Our Team

company team as birds illustration

Paige, Michele, Julissa and The Guys are the team who plan, design and build the landscape of your dreams. Experts in installing and maintaining landscapes in this area, we exert Herculean efforts to ensure our clients’ yards are beautiful and functional.

Paige
Michele with Our Lawn Sign
Julissa
The Guys
Conrad McIntosh
A close-up of a pink flower with yellow stamens. The flower is in full bloom and the petals are slightly wavy. The background is blurred, but there are some leaves visible.
Paige Conrad,
Owner and Designer
Paige is a native of the great state of OH-IO. She completed her BA at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and holds an MBA from The George Washington University. In her first life she was a Contracts Manager supporting NAVSEA. After taking off four years to raise her three kids, she found that she was offering landscaping advice frequently enough that she might want to charge for it. Thirteen years, 5 dump trucks, 1,000+ clients, and an appearance in HGTV magazine later, she has decided what she wants to be when she grows up.


Favorite Plants: ALL Japanese Maples, Camellia, Iris, and American Beautyberry

little-gem-magnolia
Walter Castro,
Project Manager
Walter hails from the town of Jucuapa, El Salvador. Before coming to work with BrightShade, he mostly worked on home renovations. Walter has learned that the most valuable thing about managing people is to treat your employees like family. It’s no surprise that Walter is a pro at upholding employee morale. Additionally, he is excellent at communicating with customers, ensuring that all job sites run efficiently and according to schedule!

 

Favorite Plants: Hydrangea, ALL maples, daylilies

close up of purple hydrangea plant
Michele Osinski,
Designer

Michele is a native Virginian and has lived in the Alexandria area for over twenty years. She graduated from James Madison University with a degree in Communications.

Michele’s love of plants started at an early age spending summers in Cape Cod, MA admiring the Hydrangea which loves to grow up north. Michele joined BrightShade Gardens in 2016 just before the start of Spring (i.e. landscaping panic!) and probably wonders how we functioned without her. She loves color and spaces that work. Don’t be surprised to find her in your yard with the crew placing plants and making sure your install is perfect.


Favorite Plants: ALL Hydrangea, Drift Rose, Camellia, Osmanthus Goshiki, Coral Bark Maple, and Hellebores

Bright red tree bark with no leaves stands next to a bright red flower shrub
Julissa Orellana,
Accounting Manager

Julissa is originally from Lima, Peru and moved to the United States in 1998. She studied accounting while in school in Peru and uses her skills to keep the BrightShade Gardens business running smoothly. She is the careful keeper of every hour, every ton of stone, every yard of concrete, and every Camellia.

 

Favorite Plants: Coral Bark Maple, Echinacea, Pow Wow, and Red Bud 5

Black-Eyed-Susan Flowers
Conrad McIntosh, Content Writer and Media Designer

Conrad is a native Virginian and present Michigander. He currently studies philosophy and history at Grand Valley State University by day and writes content for our bi-weekly Green Prose newsletter and social media accounts… also by day. Conrad has written three collections of poetry and has aspirations of teaching in higher education, content to immerse himself in the written word for the rest of his days.

 

Favorite Plants:

Black-eyed Susan, river birch, Black Dragon Cryptomeria, Liatris, Camperdown Elm