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.

After years spent working as a web developer, Roger made a complete career change to landscape design. He quickly discovered this new direction perfectly matched the passion he’s always had for nature and the outdoors. Roger enjoys the challenge of finding a creative, but practical, design solution that will complement and enhance the client’s lifestyle. His goal is to inspire the client by revealing the unseen potential of their own property. In addition to a degree in Landscape Design, Roger is also certified in Permaculture Design. Whenever possible, he seeks ways to encourage sustainability, resilience, and habitat in our landscapes.

At home, Roger is busy creating rain gardens, experimenting with new plants, and incorporating new design ideas into his own back yard. His other interests range from hiking, wine making, listening to obscure ‘80s music, and fostering kittens with his wife, Jen.

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.

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.

Rick Peterson has landscaping in his blood; ever since he was old enough to pick up a shovel, he was outside helping his father with projects. Due to this father and son dynamic duo replete with on-the-job training, he became a foreman at an early age. It was around this time that he moved from California and started working in the Northwest. From bare dirt to a lovely yard, his favorite part of his job is seeing the transformation of a customer’s space into something bright and beautiful. A passion for the industry, along with his extensive skills and 40 years of experience and knowledge, perfectly qualifies him to lead our amazing install teams and make our outstanding customers happy.

When he’s not building amazing landscapes, he enjoys cooking, working on cars, and spending time with his family around all the wondrous sights and sounds the Pacific Northwest has to offer.

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.

​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.