Mona Cummings

The nonprofit Tree Fresno is rustling with new leadership.

Mona N. Cummings has been selected to succeed Lee Ayres, who served as CEO for eight years for the organization that has planted more than 46,000 trees since its founding in 1985.

Cummings founded her own social media brand for individuals shifting to a “real foods” nutritional lifestyle, and has served in development roles for various organizations, according to her LinkedIn page. She has also spent time in Africa performing volunteer service work.

“Mona comes to the job with experience in natural resource conservation, organizational development and the building of meaningful partnerships.” said Bruce O’Neal, chairperson of the board of directors. “We are thankful for Lee’s service and success in reviving our large scale tree planting program and for his visionary leadership during the last 8 years,”

The selection of the new CEO was made at a special board meting Sept. 9. Ayres will serve as a part-time consultant during the onboarding process for the newly installed CEO Cummings.

“Tree Fresno is making this transition in a thoughtful way so that we don’t lose the momentum generated by our leadership, volunteers and donors,” according to a news release. “We will continue to aggressively pursue our mission to transform the San Joaquin Valley with trees, greenways and beautiful landscapes.”