Meet Our Advisors

Brian Mitalo joined Tournesol in 2004 after several years working at Rain Bird in the Residential/Commercial group. He currently leads the Business Development and Specification Advisor teams and has been instrumental in the success of several challenging projects at Tournesol, including 1K Fulton (Chicago, IL) and Camperdown Plaza and Streetscape (Greenville, SC). With over 20 years of on-structure experience, Brian finds inspiration in collaborating with design teams to find solutions for integrating Tournesol into the building envelope. He is also an excellent resource for contractors needing guidance on those challenging installations or troubleshooting when something has gone awry.

Brian has shared that he is “very thankful to work with so many talented, creative people and the opportunity to help bring their spaces to life.” Outside of Tournesol, Brian is an avid skier and enjoys skiing in the trees at every chance.

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Melissa Zepeda joined the Advisor team after growing her experience and capabilities, gaining trust as a knowledge leader, and prior three years on our sales team. Melissa’s creative background lends itself well to working with designers and landscape architects on projects from inception to completion and seeing the designer's vision come to life while knowing she helped to complete that design. Some successful projects include Hotel Del Coronado in Coronado, CA, The Park at Park Place in Irvine, CA, PCH & MLK Affordable Housing in Long Beach, CA, and many others in the Southwestern region of the U.S.

In her personal life, Melissa carries her enjoyment of learning with her as she travels with her family to visit new places. She shared, “As I continue to evolve in this industry, I grow more eager to learn the depth in the processes, goals, requirements and issues involved in the built environment and I’m grateful to work with so many talented people who help me learn each and every day.”

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Jenece Como, our newest member, brings a wealth of experience to our Advisor team for Northern California and the Pacific Northwest region. Prior to joining Tournesol, she spent nearly 25 years in the industry, specializing in outdoor furniture and other architectural products for the hospitality, retail, and commercial office markets. A few of her project collaborations have been published in the Robb Report and Architectural Digest, a testament to her expertise and dedication. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Interior Design, further enhancing her professional qualifications. Jenece is driven to help others succeed and feels accomplished when she sees projects go from concept to completion.

In her personal life, Jenece and her husband enjoy attending their son's lacrosse games and watching him play. She thoroughly enjoys nature and activities, so on those weekends without lacrosse, they're off to Lake Tahoe for skiing and snowboarding in the winter and hiking or paddle boarding in the summer.

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Henry Lyon is from the Bay Area in California and grew up around the Tournesol business. He spent several summers working in the Union City facility as an intern in the operations department. Henry graduated from Boston College, studying Psychology and Linguistics. For fun, he enjoys playing rugby, also played it in college, and his other hobbies include fishing, golf, and chess.

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Mark Parra is our newest member of the Advisor team focusing in the Midwest region. He joins Tournesol bringing over 20 years of experience in building and architectural products. Most recently, Mark worked with Kingspan Benchmark, a manufacturer specializing in architectural building panels, and with El Dorado Stone prior. He has collaborated closely with architects, engineers, and contractors to help ensure projects are successful.

Mark shares what drives him further in work and life: “I am constantly juggling a ton of different balls in the air, trying to keep all of them in the air at the same time…this is what keeps me going every day.” He lives outside Chicago in the Southwest suburbs with his wife and kids and is thankful for fun family adventures. Many fun facts about Mark include winning $15K, playing poker, and being a ski instructor years ago.

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Ransom has been with Greenscreen® since 2007 and is now Tournesol's Greenscreen expert. He has used his knowledge of Green Facades and Green Wall installations and experience for many years. Ransom is also a LEED"' Green Associate and completed the landscape architecture program at UCLA Extension and worked for a design-build firm before joining Greenscreen.

Ransom is a native of Los Angeles. He attended the University of Southern California (USC) and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1989. He worked for 15 years at various arts organizations, including MOCA and Track 16 Gallery at Bergamot Station. When he's not working, Ransom enjoys going to the Hollywood Bowl for an occasional show. He's also known for his love of travel, having lived in London for a year after graduating from USC.

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Troy Parsons joined the Advisor team after honing his knowledge and expertise on the sales team for three years. Before Tournesol, Troy sold commercial landscape products, including Tournesol’s, within the distribution industry for 24 years. As a result, he has a broad range of product knowledge and has been a critical player in the success of many large projects in the Pacific Northwest and the Southeastern region of the U.S.

Troy enjoys collaborating with landscape designers and architects to help create their vision, and in his free time, his vision is for travel. He loves traveling on adventures with his wife and exploring new places and environments. One experience was a 2 ½ week photo-safari in the Serengeti. He shared, “It was the trip of a lifetime and something I will never forget.”

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