Employee Profiles

Management

Gene R. Grant Jr.
CEO, Registered Landscape Architect

Employed at Grant and Power since: Started the company in 1978
Family: Gene has three children, Regina, Victoria, and Timothy.
Education/Awards/Certifications:Registered Landscape Architect
Favorite part of job: Gene's favorite part of his job is developing people in the company. He believes in giving people the room they need to become the best they can be. He enjoys seeing the young people in our organization grow, mature, and develop themselves into the leaders of the company. It is very rewarding building an organization and team in which all the players are working as one.
Favorite plant/design style/element: Gene's favorite design style is an English Garden- A formal backdrop with large groupings of informal colors.
The best aspect of the business is seeing the eyes of a new Grant & Power customer after their dream landscape has been completed for them. That makes all the hard work worthwhile.

Employed at Grant and Power since: February 1998
Hometown: IJmuiden, The Netherlands and currently lives in Woodridge
Family: Jan and his wife, Wanda, have three sons, Alexander and twins, Benjamin and Nicholas who are all living on their own. Jan enjoys traveling, spending time with his family, photography, sports, stamp collecting, long distance biking, running, and is very involved with his church.
Education/Awards/Certifications:Jan received his master's degree in Landscape Architecture, Plant Ecology and Vegetation Science at the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands (7.5 years). He has been working in the green industry for 25 years and is a registered Landscape Architect in the state of Illinois and a member of ASLA. Since 2011, he has been a mentor and Trailblazer for PLANET (Professional Landcare Network). Jan has assisted over 4,500 homeowners with their landscapes selling over 24 million dollars worth of landscaping in the last 25 years. He has received Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards at the Cavalcade of Homes. He continues his education by attending industry seminars and has had 15 years of management training. Some of his projects have been featured in numerous magazines: Landscape Architect, Chicagoland Gardening, Cottage Gardens, and more.
Favorite part of job: Jan enjoys working with his customers, and colleagues. His wants to help his customers achieve their goals and to make them happy and satisfied so they are proud of their environment. 
Favorite plant/design style/element: Jan likes to include outdoor rooms, vignettes, seatwalls, perennial, grasses and servicberries for his clients.

Employed at Grant and Power since: 1994
Hometown: Morris, Illinois and currently lives in Oswego
Family: Scott and his wife, Heather have a daughter, Ava and a son, Nolan.
Education/Awards/Certifications:Scott has taken several College of DuPage courses in criminal justice and ornamental horticulture. He is ICPI (Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute) Level 1 Certified Concrete Paver Installer.
Favorite part of job: He loves working with people to accomplish set goals.
Favorite plant/design style/element: Natural design style, natural stone, favorite plants include serviceberry, gro-low sumac, and oak leaf hydrangea.

Employed at Grant and Power since: May 1995
Hometown: Quincy, Illinois and currently lives in Geneva
Family: Sharon has four children: Jill, Dianne, Chad and Stacey, and nine grandchildren: Nikki, Stephanie, J.D., Abby, Charlie, Nathan, Natalie, and twins, Ben and Maya. She enjoys spending time with her children, grandchildren, her Maltise George, working out, doing craft projects, and cooking.
Education/Awards/Certifications:ILCA Awards committee
Favorite part of job: Sharon enjoys talking to clients on the phone.
Favorite plant/design style/element: Year round interest

Staff

Employed at Grant and Power since: September 2007 
Hometown: Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently lives in Aurora
Family: Shawn has family in Michigan. His mom is a 5th grade teacher and his dad owns a landscape design/build company. His older brother Aaron is a pilot and his younger sister, Lauren, is currently going to school for interior design.
Education/Awards/Certifications:Shawn received his BBA degree from Western Michigan University focusing on sales and business marketing.
Favorite part of job: Working with people from start to finish, watching the project progress and to meet and exceed expectations in the end.
Favorite plant/design style/element: A weeping Japanese maple used near a waterfall or pond.

Employed at Grant and Power since:  March 2007 
Education/Awards/Certifications:She received a BS in Landscape Horticulture and Design from Purdue University and a Floral Shop Management Certificate from the College of DuPage. 
Favorite part of job:  Sarah enjoys seeing the whole process, from the design on the paper to the final installation, she enjoys the transforamtion that takes place while making the space more enjoyable to the client. 
Favorite plant/design style/element: Sarah enjoys a more contempary design style, using linear elements to create a unified, more formal look.

Employed at Grant and Power since:  March 2007 
Education/Awards/Certifications:She recieved an Associate of Arts from the College of DuPage and completed her certificate in Landscape Design/Construction. 
Favorite part of job:  CJ loves to let her creativity flow and give people a place to "get away" to in their own yard. 
Favorite plant/design style/element:  Her favorite design styles are landscapes that incorporate four seasons of interest and have a very natural and inviting look.

Employed at Grant and Power since: January 2000
Education/Awards/Certifications:Jenny received a BS degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Jenny's experience includes working for both a park district and a private landscape architecture firm designing commercial properties. 
Favorite part of job: Jenny enjoys the challenge of creating an environment that is unique to each person. 
Favorite plant/design style/element: Jenny likes to design projects that are clean and simple using strong architectural elements. Favorite plants include Annabelle Hydrangea, all types of grasses, and anything with a unique texture.

Employed at Grant and Power since: January 2003
Hometown: Herne, Germany and currently lives in Warrenville
Family: Rita lives with her husband Carl and a menagerie of cats, all rescues. They also have a Newfoundland, Katie and a Leonberger mix, Jeanie. Grandchild #4 is on the way. Sabine, Noehm, and Mezek are all growing up and getting to be a lot of fun. They are introducing them to The Morton Arboretum and Cosley Zoo.

Education/Awards/Certifications:Rita has 20 years experience in the horticultural field. She worked at a conservatory, managed wholesale greenhouses and was a purchasing agent for a nursery. Rita has also attended courses at College of DuPage including greenhouse management, landscape design and business management.
Favorite part of job: She enjoys challenges and problem solving. Customer service is very important to her.
Favorite plant/design style/element: Rita enjoys outdoor activities, old time farming methods, and meeting people. She helps people 'grow' their outdoor garden rooms.

Employed at Grant and Power since: January 2003
Hometown: Forest Park, Illinois and currently lives in Wheaton
Family: Nadine and husband Phil have 7 children all together; Nadine has 3 daughters, Monica, Ronna, and Melissa. Phil has 4 of his own children and they share a granddaughter, Emma, a grandson, Brennan, and are expecting a 3rd grandchild Christmas Eve 2012. We can't forget the family dog Skippy, a Yorkie.
Education/Awards/Certifications:Nadine has a human resource master certificate and a human resource management certificate. 
Favorite part of job: Nadine loves knowing that hard work makes a difference at Grant & Power Landscaping whether it's working with a customer or co-worker.
Favorite plant/design style/element: Nadine likes Hydrangea, perennials and grasses 

Employed at Grant and Power since: September 2006
Hometown: Maastricht, the Netherlands and currently lives in Oswego
Family: Veroni and her husband, Mike, have two sons; Jonathan is a chemical engineer working on electric car technology in California. Timothy and his wife Nicole live near Milwaukee, working in education and healthcare. Education/Awards/Certifications:Veroni completed her high school education in the Netherlands and focused on languages, history and geography. After completing additional studies in the administrative/secretarial field, she has worked in an office environment in both the Netherlands and the U.S.
Favorite part of job: Working together with all the people from the different departments and seeing how everybody's part ultimately creates a beautiful environment for the client. 
Favorite plant/design style/element: A natural looking landscape that includes milkweed, columbine and phlox in combination with various grasses.

Employed at Grant and Power since: March 2010
Education/Awards/Certifications:Ania has earned her B.A. degree from Depaul University where she majored in Geography (G.I.S.), and minored in Environmental Science. She also, earned a landscape design certificate from the College of DuPage and working towards a A.S. in Horticulture. 
Favorite part of job: Ania enjoys developing relationships with clients, meeting new people, and problem solving. 
Favorite plant/design style/element: Ania's favorite plants include Serviceberry and all types of ornamental grasses and perennials. She loves natural landscapes and has a great appreciation for formal gardens.

 
Timothy Grant
Marketing Director/ Office Assistant/ IT Coordinator

Employed at Grant and Power since: 2009
Hometown: Batavia, IL
Family: Tim is Gene Grant's son
Education/Awards/Certifications:Tim attended San Clamente High School in California and after that Cal State Fullerton for Marketing
Favorite part of job: Fixing problems and helping others.
Favorite plant/design style/element: Tim's favorite element of landscaping is water features.

Employed at Grant and Power since: March 2006
Hometown: Sugar Grove, Illinois Education/Awards/Certifications:Katie has 8 years of landscape maintenance experience. She is a certified Chicago Wilderness burn crew member and has a Class A CDL. She will be taking her CLT (Certified Landscape Techician) exam this summer.
Favorite part of job: She enjoys meeting with customers and the crews and the people she works with.
Favorite plant/design style/element: Fall color and seasonal container planting. She likes ornamental grasses, tiger eyes sumac and witchhazel.

Employed at Grant and Power since: July 2007 
Hometown: Dakota, Illinois and currently lives in Aurora 
Family: Nick has two brothers, both civil and mechanical engineers in Rockford, and one sister that works at MetLife in Freeport. His parents are grain farmers in Dakota.
Education/Awards/Certifications:Nick attended Kishwaukee College for Diesel Tech. 
Favorite part of job: Nick enjoys working with so many wonderful people.

Employed at Grant and Power since: April 2011 
Hometown: Naperville, Illinois  
Family: Son- Nevin
Education/Awards/Certifications: BA Marketing from North Central College in Naperville
Favorite part of job: Being able to watch yards transform into unique landscapes
Favorite plant/ design style/ element: Waterfalls, Japanese Maples, Hydrangeas

 
Chris Moller
Assistant Operations Manager

 Employed at Grant and Power since: February 2010