Top 100 coverage: Workforce development

Down to Earth debuts on the Lawn & Landscape Top 100 List this year after a series of acquisitions fueled growth alongside a “customer centricity” mindset.

Back in 2023, a member of the Down to Earth team noticed a real need for more women in positions of power, not only at the company but throughout the industry. So now, Down to Earth has a dedicated Female Workforce Development program aimed at fixing this disparity.

Tom Lazzaro, CEO of Down to Earth, says it was the company’s sales and marketing vice president, Kayla Lujan, who first introduced the idea to him.

> “She approached me about an initiative she wanted to champion to help address the under representation of women in our industry,” Lazzaro recalls. “Under Kayla’s direction, and with support from the entire leadership team, DTE’s Female Workforce Development initiative has launched a mentorship program, a monthly newsletter and regional leadership meetings to help drive recruiting efforts.

> “As a result, there is a much better sense of community and inclusion across the company, and we have more than doubled our female representation since inception,” he adds.

Lazzaro says Lujan gets all the credit for the initiative. “It’s really her way to pay it forward,” he says. “These things either succeed or fail based on the passion the leader has and she’s very passionate about it and it shows in the results for sure.”

Not only does Lazzaro hope more companies will establish similar programs, but as Down To Earth adds branches through acquisitions, he hopes to grow the program internally, too.

“We’ll probably expand it to some of the other affinity groups we have,” he says.