The Edge July/August 2025

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Faces of the Industry: Yenni Rivas

By Jill Odom

YENNI RIVAS WAS WORKING AS A JANITOR FOR A TECH COMPANY WHEN she first saw a woman taking care of the plants in the building. Curious, she asked if there were open positions for a similar role. The plant technician told her yes, and so Rivas applied. She landed the job with Ambius, a company that specializes in interior landscaping and living green walls, headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania.

ent, and the larger they are, the more challenging they are to care for. One of the sites Rivas is responsible for is the four-story living wall at 888 Brannan in San Francisco’s SOMA district. This living wall spans 40 feet and features thousands of plants in bold color blocks. Rivas’s work caring for this installation earned her the Incredible Technician Award during the 2025 Inter national Plantscape Awards. She says she almost cried when she was presented with the award. “It was a beautiful experience to be part of the recognition for that wall,” Rivas says. Rivas says she loves bringing green ery inside. She says that she wishes the public realized the amount of hard work it takes to care for their indoor plants, as many aren’t even aware the plants they see in airports, hotels, and other buildings are real. “My favorite thing working in the industry is going outside, going to dif ferent places working, and working with my colleagues at Ambius,” Rivas says. Rivas says if she could give advice to her younger self, she’d encourage her to study more, learn more, be patient and follow her passion instead of just going to work. She plans to continue learning more, eventually moving up into another posi tion and continuing to work with plants as she supports her colleagues. TE

“My other mentor is my manager,” Ri vas says. “She gives me a lot of opportu nities to learn and take a lot of tests and supports me.” Rivas notes that at Ambius, the major ity of the technicians are women, as well as her manager. She appreciates how women offer different ideas and have various work styles. “I think it’s wonderful to see ladies working outside and inside with plants,” Rivas says. Rivas works at Ambius’s San Francisco branch as a senior plant care specialist. In her role, Rivas has a printed route of where they need to service that day. She says sometimes it’s just two or three accounts, and other days it could be 15 sites. When she visits the accounts, each could have anywhere from 300 to 400 plants that she waters, cleans and ensures are doing well. She says she also talks to the clients on site to check that they’re happy. “The key to success is learning what type of living wall it is,” Rivas says. “Learn the irrigation system and find out if it’s the correct plants for the wall and the lighting.” She says every living wall is differ

Rivas has now been working for Ambi us for six years. “My favorite thing about working for Ambius is the relationships,” Rivas says. “We work as a family. It’s my first job getting to work with a lot of people and being happy when working on the team. Another thing I like is my passion for working with the plants. I love work ing with the plants.” Initially, it was a challenge for Rivas, as she had no prior experience with plants. One of her mentors was the warehouse manager, who taught her all about the plants and how to address their various lighting needs. Little by little, she says she got it.

“We work as a family. It’s my first job getting to work with a lot of people and being happy when working on the team. Another thing I like is my passion for working with the plants. I love working with the plants.”

10 The Edge // July/August 2025