Meet Our Team

Over 30 years ago, Jesse Brough started working for his neighbors by traveling around on his bicycle with his tools in the back of his home-made trailer. By the time he graduated from college, landscaping had become a passion of his. After years of working in the field doing landscape maintenance, he transitioned into landscape construction and design.  As the company grew, he became a full-time design and sales person until he transitioned into his current full-time position of “working on the business rather than in the business”.  He is passionate about building an organization where its employees believe they are working at the best landscape company in the Portland area.

Jesse is married and has four children. When he is not catching up with his college-aged daughters or spending quality time with his younger boys, he enjoys spending time with his wife, surfing, and most of all – drawing nearer to Jesus.

A life-long love of art and the outdoors has culminated into Sarah’s dream job of landscape design and sales. A native Oregonian, Sarah comes from a family of farmers and grew up roaming filbert orchards and her parents’ Christmas tree farm.

With a goal of encouraging people to spend more time enjoying our beautiful outdoors, Sarah focuses on no-fuss yards that meet people’s active lifestyles and offer peaceful retreat. Sarah’s background in public relations helps provide excellent client relations, while her landscape design degree and numerous art classes influence her creative solutions in developing plans for clients’ dream outdoor spaces.

When she doesn’t have her hands drafting a design or digging in the dirt, Sarah enjoys being active with her husband and two children. Skiing, hiking, biking, camping, and enjoying Portland’s great culinary scene keep Sarah and family busy throughout the year.

There is no where Rebecca Smith would rather be than in a garden, and there is nothing she would rather be doing than weeding, pruning, designing and in general contemplating gardening.  She has a passion for gardening and all that it entails and loves helping clients discover the possibilities with their own gardens.  To her its an interesting puzzle to solve between what can and will grow, what the client likes and wants, how the space will be used and what the budget allows.

In 2012 she received her AAS in Landscape Design at Portland Community College and has been in the landscape industry ever since.  From working in a plant nursery to maintenance, design and construction she has a wealth of knowledge and a key eye for design. Working at Blessing Landscapes has been a perfect fit. She has the honor of helping clients create beautiful, functional spaces that reflect their needs and desires.

Born and raised in Colorado, a graduate of the University of Texas, Janie has been an Oregonian for 20 years. While living in California she was an award-winning residential landscape designer, and designed landscapes for the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, the Assistance League Design House, and the Los Angeles County Arboretum. She became an instructor in kitchen gardening and cooking at Pasadena City College, and installed teaching gardens in elementary schools. She has written articles for newspapers, books, and magazines, and served on the board of the Los Angeles County Arboretum.

When not in the kitchen or garden, you can find her restoring historic homes, at the pool in winter, and open water swimming in the summer.

Jeff began his landscaping career over four decades ago managing 5,000 Poinsettias for a national retail chain. Shortly after that, he began designing container plantings providing exterior landscape maintenance. As his passion grew, he saw it only fitting to attend Mt Hood Community College to study horticulture.

Jeff has been a licensed Landscape Contractor in the State of Oregon since 1986 and has an extensive background in residential and commercial landscape design and construction, including owning and running his own landscape company for many years.

With his extensive experience, Jeff loves helping clients problem-solve issues in their yards while creating a space that is both functional and beautiful. He is also a master at increasing the value of real estate with high-value and creative landscaping solutions.

When he is not landscaping, Jeff is a professional musician and has been since he was a teenager. Which instrument, you ask? The drums.

Richell joins the Blessing Land team with much to offer as a landscape artist – an Associate’s Degree in Landscape Design and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Interior Design-Summa cum Laude. Her previous experience working at architecture and interior design firms in Singapore helps her create holistic outdoor spaces that complement the interior and house architecture. Originally from Cebu, Philippines, she moved to Portland, expanding her artistic endeavors into landscaping. Her overseas life experiences have brought modern sensibilities to her aesthetics which she combines with local styles to create functional and unique outdoor spaces. She feels that the essential aspect of the design process is listening to the client’s requirements and finding creative solutions that reflect the client’s lifestyle.

Richell enjoys exploring new places and hiking with her husband and twin daughters in her free time. The beauty of the Pacific Northwest has inspired her landscape design work. Her other creative pursuits include portraits, botanical & landscape photography, fine art illustration, ceramics, and peg doll art.

Elizabeth’s career in landscape design initially stemmed from her passion for fine arts. She received a B.A. in Art at Portland State University with an emphasis in painting and a minor in Time Arts (animation and film making). However, after spending a few years painting in her studio and showing at several exhibits in local galleries, something was still missing in her life. She realized her time spent in the studio was less time spent outside, among nature, where she truly felt happy.

The logical step was to go back to school and get an A.A.S. in Landscape Technology and Design. It turned out to be the perfect blend of art and nature, and since 2015 she has been able to do her dream job of creating beautiful landscape designs for the people of the Portland-Metro area. The best part of her job is seeing those designs transformed into stunning realities, something she wouldn’t trade for anything.

Jessica Lanoue is a Tennessee native who grew up immersed in nature and has always appreciated plants and animals. Following her relocation to Oregon, she enrolled in gardening classes at Portland Community College to learn more about how to take care of her new home in the Pacific Northwest. She slowly found her way to landscape design classes and had no idea it would lead to pursuing a degree. But, after just a few classes, she was hooked! In her previous career as a Buyer, she found herself uninspired. Then, she realized Landscape Design was her opportunity to bring a little slice of the natural world to others in their backyards.

Her favorite part of residential design is enjoying a good problem to solve and finding creative and functional solutions for unique spaces. Although she loves many design styles, Jessica is especially passionate about using native plants and design techniques to build natural habitats that invite pollinators, birds, and other organisms to the landscape —prioritizing the client’s design goals and functional needs. In addition, Jessica hopes that each space she creates invites people outside to gather together, relax, and enjoy a harmonious relationship with plants and animals.

When not hard at work creating beautiful designs for our customers, you can find Jessica experimenting in her yard at home. Whether building rain gardens, propagating house plants, or walking Portland’s neighborhoods for design inspiration, she is active within the landscaping world in both her professional and personal life. She also stays busy on the weekends climbing, skiing, and hiking with her young family.

David Dillon, born and raised locally in Portland, started landscaping at an early age mowing lawns for his family and neighbors. He did not know that it would become a career until he met Blessing Landscapes owner Jesse Brough, and was encouraged to continue his education and experience so he could take his journey in the landscaping world to the next level.

He joined the team in 2012 as a Landscape Maintenance Technician. He quickly moved up to Landscape Maintenance Foreman. After a few years in that position, he decided to give landscape construction a try. It was during this time that he discovered a passion for the challenges that construction can bring and the satisfaction of seeing a yard transformation into a beautiful, finished landscape.

Currently, Dave is overseeing installation teams as Project Manager. Additionally, he is a Landscape Industry Certified Technician, as well as a certified Oregon Backflow Assembly Tester. During a recent awards ceremony, the company recognized him with the “Project Manager of the Year 2019” award.

When he is not busy coordinating and managing the many projects that Blessing Landscapes is installing, in his downtime, Dave enjoys playing Disc Golf and camping.

Ricardo Robles’s favorite part of being a Project Manager is seeing customers fall head-over-heels with their outdoor spaces all over again. Yards that have been transformed from wearied to wonderful are what he looks forward to with each new project he oversees.

As an avid lover of the outdoors himself, the landscaping industry allows him to do what he loves every day. Raised in Riverside, California, he started working in landscaping right after high school when he relocated to Oregon. Ricardo’s transition from assistant to foreman was a quick and natural trajectory. A seasoned expert in his field with over ten years of experience, he is continuously looking for ways to expand his knowledge. Whether it is our internal classes, such as plant knowledge and staying up-to-date in the latest techniques and materials available, or collaborating and learning alongside our other project managers and crews, Ricardo continues to prove that he is a perfect fit for Blessing Landscapes.

Outside of work, he treasures spending time with his family, taking advantage of the sun-filled days in Spring and Summer with trips to the beach, or cozying up inside watching television during the colder months.

Damon grew up in Olympia, Washington, but moved to Oregon in early 2020 to seek better opportunities in the landscaping field. He joined the Blessing Landscapes family first as a Project Manager in our construction division and, most recently, seamlessly transitioned into his current position of Maintenance Manager.

As most teenagers often do, he started in customer service within the food industry. He quickly moved to management, and it was there that he learned the importance of positive direction with his crew members, and developed a strong personal work ethic. As a young adult, those skills helped open doors for him when he decided to start a career in construction. Initially working in new construction and homebuilding, he eventually landed in the landscaping world, adding several years of maintenance experience under his belt, and then into larger construction projects. Now, as the Manager of our maintenance division, he starts every day making sure his teams have everything they need to maintain the highest levels of quality work and customer appreciation Blessing Landscapes is well-known for.

In his spare time, Damon loves to travel to new places, within the Northwest and beyond. He’s also very keen on playing video games with his son and enjoying the company of his fiancé.

Hipolito Morales Rios started his journey with Blessing Landscapes back in the summer of 2018 as a maintenance foreman. His attention to detail, married with his wealth of knowledge within the landscape maintenance industry and his natural leadership skills, created the perfect opportunity for promotion to Quality Manager.

Originally from Puebla, Mexico, he moved to Oregon in 1991 and continued his love of working amongst nature into his professional and personal life. “It’s relaxing to be outdoors, and it’s good for your health too.”  He considers the transformation from bland to beautiful his favorite part of working in maintenance.  A social person, when Hipolito is not helping customers ensure their yard is as beautiful as it can be, he is probably out camping or playing tennis with his son and spending time with his family.

​Stacy was born in the bay area of California but moved to Washington state with her family when she was nine years old. She considers the picturesque Pacific Northwest her forever home.

She’s had many different career paths over the years, including almost 15 years in banking. But, even though she honed her organizational skills, reporting, and onboarding new hires,​ Stacy learned​ that​ corporate America was​ not the right environment for her. So looking to find a good fit with a smaller company aligned with her professional values and work ethic, she was fortunate to find Blessing Landscapes in 2017. Starting as an Office Assistant, then adding the title of Social Media Manager to her role within the company, Stacy rose to the rank of Office Manager in 2022. She designs our monthly newsletters and assists in editing and posting blogs to our official website, in addition to her administrative duties.

You will usually find her cozied up with a good book in her free time, enjoying a classical masterpiece at the Oregon Symphony or a rock concert at the Roseland Theater.