Meet the people of Northscaping.
James Kohut
President
James does many things at Northscaping. For example, he runs the business. He is one of the lead programmers, and he does much of the plant photography. A web application programmer and engineering technologist by trade, James is an experienced business executive who has served in senior management capacities in the private sector for over 30 years. He is a self-taught landscape designer and hobby gardener who has designed and installed numerous landscapes in the harsh zone 3 environment of the eastern Prairies. He's also an avid collector of exotic "out-of-zone" trees and shrubs, and he knows his plants. But at his core, he's an entrepreneur, and Northscaping is his passion. Just get him talking and you'll see how passionate he can be about NetPS!
Fran Phair
Sales Consultant
Fran is spreading the good word about NetPS to nurseries and garden centers from coast to coast. She brings over 30 years of technical sales, support and management experience to the team. Horticulture is in her blood; her great uncles served as head groundskeepers at the West Point Military Academy cemetery in New York and Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C., and her mother was president of the local garden club. So it's no surprise that after spending years selling software solutions to business, Fran became a certified Master Gardener, leading to a job with a major nursery. Now, as the primary Sales Person for Northscaping, she has combined her passion for plants with her technical sales experience into her "dream job". If you're looking to get a NetPS Plant Finder tool, talk to Fran!
Stefan Fediuk (MLA, BES, OALA, CSLA)
Chief Horticulturalist
Northscaping's resident horticultural expert, Stefan has over 30 years of experience as a professional Landscape Architect, Certified Horticulturalist and Heritage Tree Expert. His work spans both the public and private sectors. He has designed and provided consultation for notable urban design, landscape and horticultural projects, including some of the largest parks, sculpture gardens, waterfronts and heritage landscapes in several North American cities. Recognized as an authority in his field, he has had many papers and articles published in nationally recognized periodicals, is an accomplished horticultural speaker, and has been a juror of several landscape/urban design awards programs and community horticultural competitions. His worldwide travels make him one of our most valued plant photographers.
John Mailloux
Senior Horticultural Tech
John is the primary keeper of the NetPS Plant Database. Under the direction of Stefan Fediuk, he works tirelessly entering new plants and expanding the database year after year. He also manages the massive pool of NetPS plant photographs, and is an avid plant photographer himself. John is a semi-professional horticulturalist with retail nursery and garden center experience who has done extensive botanical photographic research worldwide, and he has a special understanding of the commercial side of plants. Much of his work is done behind the scenes, but it's a critically important component of the NetPS mix!
Alexandra Rowles
Horticultural Tech
Ally brings her extensive professional culinary knowledge and a longstanding love of plants to the Northscaping mix. Professionally trained at the George Brown Culinary School, her experience includes bakeries, wineries and various restaurant kitchens across Southern Ontario. Ally brings a unique, fresh and trendy perspective to the promotion of vegetables, herbs, fruits and other edible plants. She shares a passion of gardening with her husband and children, endeavoring to explain the culinary benefits as well as the importance of sustainability and self-sufficiency for both current and next-generation gardeners.
Zume Parker
Web Tech
When it comes time to set up a NetPS Plant Finder tool for your website, Zume's the one! They do most of the NetPS implementations for new clients and manage the Plant Finder tools of existing clients. A web programmer by training, Zume coordinates both the design and the HTML coding required to get NetPS into your website. They also help with marketing efforts and plant photography in the off-season. You're likely to interact with them at some point in the future, if you haven't already!
