Kristina Smith-Becker is president at American Design & Landscape. Her parents started the business in the late 1960s and as a child in junior high she was working in it by answering the phone. Though she went back to Colorado during summers after staring college, she did not work in the family business but started a small maintenance company mowing for HOAs, and enjoyed working outside. A few years after graduation, while working in an office, her father asked if she would come back into the business. She did. Over time, her parents faded out of the business and she took it over. She has done a lot of self-learning, taken classes, attended conferences and received certifications. After more than 30 years she still finds it exciting to see customers light up.

After college, when Jessi Burg (president, Outgrow Your Garage Inc. and former CEO, Pears to Perennials) moved to Colorado, she worked in urban farming and was developing pollinator habitats. In 2017, when she started her own urban gardening company, it quickly segued into a sustainable landscaping company doing full-yard maintenance. Pears to Perennials was doing design, install, maintenance and irrigation work. Burg wanted to own a company in the seasonal green industry so she could largely set her own hours, have a few months every year where she can work remotely or not at all, and do nearly all of her work outside. With her own business she says, “I get paid to do things I love and I’m building a savings account.”

After three years, Colorado Green felt it was time to check in with women in the industry again (see the September/October 2018 issue). For the November/December 2021 issue, Colorado Green spoke with eight women who play different roles in their respective companies. Some own their business, some are managers at their employers’ firms, some are designers but most wear multiple hats. All have worked in the green industry for several years, giving them a perspective when looking back at their experience. They also learned that it took a few years to develop confidence navigating as a woman, particularly when younger and newer to the industry. They model perseverance.

Anne Campbell (Co-owner and operations manager, Colorado Stoneworks Landscaping) says she got into the landscape industry “by accident” and now having been in it since 2007, she is committed. During 2006 when the company was founded, she was working full-time elsewhere while helping evenings and weekends at Colorado Stoneworks. The company needed more help in 2007 and when the “then owners” asked her to consider joining, she said yes, but only as an owner, not an employee. She bought in and later that year married Jon Campbell, one of the original two partners. Since becoming co-owner, Campbell, who loves learning, continues to educate herself in numerous ways.

Originally from Germany, Konstanze Fabian’s first job out of high school was an apprenticeship as a forester in the city of Berlin. She had no previous introduction to working outdoors or to plants and had planned to be a lawyer. She was the “green sheep” of her family, falling in love with trees and other plants. When she moved the U.S. in 1999, she studied at night while working in the green industry and eventually received a bachelor’s in horticulture and master’s in environmental studies. She is an ISA Certified Arborist and consulting arborist with ASCA (American Society of Consulting Arborists). Fabian joined Bartlett Tree Experts in 2014 as a plant health care specialist and arborist representative.

Kim Jewell (General manager, Snow Management Services/GroundMasters) came to the industry because she had family in the business who needed someone with Jewell’s skills in marketing, sales and operations. And she prefers working outside more than at a desk. The industry sucked her in and she is both self-taught and continues to learn at every opportunity. “Learning and training is vital.”

Before starting her own Colorado company in 2005, Cindy McCord (Owner, Bloom Floralscapes) already had years of industry experience. She had worked at her family’s Texas-based landscape company and built a commercial portfolio of 150 properties. So why start her own company? “I wanted to ‘own’ my own time and increase my earnings by taking risk.”

This week, we turn our focus from The ELITE Awards to ALCC’s Volunteer Service Awards. At The ELITE Awards reception, ALCC also recognized four individuals for their outstanding volunteer contributions to the Colorado landscape industry. 

The 2021 Bob Cannon Award Lifetime Achievement Award recipient was Jesus ‘Chuy’ Medrano, honoring his commitment and contribution to the landscape industry and ALCC, and to improving the professional image of the industry. 

Medrano has long been recognized as a leader. Since the 1980s, he has been a tireless advocate for the landscape industry at the local, state and national levels. He was named to NALP's 2017 Leadership Class during the GIE+EXPO, an honor that recognizes individuals who “work hard to empower their colleagues and the industry to grow and succeed.”

Medrano has been a public face of the Colorado landscape industry, sharing his company’s story with the media, and answering consumer questions as a volunteer with ALCC’s Garden Line 9 project. 

Beyond ALCC, he helped found the National Hispanic Landscape Alliance (NHLA). Nationally, Medrano has helped promote careers in the landscape industry and sheds light on the challenges the green industry faces. His struggles with the labor shortage were profiled in 2017 by The Washington Post. 

Through CoCal, Medrano supports the future of the industry, encouraging his team to participate in the Landscape Career Pathways program and to visit local schools to help young people learn about career opportunities. Medrano has mentored his children to become leaders as well. Marisol Medrano Mejia is a leader of NALP’s Latino Landscape Network (formerly NHLA). Sons Jody and Carlos complete “Team Medrano” and are leading the company with their father. 

In the nearly three decades since Medrano co-founded CoCal Landscape—but later bought out his partner—it is clear that people are his priority. These ‘people’ include employees, customers, vendors, temporary workers and communities. According to Medrano, the CoCal team has always believed in helping the community and others in need, whether in the neighborhood or across the border in Mexico. He once admitted to Colorado Green, “People are my thing. I care about relationships.”

What a year it was in 2020, the year for which Troy Sibelius is being honored with the John Garvey Person of the Year Award for his invaluable contributions to ALCC and its members. This award recognizes someone who goes the extra mile to serve others. Sibelius provided consistent guidance regarding insurance implications as we entered the pandemic.