Leading Women of Horticulture: Crystal Cady and Elizabeth Brentano

Kelli Rodda: How did you become interested in a horticulture career? Who gave you your first break in horticulture?

Elizabeth Brentano: I was fortunate enough to have been born into a family farm operation, and we have some typical Willamette Valley farming crops and the tree farm, Brentano’s Tree Farm. But growing up, I actually wasn’t interested in coming back to the nursery. I worked summer jobs here and thought that I didn’t really want to do that for the rest of my life. When I was younger, I wanted to become a large animal veterinarian. But after a few years away at university and going out and seeing the world, I ultimately decided to come back to my family’s farm. So, the people that gave me my first break in horticulture are truly my parents and my uncles, and I’m very lucky in that case.

Crystal Cady: Like Elizabeth, I actually wasn’t interested in horticulture. I grew up wanting to be a flight attendant, but I also grew up next door to a garden center in Portland, Oregon. As a kid around age 10 or 12, I’d get off the school bus, drop my backpack at the house and hang out at the garden center. And after hanging out there for several years, I decided I really liked plants and I liked the people that were around. The day I turned 15, the co-owner at the time, Jerry Gross, gave me a job. Three weeks into it, I decided I was going to own a garden center someday.

My second break happened when I moved to Corvallis, Oregon, and worked for Garland Nursery and the Powells. They owned the nursery and encouraged me to continue seeking education through other avenues, be it different meetings or opportunities that came up and encouraged me to get involved in the industry. Both of those were really important moments for my career.

CC: Elizabeth, who are some of your mentors?

EB: My first and probably primary mentors will always be my parents. I’m super fortunate to have both my mom and my dad working here in different areas and to always learn from them. But outside of that, I also was able to take the opportunity after I graduated from Oregon State to work at Robinson Nursery, mostly in the container department under my boss Rock Kelly. He became the biggest and the best mentor I never expected. He is someone that just has years of experience working at many different nurseries across the United States, and he really pushed me to become a better teammate, a better leader, and ultimately realized my potential as a manager in this industry. Crystal, I’d like to hear about your mentors, too.

CC: I’d say I have two mentors that have been really important to me. One of them was when I was in community college, my professor Eric Ross. Not only was he a wealth of information when it came to everything horticulture related, but he’s someone that never gave up on me. I was always a straight A student in school. And at some point, I started goofing off and hanging out with the wrong kids, and he did not give up on me. He knew that I had a bright future ahead of me and reeled me back in.

But someone more current is Sid Raisch. He’s a well-known industry consultant. He’s such a smart businessman. I’ve always looked up to him for strategy and for advice. He’s so calm and collected, and really well connected with folks, so he’s been a great person to have as a mentor. I think all the time about what would Sid do?

CC: What’s the best advice that you’ve received so far from your mentors?

EB: I think both from my old boss Rock Kelly and from working under my dad, some of the best advice I’ve received is to trust your team, know their skills and to learn how to delegate.

KR: How can the green industry improve ways to attract the next generation of leaders across all genders and all ages?

EB: Emphasize the importance of aspects like leadership, management and teamwork. And especially the technology that horticulture is getting into. I mean, I think we’re all going to have drones flying around. And a lot of these greenhouses have robots pulling their trailers or moving their plants. Employers need to be open to innovation and new ideas and just simply welcome the younger generation no matter what their background is.

CC: A lot of young folks look at this industry and they think, ‘I don’t want to work 60, 70 hours a week.’ And that’s why I feel like a lot of folks that are retiring don’t have that next generation to take over. We have to educate folks on all the different things you can do in the industry, beyond traditional horticulture, build more networks for folks to get connected, offer scholarships and create small business opportunities.

CC: Elizabeth, you’ve done a lot of recruitment lately for the next generation. How do you go about that?

EB: I started a group called NexGen, and it’s specific to Oregon right now, and it’s for anyone who considers themselves young or new to the industry. It’s kind of like the equivalent of Young Farmers and Ranchers, if you’re familiar with that group in the Farm Bureau. It’s a group for people in the horticulture industry to connect to gain leadership skills. Some of my friends from college are now FFA teachers at the local high schools. I judge different FFA events and get into the high school horticulture competitions.

EB: Is there a rewarding moment during your career that you enjoy celebrating?

CC: There’s a recent moment for me, and that would be getting accepted into the HRI Leadership Academy. The first year I applied, I didn’t get accepted. I only made it to round two.

And the second year I applied, I really took a step back to learn from the first experience. I worked a lot harder, put a lot of effort into my application and into the essays. And I made it to round one and round two and then round three. When I got the call that I was accepted, I just was over the moon because I’d been out of the limelight for a few years raising my little ones.

And now that I’ve been in the program for six months or so, it’s everything I thought it would be and more. I am so honored with the opportunity that I’ve been given and the group of folks that are in my class. It’s been so great to connect with them and learn from them and our mentors. It’s definitely going to be an experience that I’ll never forget and will forever be grateful for the things that it’s brought to me as an individual, but also for my career and the ways that I know it’s going to help me help others in the industry.

CC: What life experiences have influenced you?

EB: I took a big leap about a year ago. I decided I wanted to hike the PCT, which is the Pacific Crest Trail. It’s a 2,600-mile trail from Mexico to Canada. I ultimately decided the best way to do it would be to quit my job to hike it. I am super grateful that I have the freedom to do that, and I planned and prepared a lot, and it all paid off. It was a cool opportunity to just be out in nature for five months, all smelly and sweaty with a bunch of other people from all over the world. It was cool to learn from their experiences, but it also taught me how grateful I am for my family, a home and a great job to return to. What about you, Crystal?

CC: I grew up early and moved out when I was 15. I graduated high school at 16 and started taking college classes. I made some good decisions and I made some bad decisions. I think that really shaped me in who I am today and how I view life. But it really brought me to all the experiences that culminated with my teacher saying, ‘Hey, you’re not getting good grades,’ him supporting me and getting let go for my first job. All of that led me to step back and realize I need to get things on track. And all of that led me to Corvallis to Garland Nursery and to Oregon State.

Another thing that has been influential and brought structure to my life is running. I started running 15 years ago, and that’s brought me different levels of achievements like hitting personal records or setting goals. And most recently, I started taking Barre3 classes. It has taught me to make time for myself, which I’ve never been good at. I’ve learned to reform priorities for myself and how I look at things.

This article appeared in the March 2025 issue of Nursery Management magazine under the headline "Value the journey."