Our Team
Patrick Picard CEO/Owner
Patrick is a Bay-Friendly Qualified Landscaper who is certified in Permaculture Design and Landscape Water Efficiency. Throughout the Bay Area he is known for pioneering ecological landscape practices and changing the way landscapers in the Bay Area do business. Patrick has spoken on sustainability panels for the North Coast Chapter of the California Landscape Contractors Association and the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, has taught classes for the Bay-Friendly Qualified Landscaper Program, and has led workshops in Sonoma County converting public lawns into neighborhood food forests.
James Collector Construction Manager
James loves turning designs into reality. He understands that each project is unique and each client has a different relationship with their land. During the installation process, he focuses on clear communication, timely updates, and making sure all the little details come together to form a whole greater than its parts. Educated at UC Berkeley's sustainable development master's program and OAEC's permaculture certification course, James draws from over a decade of hands-on installation experience. For James, landscaping is more than a job—it's central to his ethical commitment to building the beautiful, regenerative future we all know is possible.
Kamala Bennett Designer
Kamala is a regenerative landscape designer and licensed contractor with 20 years experience studying, working and designing ecological landscapes. Co-founder and principal designer of her own design/build firm, as well as Associate Director of the Permaculture Institute of Northern California, she brings initiative and expertise to our team. A degree in World Arts and Culture from UCLA and years as an award-winning set designer for the Hollywood film industry, Kamala's creativity shines through in everything she designs. Her unique approach to landscape design and site planning weaves project objectives, site potential and beneficial plant palettes into whole system landscapes that become functional, living art.
Rose Mohan Assistant Designer and Maintenance Consultant
Rose started off her landscape career managing an organic vegetable farm outside of D.C. Inspired by the gardening culture in California, she pursued a degree in Landscape Design and established her own fine gardening company before working for Equinox as a designer, and plant specialist. She is a certified arborist and is QWEL-certified. She also has a BFA in Visual and Performing Arts from Naropa University, which inspires her sense of rhythm and choreography in the landscapes she designs. Rose is passionate about saving water without sacrificing beauty and providing native habitat to support the myriad creatures.
Eleazar Alvarez Sustainable Maintenance Division Manager
Eleazar is a ReScape California and QWEL certified landscaper. He joined Equinox as an assistant foreman on a construction crew in 2017, and quickly showed his talent for organization and plant care knowledge. Having worked his way up, he is now the manager of our sustainable maintenance division. His keen listening skills and creative problem solving help put clients at ease. Prior to his career in landscaping, Eleazar was a lead chef at the popular Half Day Café in Kentfield, Marin, and he still enjoys cooking for family and friends in his spare time. Married with two children, he lives in Sonoma County.
Jennifer Goetz Bookkeeper/Office Manager
Jenn studied landscape design at the University of Idaho and interned for a Point Reyes designer. She fell in love with the Bay Area while also discovering she had an aptitude for organization and business operations. Jenn's career took a new direction and she spent nearly 10 years working as the operations manager for a software company. When she and her husband started their family, she honed her skills and took on freelance bookkeeping clients. In addition to keeping the Equinox books and operations running smoothly, Jenn is a full-time mother of three children and manages to keep a small garden of low-water Mediterranean climate plants.
In Memory of Heather Picard, 1965–2022
Heather was Equinox Landscape’s co-founder, Chief Financial Officer and Patrick’s loving wife for more than 30 years. She passed away in 2022, following a three-year journey with cancer. From Equinox’s earliest days in a San Rafael garage, Heather was instrumental in managing the many details of running the company: finances and bookkeeping; the budding maintenance division; marketing; and overall vision for the company’s growth. Even with Heather gone, Equinox Landscape will continue to heal the earth, one beautiful garden at a time. Her love of nature, solid business management and creative vision carries on in all the work that Patrick and the Equinox team do.