Meet Our Team

John Bryant - Owner/President

John and his wife Julia Cotter began their nursery careers by purchasing Millican Nurseries in 1986. They have a daughter, Nicole (pictured with John in Istanbul). John graduated from the University of Iowa and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi Africa. John feels his notable achievement is the development of an outstanding staff "the best in the business" most of whom have been at the nursery 10+ years. John's passions are his family, the nursery, gardening, traveling, and reading (though some would add eating) and his goal is to find a better equilibrium between them. He is proud to have been a member of the American Nursery and Landscape Association for twenty years and to currently serve on its Board of Directors. John's favorite plant is Abies koreana followed closely by Fagus sylvatica 'Tortuosa'.

Julia Cotter - Owner/Treasurer

Julia (Julie) has a master's degree in social work and her responsibilities at the nursery include all of the human resource functions such as personnel policies, hiring, training and the safety committee (not to mention attending to the informal counseling needs of staff members). On a day to day basis, she goes where needed, but primarily assists with in house sales. She spends her off time with her family, traveling, reading, and being with good friends. She loves walking anywhere (country or city, in NH or abroad) and in the winter, if not visiting her daughter, then snow shoeing in NH. Her favorite plant is any kind of Japanese maple.

Ken Michael - Vice President

While growing up, Ken stumbled upon Millican at the age of 15. Over the next 20 years he would graduate from The University of New Hampshire with a horticulture degree and become a key part of our success. Ken's role would evolve from general laborer to sales and purchasing and most recently, vice presidency. Ken has a family that has made their home in Epsom, NH. He has two young boys who aspire to play for the Red Sox someday, but for now settle for a game of catch with Dad. Ken's favorite plant is Azalea schlippenbachii.

Rodney Streeter - Sales Manager

"It took me ten years to realize that I belong at Millican. After working here while I was at UNH, I left home and took jobs in landscape construction, outside sales and in retail. Through those ten years I learned that business and sales are not about numbers but are about relationships. I have met a lot of great people during my career at Millican and have developed some strong relationships. It is good to be back home. When I am not dealing with plants I enjoy fishing and a tasty microbrew. I often enjoy them both at the same time. Two plants worth looking into are Maackia amurensis and Calycanthus floridus. Both are tough as nails and have great characteristics that are often overlooked."

Carla Booker - Sales

Carla has been with us since 1997. If you have never met or talked to her, then you probably don't purchase here much. It is much easier to list the things she doesn't do around here: she doesn't grow trees, she doesn't load trucks, she doesn't drive our trucks. She takes your call, establishes your order, schedules your delivery, and makes sure our drivers have accurate directions (that's the short list). Carla keeps this operation running smoothly, and we appreciate everything she does. In her free time, she enjoys boating on our beautiful lakes. Carla's favorite plant is Cercidiphyllum japonicum.

Jeff Edmond - Sales

Jeff started here back in 1992 as a summer job and, seemingly, the nursery can't get rid of him. After graduating with a journalism degree, he had a three year stint working for the front office of a minor league baseball team and also at his alma mater. In 1996, he came back to NH, realized he wanted to work with plants and his summer job became a career. He primarily works in sales here and is also the Public Relations Manager. Jeff is a proud father of a wonderful daughter, Lillian, who aspires to be an artist among many other things. He enjoys doing just about anything outside in nature, spending time with family and friends, learning, playing sports, and working on his property. Jeff's favorite plants right now are Nyssa sylvatica and Cornus canadensis.

Andrew Mauch - Sales

Andrew came to us in 2006. He brings nine previous years in retail and landscaping, five previous years in wholesale, and a formal education at UNH. His up-front, no-nonsense approach to sales is always appreciated by our customers. He has been accused of being blunt, but he would rather call it intense honesty. His love of nature makes him a valuable resource when trying to identify insect, bird, or mammal injury to your prized plant specimen. Andrew's photography skills are another valuable asset to the company; most of what you see on this site are images captured by his artistic eye. On the weekends, Andrew enjoys spending as much time in our forests as possible with his wife and two boys. His favorite plant is Chamaecyparis obtusa, especially 'Kosteri' and 'Reis Dwarf'.

Deb McDonald - Sales

Deb has been with us since 2005. She grew up in the industry; working for over 20 years in retail at her family's owned and operated garden center. She started her career at Millican in customer service and sales, which she still does. Additionally, Deb keeps an eye on our inventory movement, assuring that each plant in the nursery is accounted for and listed in the proper place. Deb enjoys the great northern wilderness. If we had a Millican North in Colebrook, NH she would surely be one of the first to volunteer to move. In her free time she enjoys gardening, snowmobiling, and Mimosas. Her favorite plants are Picea abies 'Pendula' and Chionanthus virginicus.

Jeff Mauch - Sales

Jeff came to Millican in 2007 after nearly a decade at a retail nursery. His background in retail has given him a wonderfully pleasant demeanor, as well as a lot of patience. Jeff has a B.S. in Environmental Horticulture from UNH, which makes him perfect in his role of plant health care technician along with his customer service duties. Don't let the long hair fool you, he is very friendly and a hard worker. Jeff has an intense love of the outdoors and spends his free time hiking, fishing and kayaking. His favorite plants are Acer griseum and Toxicodendron radicans.

Brenda Singer - Sales

Brenda started here in 2009. She brings to Millican a horticulture degree from Iowa State, 15 years of landscape/maintenance skills, and nearly 10 years of prior wholesale nursery experience. Brenda is always a pleasure to tag with. If she trips and falls while assisting you, don't worry about her...she does that all the time. In her free time, Brenda enjoys spending time with her family, downhill skiing, and riding restored mopeds. Since she is from Iowa, we assume her favorite plant is corn, but she assures us that it is a dwarf Abies - she just can't decide which one.

Alan Cattabriga - Grower

Alan has been our grower since 1996. Alan seems like an easy-going guy, but is ruthless when it comes to growing the best plants around. His unyielding standards ensure that a Millican-grown tree or shrub is unmatched in form and vigor. When not striving to grow a near perfect plant, Alan is pushing his body to the limits. You will often see a human speck hanging off of the Cannon Mountain cliffs in Franconia Notch without any ropes to hinder forward progress - that would be Alan. When the rock becomes covered in ice in winter, he climbs that too. He would love you to check out his "mad climbing skills" at NEice.com, he goes by Alfonzo. His favorite plants are Stewartia pseudocamellia and Cladrastis kentukea.