Chris McDowell – Sales

Chris has been a leader in seed industry for more than three decades, as an executive with a multinational turfgrass company and key roles in many industry associations. She was the first woman to serve as president of the Oregon Seed Council, and has also led the Oregon Seed Association and served as chair the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) board and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Lawn Seed Division. Outside of the office, Chris enjoys working on the Oregon Women for Agriculture auction committee and cheering on the OSU Beavers football team from her seat at Reser Stadium.

Marissa Donahue – Sales

After working on the production side of the industry, Marissa transitioned into turfgrass sales in 2008. She has served on the board of the Oregon Grass Seed Advisory Council and is currently on the board of the Independent Turf and Ornamental Distributors Association. She spends her weekends hunting, fishing and enjoying Oregon’s great outdoors.

Mandi Mack – Sales

Before founding Vista Seed Partners with Chris and Marissa, Mandi held a sales and marketing role for a large multinational turfgrass company for more than a dozen years. Prior to that, she earned a degree in Agriculture Business Management from Oregon State University. When not at work she enjoys spending time with her family, chasing her two young daughters, running, golfing and cheering on OSU sports teams (Go Beavers!)

Jerry Pepin – Director of Research / Northwest Regional Sales

Jerry is a leading authority in the field of turfgrass breeding. He has held key roles in the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program Advisory Committee, Plant Variety Protection Act advisory committee, Oregon Seed Trade Association (OSTA), and has been responsible for the development of over 70 commercially-released, improved turfgrasses. Jerry holds a Ph.D. in Turfgrass Breeding and Genetics from Rutgers.

Doug King – Director of Grower Services

With more than four decades of experience as an executive for a multinational seed company, Doug leads production, processing and quality control for Vista Seed Partners, and manages partnerships with our growers in Oregon, Washington and Idaho to meet the needs of our growing customer base. When not at work, Doug enjoys photography, fishing, hunting upland game birds, snowboarding, and spending time with his family- which includes a growing number of grandchildren.

Ivony Holmes – Accounting 

New to the seed industry, having moved here to Oregon from the Philippines 5 years ago, Ivony brings with her years of accounting experience. She earned a degree in Management Accounting from the University of St. La Salle in the Philippines. Following that she worked for a visa consultancy firm, and a health insurance, credit and collection law firm. She spends her weekends with family, chasing her son and 2 dogs around. She enjoys arts and crafts, hiking, and camping during the summer.

Sandra Pepin – Operations Assistant

Sandy brings more than 30 years of experience in agriculture management to the Vista team. She is a mother/stepmother of four who is actively involved in scouting and her church’s work to ensure food security in the local community. Sandy is an integral part of Vista’s custom blend and inventory management team.