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Jina Rockwell entered the landscape industry by happenstance. She graduated from Miami University with a degree in consumer sciences and earned a marketing MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. Before starting her own landscaping company, she had a successful career in purchasing, supply chain, marketing, and business development across multiple industry sectors. Now she is […]
For Nina Williams, getting into the landscape industry was by chance. Her previous jobs in the medical field required her to travel a lot and work long hours. āI had been working in the medical field for a long time, and I was just wanting a change and so I was out looking for jobs […]
Sustainability has always been important to Zech Strauser, founder and owner of Strauser Natureās Helpers, based in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. He started his company in 1998 and they serve Class A and HOA properties throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York from their locations in East Stroudsburg, Lehigh Valley, and Lancaster. His companyās goals include leading […]
The Faces of the Industry series features the stories of various individuals who found their way to the lawn care and landscape industry. They share about their current roles, what theyād like to do in the future and where theyād like to see in the industry change. Click on each personās name to read the […]
Jesse Cardoza started helping his father in his lawn service business when he was eight years old. In the beginning, he had to find properties through a Mapsco book and used payphones for directions. When he was 15, he would work his fatherās lawn maintenance route so they could go on vacations with his younger […]
Luis Mata, maintenance operations manager for Chalet Nursery, based in Wilmette, Illinois, was introduced to the industry at a young age as he started working with his father on a landscape crew throughout high school. āAt one point I did not want to be involved in the industry,ā Mata says. āI wanted to find something […]
Victoria Trucco studied architecture in Colombia and had wanted to earn a masterās degree in urbanism. However, her dual citizenship caused her to not be eligible for a scholarship at Penn State. āI had two small children and could not afford the private university for urbanism,ā she says. Her husband, Ray Rueda, was relocated to […]
When Juan Gutierrez came to the United States from Mexico in 1999, he originally only planned to stay for one year so he could earn enough money to buy a truck or house in Mexico, like many of his friends had done. However, he quickly developed a passion for landscaping and decided his life was […]
Ellie and Juan Lamonaca, owners of Conserva Irrigation of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, never thought theyād get into the irrigation industry at first. They had always wanted to be entrepreneurs and were keeping their eyes and ears open for different franchising opportunities. āWe always thought of the green industry as a recession-proof business,ā he says. āWe […]
Olivia Espinoza got into the landscape industry as a groundskeeper for an apartment complex, taking care of flower containers and beds. āI enjoyed it so much I decided to take horticulture classes to learn more about plants,ā she says. She spent two seasons working as a groundskeeper and now works for Kujawa Enterprises, Inc., based […]
