Nada Duna, chief operating officer of the maintenance division for Gothic Landscape, based in Valencia, California, has worked her way up through the industry and is known for her ability to connect with and inspire diverse teams, as well as her lifelong passion for horticulture.
Her 36-plus-year career of mentoring and empowering others earned her the 2026 Woman Leader of the Year award.
“To be recognized nationally as a leader and someone who has had an impact on the industry is exciting,” Duna says. “Helping create the next generation of leaders is my mission.”
Originally from Beirut, Duna didn’t want to be a doctor like her siblings. Instead, she chose to be a ‘plant doctor.’ She earned a master’s degree in ag engineering from the American University of Beirut while working as an assistant to a visiting professor of horticulture. They sponsored Duna to get another horticultural degree at Cal Poly to escape the civil war at the time.
“Having only $5 in my pocket, lots of degrees but no experience, no friends nor family was very challenging, especially the first two years,” Duna says. “There was a lot of learning and relearning on how to deal with people, how to conduct business and how to accomplish basic life functions and build a community.”
Duna started as a gardener with ValleyCrest, doing everything from weeding to picking up trash.
“The first two years were very tough, but I would not trade it for anything because I learned the business very well,” Duna says. “I had to listen no matter what my education was. I had to observe. I had to do what my foreman asked me to. I had to listen to comments without necessarily responding.”
Over the following 29 years, she moved up the ranks from crew leader to supervisor, then branch manager to regional manager and finally, to senior vice president. She left after the BrightView merger to join Gothic Landscape.
Since becoming Gothic’s COO, Duna has seen the maintenance division experience double-digit organic growth, going from $29 million to $136 million. They also currently have a 90% customer and employee retention rate.
She credits their employee retention rates to hiring the right people the first time, paying competitively, setting proper expectations and focusing on leadership success. Duna says she also makes a point to care about the whole person.
“People are your most important asset,” Duna says. “I strongly believe in servant leadership. Having worked through the ranks, I believe that you treat gardeners the same as CEOs. That is how the best companies are built. Culture around people.”
Duna says it’s also important to review successes in person, maintain high standards and hold people accountable for outcomes and leadership behavior.
“I spend a minimum of 30% of my time in person with people, asking questions, removing obstacles, giving feedback, observing unsaid messages,” Duna says. “I usually meet them on their turf. I try to use people’s strength. Sometimes stretching people into a project that involves leadership beyond their area of control.”
Under Duna’s guidance, their internal promotion rate is over 20%. She says they ensure employees receive training and mentoring on both soft and technical skills.
“I have a 3/3/3 rule during any conversation,” Duna says. “Three questions, three positive things and three needs. I review people development plans and the organization of my main reports once a month, and do succession planning every quarter.”
Duna has spent her career mentoring and empowering other women to pursue leadership opportunities. She says having more women in leadership roles is valuable because they have high EQ and IQ.
“We value relationships,” Duna says. “We can multitask, and we are loyal and can get things done short-term and long-term. We can inspire the new generation of leaders with a people-centric approach.”
She recommends thinking about being a leader, regardless of gender and focusing on growing people.
“That is different than directing,” Duna says. “As women, we do like to do a lot and put too much pressure on ourselves. Give yourself a break even when mistakes happen. Trust yourselves and use your superpower.”
Duna will be presented with her award during ELEVATE in Tampa, Florida, on Nov. 8-11.
This article will be published in the September/October/November issue of the magazine. To read more stories from The Edge magazine, click here to subscribe to the digital edition.
