The Commercial Landscaper Podcast

Andrea Palacio is the founder of Crewless and co-owner of Angler Lawn & Landscape. Before Angler, she and her husband ran a successful e-commerce business while sailing on a boat, building a life around freedom. They sold it, and in 2023 bought Angler with a roughly $500K SBA loan and no landscaping background. The freedom they had worked for disappeared overnight: the crew dropped from 12 people to 2, and monthly revenue fell from $70K to $40K within weeks. Instead of hiring her way out, she rebuilt the operation with AI and automation until it ran without her, and got her freedom back. Today she helps business owners do the same, either by building the systems for them or teaching them to build their own.

Rick Williams brings more than 17 years of experience within the landscape industry across the United States, having served in a variety of roles. His approach to risk management centers on proactively identifying potential exposures and operational "landmines" before they impact a client's business. Once those risks are identified, tailored strategies are developed to help clients avoid, transfer, or appropriately insure against them. Rick works closely with his clients' leadership to develop and execute a risk management program to create overall success for his clients' business, their projects, and their team members.  Rick is a former collegiate baseball player at Georgia College & State University. He and his wife reside in Coastal Georgia and have three children (and a goldendoodle.) Rick currently serves on the Board of The Chapel and chairs their Finance Team.

Crystal leads Dynamic Landscaping & Lawn and Turf Landscaping with a focus on people, culture, and long-term growth. With experience in the landscape industry dating back to 2003, she brings both craftsmanship and vision into every part of the company. Crystal guides the overall direction of the business, oversees internal operations, and works closely with department leaders to ensure the company grows with clarity and purpose. Her leadership is rooted in integrity, patience, and genuine care for people. Crystal believes that strong companies are built from the inside out — which is why she invests deeply in team development, culture-building, and leadership training. Krista is the systems and operations leader behind Dynamic Landscaping & Lawn and Turf Landscaping. As Co-Owner and Integrator, she brings structure, clarity, and organization to the day-to-day operations of the companies. Krista oversees software systems, process development, workflow efficiency, billing coordination, and internal communication — ensuring every part of the business works together smoothly. She has a talent for taking what feels complex and making it simple, sustainable, and clear. Krista is dependable, steady, and solutions-focused, always working behind the scenes to support the team and strengthen the foundation of the companies.

Kathleen Hallal is Vice President of Landcare & Municipalities for FireHawk Bioherbicide, where she works with municipalities, universities, schools, landscape professionals, and other organizations seeking effective approaches to more sustainable weed management. A NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professional, Kathleen has spent more than a decade advocating for sustainable landcare practices that support human and environmental health. She helped lead the City of Irvine's "Organics First" policy and previously served on the Irvine Mayor's Environmental Commission. Her work contributed to Irvine receiving the California Department of Pesticide Regulation's 2019 IPM Achievement Award. Kathleen holds an M.A. from the University of Southern California and regularly speaks on sustainable landcare, municipal practices, and the business case for transitioning toward lower-risk approaches to weed management. She is proud to offer practical solutions to professionals looking to transition away from conventional weed control. Host Notes: Firehawk's label signal word moved from "Warning" to "Caution," placing it in a lower EPA toxicity category than the products it replaces.

Judith Guido is the Chairwoman and Founder of Guido & Associates, a firm dedicated to helping organizations profitably grow their people, profits, and valuation. Today, she also serves as the Operating Executive and Chairwoman of the Green Summit Landscape Group, which is an investment platform that is a part of the Century Park Capital Partners portfolio and are acquiring distinguished  founder and family-led commercial and high-end estate full service landscape maintenance,  lawncare, irrigation, design-build, snow and related green industry companies. Throughout her distinguished career, Judith has participated in more than 100 mergers, acquisitions, and consolidations, advising companies on strategy, execution, leadership development, workforce growth, sales and marketing, funding, and organizational scaling. She is one of only a small group Global Thought Leaders and Executive Coaches affiliated with Verne Harnish, author of Scaling Up and Rockefeller Habits, and has been recognized as one of the most influential women in the Green Industry, earning induction into the Green Industry Hall of Fame in 2017 and has received numerous awards in the Green industry including the Lawn & Landscape Leadership Award.. Prior to founding Guido & Associates, Judith held executive leadership positions with some of the industry's most prominent organizations, including ValleyCrest (now BrightView), ServiceMaster's TruGreen-LandCare, Yellowstone Landscape, and LandCare USA, where she was one of four executives who helped take the company public on the New York Stock Exchange. A respected keynote speaker, business columnist, strategist, and advisor, she has trained thousands of professionals and helped companies raise hundreds of millions of dollars in funding. Judith's expertise spans the Green Industry, construction, technology, real estate, and private equity sectors, and her work continues to focus on helping leaders build stronger teams, increase company value, and achieve sustainable growth while guiding acquisitions, integrations, and long-term business growth strategies. Guido has also helped coach and mentor over 200 men and women in the green industry.