is a landscape operations professional with a focus on designing and maintaining sustainable and beautiful outdoor spaces. Growing up alongside his mother’s landscape maintenance company, Tong has always had his hands in the dirt; many of his first memories are of “helping” her plant and weed at job sites. After earning a B.A. in History at the University of Puget Sound, his passion for the outdoors led him to Portland Community College, where he studied landscape maintenance, water-wise gardening, organic cultivation, integrated pest management, and small business administration. He lives in the East Bay with his fiancé, two cats, and a large potted plant collection.