OUR TEAM
John (Eric) Jacobsen
Eric has worked in the landscape industry since 1996. From 2000 to 2014, he worked at a local firm in a variety of roles including ecological designer and project manager and has worked for several other companies around the state.
In addition to practical, field-based experience Eric has earned both a BS-Landscape Architecture degree from UW-Madison and an Associate's Degree in Landscape Horticulture from Milwaukee Area Technical College.
He is passionate about landscaping and gardening and is constantly reading and exploring other opportunities to learn. His passion for his field is matched only by his love of burritos.
Lindsey
Lindsey is a Wisconsin native who’s returned to the dairy state after a long detour to the “Wannabe Dairy State” (California). (Remember when California talked about how happy their cows are in their dairy commercials- like they don’t have enough to brag about already without stealing Wisconsin’s thunder on dairy!)
In working together, we’ve found that Lindsey has a diverse skill-set and far reaching interests. She likes to think on things and has the desire and skills to make improvements in many aspects of the business. She has formal training in Permaculture Design in addition to years of practical (and some impractical) experience in gardening for pleasure, beauty, food, and ecological benefit.
Due to Lindsey’s personable and thoughtful nature we have given her the title of Coordinator of Employee and Client Experience, or CECE (well, we picked this title both because Lindsey is great with people and ALSO because the acronym of CECE seems quite comical - it could equally be perceived as Chief Executive Chief Executive or a name for a fancy poodle.). Basically, Lindsey acts as a client representative or concierge throughout our design process (and beyond) and manages our HR department in addition to helping in so many other ways.
Interestingly, immediately prior to hiring Lindsey I’d had the realization that each of our employees at the time (seven including me) were the youngest child in their family (super weird - I know). Lindsey is the oldest in her family. Thankfully, she’s really been able to get a handle on the rest of us youngsters.
Lindsey just referenced, “The Babysitter’s Club,” in discussing her vision for running the Fine Gardening Division.
If Lindsey were a bottle of wine, she might be a Syrah - A really nice one. (or maybe a Shiraz and change her name spelling to Lindzeeh).
Keegan
Keegan is a big part of the Aspen Install Team. Keegan grew up in West Bumble-field, Illinois - about a half hour south of Freeport. Much like Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite, his favorite memories of high school involve his football heroics. Keegan doesn’t miss much about Illinois, though, especially when compared to his more recent home of Westminster, Colorado.
If you’d like to have a really depressing conversation some time you should ask Keegan about the Chicago Bears and how they influenced his childhood thoughts on opportunities for success.
If Keegan were a bottle of wine he’d probably be disappointed with himself - He has high standards.
Keegan is the only member of our staff to have run themselves over with a golf cart. His favorite Lady Gaga song is Just Dance
Ryan
Lovingly known as “Quad-Brat”by his co-workers for his ability to put down four+ brats at a sitting, Ryan is a transplant to the Wisconsin area. He’s lived his whole life in Southern California so it’s really fun to see the Wisconsin things that he is amazed by.
"Wow! A toad!"
“Wow! this brat is even better than the last three!” (Same kind of brat)
"Wow! A Dinosaur" (Turkey)
"Wow! A monsoon" (Fog)
"Wow! people here drink ALOT!"
It’s pretty fun.
Ryan swears he has an MFA in poetry but doesn’t like to participate in the work-favorite limerick game for some reason.
Ryan is a fun, optimistic, energetic guy. His favorite cake is cheesecake. He really enjoys his membership in The Aspen Fall Squashes of the Week Club - he especially liked delicata week.
Ryan
Ryan E - His love for having his hands and feet in the dirt is the reason he found his way to Aspen. Creating outdoor spaces and adding quality-of-life, while looking out for Mother Earth is his mission.
He's a musician, artist, woodworker/ fabricator, and a lover of anything outdoors.
Phil
Phil is a 2023 addition to the Aspen team. A native of Atlantic City, Phil finds America’s Dairlyland to be a little slice of heaven. He does, however, complain vigorously about the lack of good bread and Italian restaurants.
Perhaps best known for his several appearances on Jersey Shore, Phil is also well known locally as the Lasagna King of Southern Dane County - only partly due to his palindromic, “Go hang a salami, I’m a lasagna hog” bumper sticker.
Phil is a former organic farmer, a father of two young sons, and husband to an incredibly patient (and good cooking) wife.
If you ever think to yourself, “what the heck’s going on with all the loud east coast talkin’ over there? Is someone listening to re-runs of Car Talk real loud???,” it’s probably just Phil barking orders and laughing with his crew.
Zack
Zack Kaffine
Zack is a bit of a character. He grew up in Sheboygan and likes to “collect” historic signs with his grandfather. Zack is leaving this fall to move to Seattle, Washington because he has a fondness for cities starting with the letter S located on large bodies of water. He felt that Madison’s M and lakes might be close enough to satisfy the requirement but it turns out not to be the case.
Someone on our staff wrote a limerick about Zack per his self-indulgent request:
There once was a man Zack Kaffine
He was tall, slightly shaggy, and lean
Favorite Neil song, “Powderfinger"
But Why? My mind lingers
Bestest employee ever I've seen.
It’s fun to sing the Led Zeppelin song Tangerine with Zack Kaffine in place of the word Tangerine… Trust me - he loves it.
Elsa
Elsa is 2022 addition to the Aspen Team. On her second day a client said, "Well, you won’t be around too long” upon learning that Elsa had recently moved to town with her new husband T-Roy who accepted a job at Epic. It made Elsa sad because she loves it here (We hope).
Elsa is interested in all the right things - plants, people, sustainability, Icelandic metal bands, etc. Interestingly, Elsa’s favorite movie is NOT Frozen and she does not prefer it when co-workers sing songs from the film or tell her to “let it go”.
Although elsa has only been around a short time but is already contributing in myriad ways - mostly on our horticulture maintenance and installation teams but also with some office tasks and writing.
Elsa either has a brilliant sense of dry humor or is incredibly honest. We can’t tell which yet.
Elsa hails from Minnesota.
If Elsa were a wine she might be a vinho verde.
Jack
Jack is a bit of an enigma. He’s super smart. He's super thoughtful. And likely one of the sweetest people we’ve ever had on staff. Everyone loves Jack.
He has diverse interests - ranging from aerospace engineering, to thinking about how to get a girlfriend, to taking classes like yoga (to potentially find a girlfriend), to woodworking, to questioning his co-workers on how to get a girlfriend. Jack works with us part time as he also has a job at the hospital and is also trying to start businesses in drone photography and home inspection.
If Jack were a bottle of wine he’d probably be that sparkling pear juice in a wine bottle rather than actual wine - the kind with the nice golden foil on the top.
Ryan L is a pretty neat guy. He’s a San Francisco native and Midwest transplant.
He’s worked in landscaping and related fields for much of his adult life and he has the second-best beard of anyone on staff here
Ryans hobbies include online game play with a far-flung group of friends, preparing kimchi, and temporarily adopting kitties.
Ryan uses long words - like “multisyllabic”, “pretentious” and similar. He even taught us the word "historiography"
Ryan is a bit quiet and a funny guy. If you are really lucky you may see him raise his eyebrows repeatedly like Groucho Marx.
If Ryan were a bottle of wine he’d be a jammy red blend.
Jaxon
We hired Jaxon for a few reasons.
He didn’t care how much he got paid, he was super flexible on hours, and he was on the basketball team at Oregon High School so we knew he could work well as part of a team and had enough physical capability to at least keep up with Eric. He’s also pretty much the sweetest, least intimidating guy ever.
Jaxon will be going to the University of Wisconsin - Madison this fall, and we hope he comes back next year to work with us and brings along a lot of his buddies to help. He’s a sweet dude.
Jaxon is not old enough to be a bottle of wine. He’s also not old enough to know too many Neil Young songs. Just gonna guess and say his mother's favorite Neil Young song is something off the unplugged album?
Adriano
Adriano is a pretty great guy. He is planning to transfer to UW to study psychology and better understand why serial killers are the way they are. Nano is known for his soccer skills, thoughtful demeanor, and bernadoodle-like hair.
His friends call him Nano - because he’s a bit smaller than average - but he definitely has above average landscape and gardening skills. One time he found a leopard slug behind our shop. It was pretty awesome.
Zach
Zach S. Is a Stoughton Wisconsin native. He attended Milwaukee Area Technical College for the Landscape Horticulture program there and is now enrolled at University of Wisconsin Madison for the landscape architecture program.
Some interesting facts about Zach :
One - He likes peanut butter pie.
Two - Zach dreams of one day becoming a rapper on cruise ships
Three - He and his younger brother Graham are two thirds of the popular comedy troupe Scheel’s and Johnson. (As seen on TV)
Zach is a talented craftsperson and unflappable leader. Some day he may just be running the place.
Graham
Graham is pretty smart as evidenced by the fact that he’s a student at UW. He’s studying bio engineering, wants to make the world a better place, and prides himself on his ability to make a mustache with root beer float residue - yup.
Graham’s a pretty great guy. His favorite brand of frozen pizza is Lottsa Mottsa, and if he were a wine, he’d likely be the kind your oddball second cousin might drink in a plastic cup with an ice cube in it.
ASPEN HALL OF FAME
Jason - Landscape Crew Leader
Jason grew up on a farm in southwest Wisconsin and has been involved in the landscape and restoration industry for most of two decades. Jason takes his work seriously and is a true craftsperson….his attention to detail can be nearly maddening at times. We’ve all learned a lot from him and his varied skillset.
In his spare time, Jason has numerous hobbies including disc golf, throwing hatchets at targets, and having a pint or three.
Jason claims to be related to various historical figures including the first governor of Wisconsin, some guy that no one has ever heard of, and also insists that he’s 1/64th garden gnome (on his father's side). If Jason were a bottle of wine he’d definitely be Boone’s Farm.
Seth - Super Utility Fielder
Seth is a complicated man. During a multi-dimensional career including permaculture/gardening and working as a youth coordinator, Seth has always felt a strong yearning to be a lumberjack (mostly for the flapjacks). Seth decided, however, that working with us may provide a more stable path than lumberjacking. Seth works both in our office and the field so has a good grip on everything going on at Aspen. He thinks about things a lot! If you ever have an issue contact Seth - he's the guy to help.
This winter Seth says he looks forward to using Excel so he can use his new-found love "paste special" and hit "control Z" repeatedly.
Seth is the proud father of two young kids so if he looks tired and cranky it's because he's not getting enough sleep. He loves this job - really! It's not the job if he looks cranky - it's lack of sleep. His boss is Awesome!
If Seth were a bottle of wine he’d be a late-picked Riesling.
Ben - After living in Minneapolis, Northern Michigan and Austin, Texas, Ben has found his way back to his home state of Wisconsin. The last six years, he has explored his passion for growing things through organic farming in Michigan and in Ireland for a season, and through landscape gardening in Austin, TX the past few years. Ben is happy to have found a great little landscape business to help him put down some roots here in Madison.
Paul - Landscape Team Member Extraordinaire
Have you ever looked up the term "sweet dude" on the google? I just did and was surprised that there wasn't a picture of Paul there. Paul is about the easiest guy in the world to get along with and he's also pretty good at landscaping.
In his spare time, Paul is writing a concerto for alto tuba and enjoys collecting a diverse array of antique salt and pepper shakers.
Paul’s nick-name is '“mini hand-axe”
If Paul were a bottle of wine he’d be Bartles and James cuz ain’t nobody cooler.
Luke - Landscape Team Member Extraordinaire
If you are ever sitting at home and think David Lee Roth's son is in your back yard don't worry, it's just Luke!
Luke is a recent grad of Verona High School where he excelled at sports and making the young ladies swoon. Luke grew up with a skilled craftsman for a father and has a broad base of experience including construction, concrete work, and opening beer bottles with his teeth. Related - Luke just had his first root canal experience this week.
Luke has twin schnauzers named Michelle & Pfieffer.
Luke is not a bottle of wine.
Wilder - Landscape Team Member Extraordinaire
Wilder is a recent transplant to Madison. An east coast native, he’s traveled quite a bit and found a passion for digging trenches while doing landscape work professionally in Bend, Oregon.
Wilder’s favorite color is something he calls “pink-melon soft.” He dreams of some day opening a boutique smoothie parlour and stationery shoppe called Wilder’s Dream Emporium.
Although he seems like a pretty good dude, I found out yesterday that he’s a New England Patriots fan so we may need to fire him this fall.
If Wilder were a bottle of wine he’d be a Gewurztraminer.
Brandon - Landscape Team Member Extraordinaire
Brandon is a Fitchburg native, currently studying biology at UW-Lacrosse (well, not currently because he’s working with us during the summer). Anyhow, he spent the first few weeks of summer break paddling and fishing in Canada. He’s an avid outdoorsman - especially when it involves proving his dominance over other species. (He shot a deer last year that was bigger than a cow!)
Brandon has a soft side too. He has a kitty named Mr. Sparkles and hosts a smooth jazz radio program on UW Lacrosse Student radio. It’s called “Smooth B and the mid-morning wakeup” for anyone interested in tuning in.
If Brandon were a bottle of wine he’d be a nice Tempranillo.
Donovan - The Intern
Ladies, he has a girlfriend already - so lay off.
He’s a Madison Native and Graduate (2019) of the Architectural Technologies Department at MATC. He knows how to climb rocks ( and prefers his margaritas on the rocks as well). He likes long walks on the beach. He hopes to some day travel to Enceladus (Saturn’s third largest moon) (but only after after he usurps Seth’s job responsibilities) .
An interesting fact about Donovan is that he was born with six kidneys.