Josh Hess serves as CEO of Laurel Valley Farms, Laurel Valley Soils, and Skyland USA, bringing a big-picture perspective to a business built around one surprisingly powerful resource: fungi.

Josh works closely with the leadership teams to find new opportunities and strengthen the connection between the businesses. From mushroom substrate to compost, soils, and growing media, each business builds on the next—creating a more efficient, sustainable cycle.

Josh is focused on innovation, responsible growth, and building a company that creates lasting value for customers, employees, and the communities it serves.

Fueled by Fungi and a Force for Local Good.

Chad Brown grew up on a dairy farm in Oxford, Pennsylvania, where he developed a strong work ethic and a lifelong appreciation for the land. After earning his degree in Horticulture from Alfred State College, he built a career in the landscape industry, spending more than 23 years managing commercial landscape projects for BrightView Landscape Services.

In his role at Laurel Valley Soils, Chad combines his horticultural knowledge and hands-on experience to oversee daily production and ensure every product meets the quality standards our customers expect. He believes great landscapes start with great soil—and doesn’t mind getting his boots dirty to prove it.

Jim’s the man who makes it all work. If Laurel Valley was a restaurant, Jim would be the head chef and kitchen manager. He makes sure our crew of line cooks / loader operators are following the best recipes and turning our ingredients into masterful, mouth-watering entrees. Jim constantly juggles production schedules as new orders arrive, ensuring every client gets their order at just the right time.

Jenny is the bubbly personality you hear on the phone who is happy to assist every time you call. Jenny gives you service with a smile and treats every customer with the highest priority. She really believes coordinating your deliveries on time to keep your business running smoothly is of the highest importance.

Suzanne is LVS’s cheerleader—getting the crowd revved up and excited in every venue, from Facebook, to Twitter, to blogs, webinars, and more. A true marketing geek, Suzanne has been delivering highly strategic and engaging creative campaigns for over 20 years.  Suzanne loves to help our customers grow their businesses and is always available to answer questions, provide creative assistance, or just chat about the awesomeness of compost. Suzanne also currently Co-Chairs the US Composting Council’s Market Development Committee!

It’s Jake’s passion and obsessive love for soil and compost that makes him so adept at understanding customer needs and developing soil and compost based solutions for all types of projects. Jake makes it a priority to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to understanding the science behind compost and soils. 

The industries we support with our products are rapidly evolving and the performance demands are more technical than ever before. Jake has identified the importance of bioretention and engineered soils which are now the fastest growing product category LVS produces. Jake thrives on the knowledge that our products provide layers of ecological benefits, from soil restoration, carbon sequestration and stormwater management, which all align with his personal mission to dedicate his energy in leaving this planet in better shape than he found it. Jake has a Bachelor’s of Science from Colorado State University and has been serving as Laurel Valley Soils’ Sales Manager since 2003.

Rick holds the record as being the longest tenured team member in the entire company. Having been with Laurel Valley since 1979, Rick has watched more sunrises from the seat of a loader than most people see sunsets from their back porches. He’s the one who keeps all the day-to-day operations moving: from inventory management, quality control, production scheduling, equipment acquisitions and repairs, facility improvements, logistics and transportation scheduling, to forecasting the weather, and carefully calculating and testing mix ratios and product formulas. Rick manages to squeeze 25 hours out of a day and despite all that, still keeps his cool while quite literally moving mountains (of soil).