The Edge March/April/May 2026

THE NALP EXPERIENCE

Leaders Forum Provides Attendees with Key Insights For Coming Changes

By Jill Odom

IN AN INDUSTRY RIDDLED WITH UNPREDICTABILITY, ATTENDEES WERE equipped with takeaways to better navigate the coming years during Leaders Forum, presented by NALP and powered by Aspire, in Santa Barbara, California, on Feb. 4-7, 2026.

challenged to think more critically about the nature of the meetings they have. She pointed out the value of divergent thinking and in order to achieve that teams need to make sure they aren’t silencing those different voices. “Too often as groups, we prefer agree ment versus productive conflict,” Adams says. Adams explained there is a differ ence between task-related conflict and interpersonal conflict. Often there is a fear that going against the grain will be viewed as a personal disagreement. However, this conflict avoidance can

He also encouraged attendees to join NALP’s rebranded Advocacy Ambassador program, which is designed to strength en the industry’s voice. “These issues may not be in your state right now, but they’re coming, especially as you grow and expand,” Bray says. In a session led by Gabe Adams, a behavioral scientist with UVA Darden School of Business, participants were

This event included a mixture of big-picture education and networking with new and old industry peers. On the first day of the event, Andrew Bray, senior vice president of govern ment relations and membership for NALP, shared how NALP’s government affairs team is working to secure H-2B visas and protect pesticides usage for landscape professionals.

Photos: Kyle London Photography

10 The Edge // March/April/May 2026