For over 30 years Tree New Mexico (TNM) has been planting trees in the Land of Enchantment and educating the public on the value and necessity of healthy urban forests. We continue to be the premier private, non-profit tree planting organization in NM (and the nation); planting thousands of trees each year and building a high level of understanding and advocacy for the expansion and maintenance of urban forests.

Tree New Mexico was initially formed out of concern for the environment by local high school students on the premise that tree planting is an important and worthwhile national and community goal. Since our founding in 1990, our partners and volunteers have helped plant over 1,250,000 trees in communities throughout New Mexico. Sue Probart, Founding Director and now Board Emeritus, ran TNM for the better part of 30 years. She is generally known in NM as “Ms. Tree” and as the reason we have urban forestry at all.

Tree New Mexico
Board of Directors

Suzanne Probart

Founder and Board Member Emeritus

Suzanne is the founding director of Tree New Mexico.

James A. Maddox

President

Jim has been active with Tree New Mexico and a member of the Board of Directors for over 17 years.

Gary Benton

Treasurer

Gary retired as a process engineer in June 2016, after a 20-year career at the Intel Corporation.

Chaitna Sinha

Secretary

Chaitna is a practicing attorney, busy mom, and outdoor enthusiast.

Michael Payton

Member of the Board

Michael Payton is a Landscape Designer and ISA Certified Arborist.

Suzanne Probart

Founder and Board Member Emeritus

Suzanne is the founding director of Tree New Mexico. She has guided Tree New Mexico into a nationally recognized and commended environmental tree planting and education organization. For many years she served on the New Mexico Tree Planting Advisory Committee, and the New Mexico Urban Forest Council. During its formative years, Suzanne also helped Navajo agencies and government officials establish Navajo Nation Arbor Day, and assisted communities around the state in earning their Tree City USA designations.

James A. Maddox

President

Jim was born in Denver, Colorado but grew up in Bosque Farms, New Mexico. The 4H was a major part of his life as animals, plants and trees have always been of interest. Jim developed a rural area watering system to keep juvenile trees, shrubs and even gardens alive in remote areas without access to well water! He is known as the "Sourdough Mechanic" for his State Fair winning bread recipe and has been active with Tree New Mexico and a member of the Board of Directors for over 17 years.

Gary Benton

Treasurer

Tree NM board member since June 2017 Treasurer since 2018. Gary retired as a process engineer in June 2016, after a 20-year career at the Intel Corporation in Rio Rancho NM. He then spent the 2017 tax season working in a local accounting office. While there he took CNM accounting classes and honed his accounting skills at work. In 2018 Gary began his own bookkeeping company. Gary Benton LLC, dba The Benton Company. There he caters to the bookkeeping needs of small businesses and non-profits. Gary provides many services to Tree NM including payroll, limited accounting services and he often lends his truck to Tree NM planting events. Born in Ohio and raised in Michigan, Gary moved to New Mexico in April 1980 and has been a resident for 40 years now. He and his wife Gina have been exclusive for 31 years. They have 4 children and 5 grandchildren, 2 dogs and a cat.

Chaitna Sinha

Secretary

Chaitna is an attorney whose practice focuses primarily on federal Indian law and natural resources law.  She received her J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School, and also has an MBA from Gonzaga University. She has previously worked as a staff attorney for a wilderness advocacy group, and volunteered with several conservation organizations, including Tree Utah.

Michael Payton

Member of the Board

Michael Payton is a Landscape Designer and ISA Certified Arborist who has a passion for rewilding landscapes. Founder and Principal of Garden Wild New Mexico, Michael is a recent transplant from NYC with more than 15 years of experience in Green Infrastructure, Horticulture, Arboriculture and Planning in the public and private sector. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of South Florida and holds a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the City College of New York. Prior to his work in Landscape Architecture, Michael performed as trumpeter with several Broadway shows and orchestras in New York, Florida and Venezuela, as well as at Walt Disney World.

Tree New Mexico Staff