Beautiful landscapes, healthy plants and innovative designs since 2004.

Chris di Stefano

President

Chris di Stefano was raised in Cabot, Vermont on a large Christmas tree farm and nursery surrounded by streams, forests, meadows, and ledged hillsides that were home to countless wildlife sanctuaries and secret gardens. As a kid, Chris spent hours exploring this place and honing a deep appreciation and understanding of the natural landscape and the elements that make it so inviting. From the time he could walk he helped out at his family’s ornamental tree nursery and landscaping business, planting, watering, digging, and learning even more.

Today, Chris shares the lessons from the wild classrooms and family apprenticeships of his childhood with clients and staff to create and enhance beautiful natural spaces. He continues to build on this ingrained knowledge by keeping abreast of industry trends in design, horticulture, and stone masonry, and works hard to promote professionalism in these trades.

Erin Walsh

Accounting Manager

I grew up splitting my time between the east & west coasts, and quickly realized that Vermont was my home. Knowing that I loved working with numbers but didn’t necessarily want to be a CPA, I earned my accounting degree at Champlain College and spent the past 17 years working in a wide variety of industries. It has been such a pleasure working with and getting to know the di Stefano team.

When I’m not crunching numbers at the office, you’ll find me outside enjoying all the amazing things VT has to offer. Snowboarding in the winter, camping/hiking with my dogs or paddle boarding in the summer are always at the top of my list.

Paul Hanhart

Director of Operations

I landed in this industry by accident. I started out nearly twenty years ago as a fertilizer applicator and used this industry to put food on my table as well as put myself through school. After graduating with my MBA in December of ‘21 I knew that I wanted to branch out and see what other areas of the country had to offer as well as find the next step in my career.

As a Texas boy I learned many different aspects of landscaping from tree pruning, fertilization, pesticide application, irrigation work to mowing and plant installation. Vermont offered the opportunity to learn two areas of the industry not as readily available in Texas; hardscaping and snow/ice management.

My wife and I took the leap and decided to move here in April of 2022 and have since fallen in love with all it has to offer. I love to travel, hike and read. I am definitely a YOLO type of person and can rarely be found in my apartment on the weekends and instead am out enjoying all this area has to offer!

Hunter Grace

Project Manager

As I grew up in the rugged hills of Vermont and was driven to work hard from a young age, I gained an appreciation for the value in hard work and the reward that comes with it. For 4 years through both high school and into college, I worked for a municipality in the historical town of Hanover, NH. Here, I was given the opportunity to enhance the image of the small Dartmouth College town by simply reforming the landscape in small but impactful areas. This is where I developed the passion to work in the industry and also the understanding that quality in both design and craftsmanship is what makes a landscape successful.

Having always been drawn to the outdoors and the natural beauty of how plants can enhance our environment, I went to Vermont Technical College to pursue my associate’s degree in Landscape Design and Sustainable Horticulture where I learned how plants and hardscapes can be used to create both practical and enjoyable outdoor spaces. I also became familiar with how plants react and behave within their surrounding environment. Here at di Stefano Landscaping I am very grateful for the opportunity to continue learning and also contribute to what we accomplish as a team.

Jerry Elliot

Maintenance Production Manager

Jerry grew up in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Since a young child Jerry grew up working outdoors with his father, he taught him a lot of life lessons including having a hard work ethic. Jerry began working at a local golf course mowing grass and performed miscellaneous landscape tasks, that is where his love for the green industry began.

Jerry attended Rutgers University in New Jersey for Professional Turfgrass Management where he learned a lot of industry knowledge from plant and turfgrass science to professionalism and leadership. During a summer internship at Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey, he was promoted to Fertilizer and Pesticide Specialist and had a huge role in the preparation for the 2016 PGA Championship. With his experience in the golf course industry, attention to details and love for the outdoors this journey has led him to Vermont and ultimately di Stefano Landscaping.

Nathan Waite

Senior Maintenance Account Manager

Nathan was born and raised in Jericho, Vermont where his joy for being outdoors grew with every changing season. He went on to get his associates degree in business management at Champlain College. After graduating, he started with a landscape company where he learned the trade and realized he could have a career and be outside at the same time. Over the course of seven years his knowledge and experience grew tremendously until he was ready to try it on his own.

He started his own Landscape and Mowing company which grew from a single client to more than two hundred clients over the course of thirteen years. He honed his managerial and customer service skills and gained a wealth of knowledge while growing a successful business. He was finally at a point where he wanted to wear less hats and focus more of his attention on customer interactions and beautifying properties. At di Stefano he can now get back to his passion and enhance an already winning team. When he is not working he enjoys skiing and hiking the beautiful mountains of Bolton with his wife and two children.

Drew Saunders

Project Manager

I grew up in Northern New Jersey and made my way to Vermont to attend Saint Michael’s College. I graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Business and a concentration in marketing with a management minor. I was first introduced to landscaping at a young age tagging along to work with my brother in law who owns a landscaping company. My first day on the job I was handed a 5 gallon bucket and told to go weed one of his biggest accounts. As the summers passed, I progressed to the construction team and this is where the foundation of his career in landscaping began. 

Shortly after graduation I moved back to Vermont and began working at a landscaping company here in Vermont where I spent several years as a foreman further developing my landscaping skills in both construction and maintenance. I joined the di Stefano team in fall of 2020. When I’m not working I can be found fishing on Lake Champlain, snowboarding in the Green Mountains and golfing.

Tyler Gustin

Landscape Architect

Having grown up on a small farm, my passion has always been to work with the environment and in the outdoors. My interest in architecture, along with my love for the outdoors lead me into the profession of Landscape Architecture.

I pursued that profession with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. I now bring 12+ years of experience as a Builder, Drafter, and Landscape Designer focusing on residential, commercial, and institutional design projects across the Country. I strive to create unique designs and elements in every project.

Outside of work I enjoy many trades and consider myself a craftsman. From working on vehicles and farm equipment to building furniture and other odds and ends. I am also an avid outdoorsman and you can find me hunting, fishing, and hiking in much of my free time.

Nick Buckpitt

Project Superintendent

Nick grew up in central New York where at the age of 13 his family started a landscaping company. It began as a small mowing business and eventually grew to a bigger company that allowed for him to have the opportunity and passion into the hardscape industry . Nick is ICPI NCMA certified, and has been in the landscape industry now for over 25 years. He has worked at multiple Landscape companies in Vermont and has been part of many different projects throughout New England.

Eric Kloeti

Maintenance Account Manager

Eric Kloeti was raised in Stowe, Vermont in a family of restaurateurs. Since childhood, Eric had an obsession and curiosity for both design and the environment around him. He took any chance he got to climb a tree or dry a flower from one of his mother’s garden beds. Eric then went on to get his bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont. During his time at UVM, Eric helped to found a specialty farm located in Plainfield, Vermont. This is where Eric truly fell in love with the concept of manipulating landscapes to either increase someone’s quality of life or to increase the biological function of a given landscape. This resulted in the forming of an intense passion for design, horticulture, and problem solving.

After graduation, Eric left the farm and went to work in his hometown of Stowe as a Nursery and Design Assistant at Evergreen Gardens of Vermont. After honing his skills in both horticulture and design, he moved on to work for di Stefano Landscaping. Here, Eric got a taste for both clients facing problem solving and designing. Today, Eric is the Residential Account Manager who drafts designs to help clients better understand the work being installed. Eric still has an insatiable appetite for both horticulture knowledge and design theories.

Parker Day

Construction Foreman

I grew up in a small town in southern Vermont. I began work at a young age and shortly thereafter grew an appreciation for hard work and the value it has. I’ve always been a very detailed individual and fascinated in how a natural space or landscape could have order. The separation or lack thereof that hard and soft edges have within a landscape are most fascinating and satisfying to create.

I went to Vermont Technical College for an associates degree in Landscape Design and Sustainable Horticulture. I held an internship during and after college in southern New Hampshire and worked on Lake Sunapee and Winnipesaukee.

During my free time I enjoy woodworking, traveling, and kayaking.

Andrew Wolf

Construction Foreman

Andrew Wolf is a lifelong gardener who has studied plants for many years. He enjoys creative projects, problem solving and designing with plants, soil and stone. He has nine years of experience in the landscape industry.

Jeremiah Shook

Construction Foreman

I have been working in the green industry for over 10 years and really enjoy my “office” being the outdoors. As a head stone mason on one of our construction crews, I like being able to be creative every day and lead a team of others to create a work of art for our clients.

When I’m not working I like to hike and spend time with my family and animals on my farm in Huntington, Vermont.

Gabe Paradiso

Construction Foreman

I grew up outside of Baltimore MD and moved to Vermont in 2012. I worked for a few different places in Vermont before I found di Stefano and right away I realized they had a solid group of good people. Once I started, I enjoyed being outside everyday and I’ve always preferred physical labor over office work. I’ve been with them for over 6 years now and have done both maintenance and construction. I started with maintenance but seeked more of a challenge and wanted to learn something new, so i switched to the construction side. Outside of work I still enjoy being outside whether its shooting hoops, going to Leddy to play hockey, or skiing in the winter. I also like to cook, especially getting the grill going or doing an all day smoke on the smoker.

Geoff Swanson

Construction Foreman

I grew up in a small town in New Hampshire. My love and interest of art and the natural world has been present since I was a kid. I studied art and education at Johnson State College and have been in northern Vermont ever since. During college and the years following, I worked on an organic vegetable farm in Cambridge. My passion for the green industry grew immensely.

Stone masonry had always been something I wanted to learn but never had the chance until I was given the opportunity at di Stefano Landscaping, where I spent many years learning the trade. In addition to the stonework, I became inundated with information about ornamental plants. Combining my previous experience with what I have gained over the last 7 years, I help to create beautiful landscapes. My current role at the company is Landscape Construction Foreman.

Some other interests of mine besides plants and rocks include playing guitar and piano, painting, ceramics, woodworking, traveling, hiking, and playing Scrabble.

Erik Deslauriers

Construction Foreman

I am an ICPI certified​ ​stone mason and a construction foreman at di Stefano.​ ​My work ethic was instilled early in life by both of my parents when I learned construction skills helping my father do home renovations as a child. I never stop learning and particularly enjoy mastering new styles and techniques. One of my favorite aspects of my job is seeing our clients’ reactions to the finished project when it all comes together. I take extreme pride in everything I do at di Stefano.

In my free time, I work on my house in Saint Albans and love to take care of the plants acquired from many di​ ​Stefano landscape deconstructions. I also enjoy spending as much time as possible with my lovely wife Heather and beautiful, intelligent, and athletic daughter Ava. My favorite plant is a Ninebark!

Will Heath

Enhancement Foreman

Sam Paradiso

Lead Hand

Gunner Bevilacqua

Mow Lead

Kevin Spitzner

Mow Lead

Matt Brien

Mow Lead

I was born and raised in the town of Colchester, Vermont. My hobbies are snowboarding, traveling, playing soccer, Flyboarding, camping and hanging out with friends. I graduated from Colchester High School and then attended Vermont Technical College where I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship/Small Business Management. After graduating college in 2018 I started my own small business Vermont Water Sports and worked construction. My construction job is how I found di Stefano Landscaping. I started at di Stefano on the construction crew, then quickly found my place on the maintenance team.

Emily Smith

Garden Lead

Morgan Lewis

Garden Lead

Janet Peryea

Garden Lead

Janet is a long time gardener who enjoys being outdoors and working with her hands. She has a strong knowledge of plants and loves the capabilities and appeal they can bring to a clients property and gardens.

Adam Powers

Garden Lead

Adam grew up in Jericho, Vermont. He joined the di Stefano maintenance team in 2019. He discovered his enjoyment for working outside years ago when he spent a few summers landscaping and gardening. He worked as a chef for many years but was drawn back to his passion for the outdoors. After spending time in large vegetable gardens and learning the importance of not only knowing how his food was grown but where it came from and the care it takes to truly cultivate your own produce. He has excellent customer service skills and enjoys being able to discuss with our customers their wants and needs and helping them to bring those visions into their gardens.

Taryn Clayton

Production Support

Taryn grew up in a small town in Southern Maine, until moving to Vermont in early spring of 2022. Growing up working in horse barns since the age of five, she always loved being outdoors and spent most of her childhood in the woods, making campfires, and reading books. At the age of 17 Taryn left the East Coast to travel for the next two and a half years, during which she spent time in 44 states. This is when she discovered her love for landscaping, stonework, and most of all operating heavy equipment. Once Taryn returned, she became increasingly serious about working in the trades, and has remained in the industry since.

Skye Waters

Production Support

Skye moved to Burlington shortly after high school. He grew up in the small town of Wilmington and enjoys snowboarding, riding motorcycles, and playing with cats. Like most little boys, he was always interested in heavy equipment. Now he gets to fulfill his childhood dreams trucking and operating heavy equipment.

Ben Henry

Shop/Fleet Manager

Ben is new to the di Stefano team, joining at the start of 2021. Ben is a native Vermonter and grew up in Essex and Jericho. He attended UVM where he studied geology. Ben has always had a great love for nature and the outdoors and enjoying working hard and getting his hands dirty. After 20 years working in the wedding & events industry Ben was ready for a change. In joining the di Stefano team Ben brings a strong work ethic, leadership skills and a desire to work with an energetic and collaborative team. Ben lives in Westford with his wife and their 3 young boys where he enjoys tending to his own gardens and small flock of chickens.