The planning process for the next Ten-Year Action Plan began with an assessment of urban forestry resources and conducted in-depth interviews with 26 thought leaders. Those who were interviewed were all asked the same set of questions. They were asked about areas of significant areas of progress in the last decade; the top opportunities, challenges, gaps and needs facing UCF in the next ten years; hopes for the next Ten-Year Urban Forestry Action Plan; ideas for how to engage underserved communities and others; and specific action ideas for the next Action Plan.
A synthesis of these interviews, combined with ideas gleaned from the broader assessment, can be found in the Key Issues Report. Below the interviewees are listed, along with the interest group they belong to and the state that they are based in.
| Name | Interest Group | State |
| Mark Buscaino | Nonprofit | Washington, DC |
| Keith Cline | Local Government | Virginia |
| Preston Cole | Local Government | Wisconsin |
| Danielle Crumrine | Nonprofit | Pennsylvania |
| Sara Davis | Local Government | Colorado |
| Carrie Gallagher | Nonprofit | Washington, DC |
| George Gonzalez | Local Government | California |
| Greg Ina | Private Industry | Ohio |
| Bill Kruidenier | Academia | Illinois |
| Nick Kuhn | State Government | Missouri |
| Jerri LaHaie | Nonprofit | Georgia |
| Daniel Lambe | Nonprofit | Nebraska |
| Andy Lipkis | Nonprofit | California |
| Ed Macie | Federal Government | Georgia |
| Lisa Ortega | Local Government | Nevada |
| Michael Rains | Federal Government | Pennsylvania |
| Shannon Ramsay | Nonprofit | Iowa |
| Paul Ries | Academia | Oregon |
| Kemba Shukur | Nonprofit | California |
| Steve Shurtz | Local Government | Louisiana |
| Nikki Silvestri | Nonprofit | California |
| Jim Skiera | Nonprofit | Illinois |
| Doug Tallamy | Academia | Delaware |
| Ray Tretheway | Nonprofit | California |
| Theresa Trueman-Madriaga | Nonprofit | Hawaii |
| Lynne Westphal | Federal Government | Illinois |
