elected at the Institute’s Annual General Meeting in Oxford on 10th April 2019. They will hold their positions for two years.
Alastair Sandels FICFor is currently Managing Director of Trioss, a business providing consultancy to people, organisations and systems facing complex long-term risks such as climate change and resource availability. He qualified as Professional Member of the ICF in 1992 and was appointed Fellow of the Institute in 2010. He completed the MSc in Forestry and Land Management at Oxford in 1982 and is currently a Director of The Forestry Industry Safety Accord (FISA).
“The ICF is in its strongest position since Chartered status was awarded. More members and stronger finances. We can continue to grow incrementally if we choose and build on our strengths and success. It is a privilege and honour to be ICF President,” he said.
He wants to encourage members to look beyond the confines of what is happening in the UK and take on board the issues at a global level put forward by speakers at the Institute’s recent National Conference. He also believes it may be time to explore how to make a step change in terms of policy positions to support members and influence decision making.
Alastair is open to looking at recognising experiential learning and vocational skills and keen to develop a wider and challenging range of professional development resources and opportunities for members at different stages of their careers.
“From my experience balancing the interests of clients and employers is one of the biggest challenges we face at all stages of our careers. The ICF Code of Conduct and Ethics backed by scrutiny and sanction is powerful and offers a unique benchmark for us and for our stakeholders. If we don’t embrace continued professional development we will fail to meet our potential, now more than ever. We need to be ambitious of our Institute and the next generation,” he added.
Sharon Hosegood FICFor, Vice President of the ICF and Managing Director of arboricultural consultancy Sharon Hosegood Associates. Her specialisms are trees in relation to planning and construction, tree hazard management, and tree radar. Sharon is also a Fellow of the Arboricultural Association, board member for Institute of Arboricultural Studies (Hong Kong) and an Expert Witness as well as an assessor for the Institute’s Examinations Board.
“I am honoured and delighted to serve the members and the President in this role. As the first arboriculturist, I hope this will encourage more arboriculturists to start the path to Chartership. Being chartered is an easily recognisable accreditation. It raises our standing amongst other professionals and provides quality assurance,” she said.
She aims to be at the forefront of encouraging more people to gain the right skill sets and qualifications needed to deal with challenges in the sector which include pressures on trees and forests from pests and diseases, land use demands and climate change. She also wants to increase the awareness of what professional foresters and arboriculturists do.
“We need to keep pushing the importance of trees and forests to the wider community for the wellbeing of our ecosystem and our communities and let people know what a great career choice this is. The perceived importance of tree officers within their Local Authorities, for example, is patchy, some are even not replacing tree officer posts. What is less understood is that arboriculture is a fascinating and worthwhile profession,” she added.
