Contractor Profile: Maddison Harman, sales arborist, Ryan Lawn & Tree
Green Industry Pros: How did you get into the industry?
Maddison Harman: After college, I was working to save money so that I could move abroad and get certified to teach English as a second language. I decided I wanted to work outside. I didn’t want to be in an office. One of the jobs I came across was a seasonal position at a production greenhouse in Wildwood, Missouri, growing annuals, vegetables, perennials and some shrubs. My contract was for three months, and then I ended up staying there for five years. I really enjoyed the work and being outside, working with plants, seeing them grow and develop, working with my hands and, at the end of the day, being able to see the work that I had done. After I found fulfillment in horticulture, I completely shifted gears and moved away from getting into teaching and moving overseas. I found something instead that I could do here at home and feel happy and fulfilled and like I was getting an adventure out of every day.
Green Industry Pros: Can you talk to me about your career journey from that point on?
Harman: I was at the greenhouse for five years, and then after that, I wanted to go out and try other things and see if there was more of an opportunity to grow a career because I had really gone as far as I could go there. I found Ryan Lawn & Tree, and I decided to take things in a different direction and work on trees instead of herbaceous plants. They were hiring an arborist apprentice, and I had no experience, but they were willing to bring me on and teach me how to climb and help me prepare for the arborist exam. I started with them in October of 2018, and I spent about a year-and-a-half on the tree crew. In 2020, I moved into more of a sales and operations role. I was tasked with increasing our planting sales and creating the processes for selling, purchasing and holding plants and landscape materials. Now that our planting and enhancements team is up and running, I’ve had the opportunity to focus more on tree care sales. Ryan is a 100% employee-owned company, and in St. Louis we offer turf care, plant healthcare, pest control, landscape maintenance and tree care. There are other branches throughout the Midwest that also offer irrigation and full-scale design/build services.
Green Industry Pros: What challenges have you encountered throughout your career?
Harman: I would say that the career itself is a challenge, the labor aspect and the seasonality of it, the crazy rush in the spring. It'll really test you in every way possible and on every level, but as a woman, specifically, luckily with my coworkers and my peers, they have never treated me as anything other than an equal. What I have really experienced is the expectations from customers. They do not expect a woman to come out to prune their trees or to get started on a tree removal or to even give them an estimate or discuss the health of their trees. I encountered the expectations and the stereotypes of what an arborist is, and I think I have to work twice as hard in some situations to be respected as a professional.
Green Industry Pros: How have you dealt with those challenges?
Harman: It’s just about being knowledgeable and being understanding that 20 years ago, there were not many women doing this, so some of the people that we're working with have no point of reference for a female arborist or a female working in a field staff position. It’s also about being professional above all.
Green Industry Pros: Throughout your time in the industry so far, what’s been your favorite part?
Harman: It’s the opportunity to learn every day. No matter how much you think you know about horticulture and arboriculture, there's always more to know. There’s always an opportunity to try something new and to grow in this industry. There are so many different facets of it that you could spend an entire career doing this and never get bored.
Green Industry Pros: On the flipside, is there anything the green industry could use more of?
Harman: I think the green industry could use more companies that are employee focused and employee owned. We have a really great thing and a very, I believe, unique thing here at Ryan, and I truly believe that it is one of the only companies where I could have gone as far as I have in the past six years. It is about taking care of the people doing the work, making sure that we are well compensated, both in pay and long-term benefits. We have stable jobs. We have the opportunity to learn and grow all the time. That kind of a focus creates an environment where the employees give their all to the company, and it continues to grow all the time and create new opportunities for new employees moving forward.
Green Industry Pros: What’re some of your goals moving forward?
Harman: I am currently working on my electrical hazard certification and some additional training to become a fulltime consulting arborist. This past year I completed my Professional Certificate in horticulture at a local community college, and the possibility of teaching some future classes came up. Long term, I would like to continue to grow and develop our urban forestry department here in St. Louis for hopefully the remainder of my career.
Green Industry Pros: What do you like to do outside of work?
Harman: : I actually love to garden in the growing season. I have a vegetable garden where I grow way too many jalapenos and cucumbers, more than I know what to do with, so everybody at work always has jalapenos and cucumbers. I still love annuals and tropicals. Then my No. 1 favorite thing to do outside of work is to travel and see new places and try new things.
Italy is my all-time favorite, and then somewhere more local would be Chicago. There's so much to do there, and it's not too far, but just far enough that it feels like a real vacation.
Green Industry Pros: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Harman: I did want to say something about the importance of having a support system. As a woman in this industry, I think that I owe almost everything that I have achieved to the mentors that I've had and the people who have given me a chance to do something that other companies may not have. Being a woman with no experience, the people that Ryan could have easily just screened my interview or screened my resume and not given me a chance, but they not only gave me a chance, they continued to pour everything they had into developing my talent, and I think that is really critical for women as we move into the green industry and some of these male-dominated sectors and divisions in this industry.
