News

Michael Van Valkenburgh, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, PLA

Michael Van Valkenburgh is the Creative Director of MVVA, the landscape architecture firm he founded in 1982. His leadership of the firm is an extension of his passion for landscape as a living artistic medium that deepens and enriches people's lives through the confluence of aesthetics, technology, and ecology. He has combined his love of cities and the energy of urban living with the lessons of his childhood on a dairy farm in rural New York State, where economy of means was a constant priority. Michael earned a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from Cornell University and a Master of Fine Arts in Landscape Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Michael is the Charles Eliot Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture, Emeritus, at Harvard University¡¯s Graduate School of Design, where he taught for almost four decades. Michael received the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome in 1989. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011 and to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2021. Michael is the author of Designing a Garden (2019) and Brooklyn Bridge Park (2021), both published by The Monacelli Press.

Jeffrey Carbo, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, PLA

"Landscape Architecture is an incredibly diverse discipline that appeals to all of my interests ¡ª art, nature, environment, and cultural history. Integrating all of these interests into works that are actually performing, and more than just for aesthetics, make what we do increasingly more essential, significant, and relevant."

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Jeff founded Jeffrey Carbo Landscape Architects in 1994 in Alexandria, Louisiana, and now located in Baton Rouge. Jeff was the founding principal and design director until 2022. In those 28 years, he led the firm to receive more than100 national and state Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ and AIA awards, with projects ranging from residential gardens, institutional and academic campuses, parks and streetscapes, and botanical gardens and nature centers. In 2014, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ awarded him its Award of Excellence for the Woodland Rain Gardens in Caddo Parish, Louisiana.?

Jeff¡¯s love of his Louisiana home helped to shape and drive his many career and project endeavors. He maintains an emphasis on private and public work that enhances and impacts quality of life while advancing awareness of Louisiana¡¯s diverse landscapes.

Jeff and his family continue to advocate tirelessly for the LSU/Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture, hoping to advance its legacy of excellence and providing the same transformative experience he and his son Will had while they were students. Jeff is a 1985 graduate of the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture at LSU and in 2011 he was inducted into the LSU Alumni Hall of Distinction, the highest honor given to an LSU graduate.?

In 2019, Jeff, his wife Wendy, and son William created the Carbo Landscape Architecture Recruitment Center (CLARC) to attract the best and brightest to LSU. Jeff is a national board member for the LSU Foundation and currently the director of Jeff and Wendy Carbo GoodWorks, where he provides pro-bono design services for nonprofits. He recently launched JC Studios, continuing his work on select new and existing legacy projects throughout Louisiana and the southeastern United States.

Coastal Dynamics Design Lab at NC State University

Special note: As a team, the CDDL staff used a collaborative word association game to collectively and organically build a response to this prompt.

Creativity that bridges people and nature, providing sources of inspiration across a variety of scales and spaces. Looking to the future, we can only assume that landscape is the ultimate connective tissue to inform new directions and alternative futures that create magic.

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The NC State University Coastal Dynamics Design Lab (CDDL) helps small towns, cities, and non-jurisdictional community organizations recover from and build long-term resilience to natural hazards and climate change. Our mission is to assist communities recover from floods, plan for more resilient and prosperous futures, and celebrate the natural and cultural resources that make each place special. Our vision is to transform design, engagement, research, and teaching into action and tangible change for our community partners.

We specialize in working with low-resource, rural communities. We provide our partners with community-based technical assistance, planning and design studies, and project/program support across the realms of recovery, resilience, and natural and cultural/heritage resource conservation. Because our community partners face significant capacity shortfalls, the CDDL¡¯s engagement and technical assistance activities are designed to strategically bridge and/or fill local capacity gaps related to securing and managing the resources required to rebuild. The outcomes of our work protect and improve life, property, communities, and the environment, as well as heighten the awareness of post-disaster recovery and community resilience though proactive, authentic, and lasting engagements that carefully listen to and prioritize community needs and desires.

Matthew Potteiger, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ

"I have found that starting with ordinary practices such as telling stories or eating, which seem so intangible, and then tracking how they become embedded in and change with landscapes can lead to new design pathways that go beyond individual sites to shape open-ended systems that have lives of their own."

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As professor of Landscape Architecture at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, Matt Potteiger has sought to connect design with the cultural practices that make vital and meaningful places. His book Landscape Narratives: Design Practices for Telling Stories (Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Merit Award, co-authored with Jamie Purinton) provides a framework of design practices that engage with place-based narratives and has influenced the work of designers, educators, public artists, planners, students, and community activists around the world.? His on-going research and his teaching and community engagement focus on the fundamental link between food and landscape and leverages design to create more sustainable and socially just food systems. He has led community-based projects for urban agriculture, public markets, New American refugee farming, edible multi-functional green infrastructure at the landscape scale, and the first regional food system plan for Central New York. This multi-disciplinary work is grounded in long-term relationships and sustained by his commitments to co-create community organizations including Syracuse Grows, Salt City Harvest Farm, and the Syracuse Onondaga Food System Alliance. He fosters agency within and networks across diverse communities and supports their growth working toward systemic and structural change.

Charlene LeBleu, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ

"Landscape architecture is a profession that has the power to change the world. I have had the privilege to teach at Auburn University for the past 22 years. What I have enjoyed most about teaching landscape architecture is meeting students where they are and providing them with the tools to reach their goals and dreams."

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Charlene LeBleu, FCELA, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, AICP, is an Alumni Professor of Landscape Architecture in the School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture at Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. Her primary areas of interest and research have focused on coastal planning and design, water quality issues, and low-impact development. She is the recipient of the 2020 Auburn University Woman of Distinction Award. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects (FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ). LeBleu is a Fellow and past President of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA). She is a former Editor-in-Chief of Landscape Journal and Landscape Research Record, the official conference proceedings of the annual CELA conference. She has a B.S. in Forest Resources and Conservation from the University of Florida, a Master of Landscape Architecture, and a Master of Community Planning from Auburn University.?

Mark Hough, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, PLA

"I am continually amazed by the breadth and quality of work produced by landscape architects and take great pride in the cultural, ecological, and aesthetic impact of our small yet mighty profession as it works across all scales to make the world a better place.."

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Mark Hough has stewarded the dynamic Olmsted Brothers-designed campus at Duke University for the past 25 years. His leadership and oversight in all aspects of design, planning, historic preservation, and natural resource management have guided the evolution of the campus landscape during the university¡¯s largest period of growth. His work at Duke has garnered numerous regional and national design and planning awards.

Outside of Duke, Mark is a prolific writer whose work focuses on cultural and urban landscapes. In 2011, he was awarded the Bradford Williams Medal for excellence in writing about landscape architecture. In his recently published book, Design Through Time, he explores the evolutionary nature of designed landscapes and analyzes the critical process and discipline of landscape stewardship. He frequently shares his unique perspectives and expertise at conferences and symposia across the country.? Mark is a former Vice President of Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, has chaired numerous Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ committees, and has served on the Professional Awards jury twice and chaired the Student Awards jury. He was elevated to Fellow in 2014. Mark currently serves as a founding director of the Association of University Landscape Architects (AULA) and as a member of the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB).?

Charles F. "Chuck" Sams III

"Land has its own stories to tell, restoration of ecosystem functions preserves the collective history of flora and fauna. Indeed, we endeavor to revive these habitats, we honor the intrinsic stories woven in the very fabric of the earth."

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Chuck Sams grew up on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Northeast Oregon, where he is enrolled Walla Walla and Cayuse with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. He currently serves on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. He most recently served under President Biden as the 19th?Director of the National Park Service, the first Native American to hold this office. Chuck has more than 35 years of executive leadership that includes serving as Executive and Deputy Executive director for the CTUIR, in addition to communications director and environmental health & safety officer and planner and special sciences analyst.

Other prior positions include President/CEO of the Earth Conservation Corps, Executive Director of the Community Energy Project, Executive Director of the Columbia Slough Watershed Council, National Director of the Tribal & Native Lands Program for Trust for Public Land, Executive Director of the Umatilla Tribal Community Foundation, and President/CEO of the Indian Country Conservancy.

He received his Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples Law from the University of Oklahoma School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Concordia University. He is also veteran of the U.S. Navy where he served as an Intelligence Specialist.?

SCAPE

SCAPE is a collaborative landscape architecture practice that invents new ways to knit nature into urban life, creating enduring landscapes and a more resilient future for all. As a national leader in climate adaptive design and the implementation of complex large parks and blue-green infrastructure, we design across water and land at all scales. We aim to channel the landscape's own voice, layering multiple benefits for people and all living things: strengthening shorelines, managing extreme weather, encouraging time together. Our process is equal parts design strategy and community conversation, translating analysis and ideas into powerful, welcoming landscapes.

From the 100-mile Chattahoochee Riverlands project, to Living Breakwaters in Raritan Bay, the Gowanus Canal Lowlands, Tom Lee Park on the Mississippi River, and China Basin Park on San Francisco Bay, our work combines design excellence and a deep knowledge of ecology to regenerate, connect, and transform the built environment.

Kate Orff founded SCAPE in 2005 with the belief that a focus on climate and community could push landscape architecture beyond its disciplinary boundaries.? Today, we are a team of over 80, with offices in New York City, San Francisco, and New Orleans, and five partners: Kate Orff, Gena Wirth, John Donnelly, Alexis Landes, and Pippa Brashear.?

Frederick Steiner, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ

"Someone once observed that jazz and landscape architecture are the two truly American art forms. Even though there are important precedents outside the Western Hemisphere, our inheritance is something to be proud of¡ªand not something to take for granted.

Indeed, for those of us who care about landscape architecture, we have a huge responsibility to help the field advance. Landscape architecture¡¯s immense potential inspires me. As an interface between nature and culture, landscape architecture can truly change the world for the better through ecological design and planning."

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Frederick Steiner is Dean and Paley Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design and faculty co-director of its Ian L. McHarg Center for Urbanism and Ecology. Previously, he served for 15 years as Dean of the School of Architecture at The University of Texas at Austin. Before that, he taught at Penn and the following institutions, Arizona State University, Washington State University, and the University of Colorado at Denver. He was a visiting professor of landscape architecture at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China; a Fulbright-Hays scholar at Wageningen University, The Netherlands; and a Rome Prize Fellow in Historic Preservation at the American Academy in Rome. A fellow of both the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, he has written, edited, or co-edited 22 books. He helped establish the SITES rating system.

He earned a Master of Community Planning and a B.S. in Design from the University of Cincinnati, and his Ph.D. and M.A. in city and regional planning and a Master of Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. He also received an honorary M.Phil. in Human Ecology from the College of the Atlantic.?

Chicago Region Trees Initiative

"As part of the Chicago Region Trees Initiative, I¡¯m continually inspired by how landscape architecture brings together science, design, and community to shape spaces that are both beautiful, resilient, and culturally significant. It¡¯s a field that not only transforms the physical environment but also builds connections between people and nature¡ªsomething that¡¯s essential for the health of our urban forests and the communities they serve." - Zach Wirtz, Director of CRTIn.

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The Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI) is The Morton Arboretum¡¯s urban and community forestry program, working to improve the health, diversity, and equitable distribution of trees in the Chicago region and throughout Illinois. CRTI partners with and facilitates collaboration among more than 500 organizations in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to inspire tree stewards and build municipal capacity and support for trees with a focus on environmental equity and disadvantaged communities.

CRTI works to inspire tree stewards through workshops and local events such as tree plantings; build municipal capacity and support for tree management; strengthen the Arboretum¡¯s efforts to conserve oak trees, which are keystone species in Illinois; and create robust and diverse urban forests that mitigate the impacts of climate change.

The program leverages the Arboretum¡¯s tree science expertise and vital community perspectives to guide decision-making and maximize impact. CRTI¡¯s data-driven approach helps improve tree canopy where it is needed most. Community, civic, nonprofit, and green industry organizations and businesses collaborate through CRTI and share information and resources. Since the program was established in 2014, CRTI has engaged partners throughout Illinois, including municipalities, businesses, nonprofit organizations, forest preserves, park districts, private landowners and managers, and other stakeholders.?

Maria Fernanda "MaFe" Gonzalez, Associate Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ

"Landscape architecture is my way of joining my mind and my heart, becoming creative and innovative in a multidisciplinary way, taking part in the making of my surroundings, being who I am and creating my own practice. What inspires me about this profession is its complexity, its invitation to take a stand and be an advocate, and its enormous potential to transform the way we relate to each other and the environment."

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MaFe Gonzalez is a landscape designer and botanist with a strong interest in ecology, taxonomy, and conservation of plants. Her journey into landscape architecture was inspired by her studies in botany where she saw a need to participate in world-making¡ªespecially to create spaces that re-establish reciprocal relationships between people and the environment. Currently a landscape designer at BASE Landscape Architecture in San Francisco, CA. MaFe is a passionate and purposeful practitioner that initiates or supports a variety of projects and visions. She is also a lecturer in the United States and Colombia, and is a leader and researcher of academic and pro-bono initiatives.?

Staci L. Catron

"Landscape architecture is crucial to our intricate understanding of the past and the natural world. Landscapes are living archives reflecting past societies, their interactions with nature, and the evolution of cultural practices. Studying cultural landscapes is invaluable to creating sustainable and resilient designs in the twenty-first century."

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Staci L. Catron is a public historian, landscape preservationist, author, community collaborator, and passionate advocate for documenting and preserving the diverse and meaningful stories of the people and plants that have shaped the world. In her role as the Cherokee Garden Library Senior Director for the Kenan Research Center of the Atlanta History Center, Catron performs professional library and archival work, plans and implements programs and exhibitions, supervises conservation work, directs all fundraising, and promotes the collection through curatorial tours and public speaking. Founded in 1975 by the Cherokee Garden Club, the Cherokee Garden Library is a free public resource containing an ever-growing collection of over 40,000 objects, including rare and contemporary books, periodicals, landscape architectural drawings, photographs, manuscripts, seed catalogs, postcards, and ephemera, all of which tell the fascinating stories of garden, horticultural, and botanical history in the Southeastern United States and areas of influence throughout the world. Catron has worked with community partners for over two decades to document and preserve historic landscapes through the Georgia Historic Landscape Initiative. She has curated numerous exhibitions at the Atlanta History Center, including Edward L. Daugherty, A Southern Landscape Architect. Her most recent book is Seeking Eden: A Collection of Georgia¡¯s Historic Gardens with co-author Mary Ann Eaddy (University of Georgia Press, 2018).?

Devin Colman

"Working in a field that focuses primarily on buildings, I think it¡¯s essential to also consider the cultural landscapes within which those buildings exist. Only by doing so can we begin to fully understand the significance and integrity of the subject property."

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Devin Colman is the Director of the University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program, and teaches courses on American architectural history, cultural landscapes, historic site research and documentation, and historic preservation policy and planning. Prior to his current position, Colman worked for 18 years at the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, most recently as State Architectural Historian. He earned a M.S. in Historic Preservation at the University of Vermont, and a B.A. in Art History at Colby College. His primary research focuses on modernist design, inclusive of both buildings and landscapes, and the preservation of significant examples of 20th century modern sites. More broadly, he is interested in exploring the overlap of historic, cultural, and natural resources in the built environment. His short format historical report on the Justin Smith Morrill Homestead in Strafford, Vermont, earned an Honorable Mention in the 2016 HALS Challenge.

Alan Harwood, AICP

Alan Harwood, AICP, has helped shape Washington, D.C., as both a vibrant city and a powerful national symbol. At EDAW and now AECOM, he has been a driving force behind some of the nation¡¯s most significant commemorative landscapes and public works, including the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge.

Harwood¡¯s collaborative leadership and strategic vision have guided major planning efforts such as the National Mall¡¯s Monumental Core Framework Plan and the Memorials and Museums Master Plan. In every project, he has ensured that landscape architects are central to the design process, elevating their voices in complex federal review settings and mentoring emerging professionals.

Through his work with the National Park Service, NCPC, and the Commission of Fine Arts, Harwood has advanced landscape-led solutions that honor the past while preparing for a more inclusive and resilient future. His legacy is built into the physical landscape of the capital and carried forward by the landscape architects he has championed throughout his career.?

Christopher Marcinkoski, Affiliate Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, AIA, FAAR

"My work is motivated by both an intellectual and professional commitment to the urban public realm. Landscape architecture as a medium, and as discipline, offers powerful tools to elevate public realm literacy as a meaningful framework for engaging with our most urgent urban, societal, and environmental concerns."

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Christopher Marcinkoski is an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design. The author of The City That Never Was (Princeton Architectural Press, 2016) and the forthcoming Constructing the American Public Realm (2026), his research and writing critically explores the under-considered economic and political complexities shaping contemporary urban built environments. In addition to his appointment at PENN, Christopher is founding partner at PORT Urbanism, an award-winning Philadelphia and Chicago-based public realm planning and design practice. He serves as PORT¡¯s creative director, overseeing the office¡¯s urban design, landscape architecture, and planning projects¡ªdelivering charismatic, place-rooted public spaces that balance compelling human experience with long-term environmental resilience for communities across the United States. Current projects include a new 50-acre urban park under construction along the Boise River; a new 100-acre central park for Bentonville, AR, supported by the Walton Family Foundation Design Excellence Program; multiple projects in and around Knoxville, TN, including planning work that supported the securing of a major Reconnecting Communities implementation grant; planning for an 800-acre regional park along 7-miles of the Jordan River in Salt Lake County, UT; and urban design for a 70-acre mixed-use district in Maryland. Christopher and PORT are recipients of the Emerging Voices Prize from The Architectural League of New York, as well as the J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize from Landmark Columbus Foundation.?

Danielle Pieranunzi

"Landscape architecture can shape our experiences, deepen our connection to place, reconnect us with nature, and remind us to be responsible stewards of this world. It can translate and reveal a hopeful future we sometimes cannot quite see ourselves. This has continually inspired me, and I have been so honored to collaborate with the incredible people in this community."

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Danielle Pieranunzi is committed to ensuring that nature has a voice at the table, that advocates are heard and leaders recognized, and nature-based solutions are better understood and valued as an essential component of the built environment and our daily lives. Since 2006, Danielle has been working on the Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES) collaborating with a group of practitioners, scientists, academics, and policymakers and partners like Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ to research and develop the criteria and metrics for high performance landscapes. This led to the publication of the SITES v2 Rating System and Reference Guide in 2014 while working at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Today, Danielle continues this work as SITES Director at the U.S. Green Business Council and Green Business Certification Inc., shaping product strategy, technical development and leading the long-term development of the SITES program while driving impact on biodiversity, resilience, water, decarbonization, health and equity. She engages with stakeholders and industry partners globally supporting a variety of education and advocacy efforts, such as serving as a delegate at Biodiversity COP16 (Colombia), as a designated reviewer on the Sustainable Sites Working Group for ASHRAE Standard 189.1 and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development¡¯s Roadmaps to Nature Positive.?

Virginia Small

"I fell in love with specific parks, plazas and parkways long before I knew anything about landscape architecture. When I began learning what goes into designing dynamic and beautiful places that serve intersecting goals, I felt deep gratitude for how well-designed landscape architecture, especially in public spaces, nourish and connect us while sustaining ecoystems and the Earth."

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A lifelong communications professional, poet, gardener, explorer and environmentalist, Virginia Small engages with landscapes on many levels. As a former editor of Fine Gardening, and in writing for other publications, she has collaborated with landscape architects and other professionals to make design concepts accessible. She studied the history of landscape design to better understand how aesthetics, culture, ecology, and human experience have been thoughtfully interwoven to shape land and make enduring places. Her passion for designed landscapes led her to advocate for their appreciation, care and preservation.

Virginia authored Great Gardens of the Berkshires, which showcases both public and private gardens, and has contributed to other books. Since returning to her hometown in 2011, she has celebrated Milwaukee¡¯s historic landscape legacies and shared her expertise through writing, speaking and leading tours, including for Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ¡¯s Wisconsin Chapter. She volunteered to bring a touring exhibition about Dan Kiley¡¯s legacies to Milwaukee, and helped plan The Olmsted Network¡¯s annual conference there. She consulted on an exhibition about Frederick Law Olmsted for his bicentennial in 2022.

Her everyday thoughtful stewardship focuses on taking care of places we care about, both individually and collectively. Above all, she loves to walk and dance ¡ª especially in parks.

Christopher Hardy, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, PLA

Chris Hardy, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, PLA, has emerged as a national leader in climate action through his work on the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Biodiversity & Climate Action Committee. As co-chair of the Carbon Drawdown & Biodiversity Subcommittee, Chris helped shape Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ¡¯s survey on low-carbon products, co-authored a key guide for collaborating with manufacturers, and helped organize a nine-part webinar series viewed by thousands of members.

Chris was a lead author of Decarbonizing Specifications, a 120-page guide for landscape architects, specifiers, and industry partners. He contributed to two other Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ publications on climate-smart design and advocated for stronger embodied carbon standards in public comment letters to EPA and ASHRAE.

A trusted voice at major events, Chris has presented at Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ and Greenbuild conferences on topics including low-carbon material selection and soil-based carbon strategies. His input helped shape Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ¡¯s 2024 carbon offset partnership with the National Indian Carbon Coalition.?

Through all of this, Chris brings technical expertise, humility, and a generous spirit. He shares his research and resources openly, including the Carbon Conscience tool he helped develop, to ensure landscape architects are leading in the global effort to decarbonize the built environment.?

Lauren Patterson, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, PLA

Lauren Patterson, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, PLA, has brought remarkable energy, creativity, and commitment to her leadership of the Urban Design Professional Practice Network (PPN), one of Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ¡¯s largest PPNs with more than 1,500 members. Since joining the leadership team in 2020 and serving as co-chair from 2021 to 2024, Lauren has helped redefine what sustained and engaging volunteer leadership looks like.

During her time as co-chair, Lauren guided the PPN through a seamless leadership transition, staying an extra year beyond her term to ensure strong succession planning and support for new co-chairs. She brought fresh energy to the PPN by organizing a yearlong series of programs around suburban retail landscapes, including virtual coffee chats and companion articles for The Field blog. This series expanded the PPN¡¯s reach and spotlighted project types and settings beyond major cities.

Lauren also initiated and led a successful collaboration with the Transportation PPN, resulting in a popular joint event at the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Conference, a follow-up webinar, and published content. Her leadership turned an idea into a lasting, cross-disciplinary partnership.

Throughout her service, Lauren has been a tireless advocate for the PPN, promoting events on social media, moderating webinars on short notice, and consistently finding ways to connect and engage members. Her positivity and dedication have made a lasting impression on both her peers and Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ¡¯s broader professional community.

Adrian Smith, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ

Adrian Smith, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, has dedicated more than 40 years to advancing landscape architecture through service, advocacy, and mentorship. His work on behalf of Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ at the local, state, and national levels has helped elevate the profession, expand its reach, and inspire the next generation of landscape architects.

A longtime leader within Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, Adrian has served on the Public Relations, Membership Services, Government Services Advisory, Emerging Professionals, and Climate Action committees. He played a key role in the creation of the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Climate Action Plan and continues to lead climate-focused programming. He also served as Vice President of Professional Practice and is a 2025 juror for the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Professional Awards.

In New York, Adrian successfully advocated for a change to the NYC Building Code that allows landscape architects to submit plans, correcting a major regulatory barrier. He led efforts to protect public landscapes like the Russell Page Garden at the Frick Museum and expanded career discovery programming for high school students across the city.

At his alma mater, Penn State, Adrian has served on the Landscape Architecture Alumni Program Group board since 2011, helping to grow enrollment through student recruitment and mentorship.

Through it all, Adrian has remained a generous and tireless advocate for the profession, encouraging others to lead, pushing for visibility and inclusion, and demonstrating how service can shape lasting change.

Amy Syverson-Shaffer, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, PLA, SITES AP

Amy Syverson-Shaffer, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ, SITES AP, has made an exceptional impact as a volunteer leader with the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Biodiversity & Climate Action Committee. Her efforts have advanced Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ's climate action goals and bridged gaps between landscape architects and industry partners to promote low-carbon, high-impact materials and strategies.

Amy co-authored Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ¡¯s first survey on landscape product decarbonization and co-developed the resulting guide, Collaborating with Industry Partners on Climate Action and Biodiversity, to help landscape architects ask better questions and drive change in the materials supply chain. She also co-authored Navigating Environmental Product Data, a new Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ educational guide on EPDs, LCAs, and embodied carbon that has reached thousands of readers.

In 2024, Amy invested time and resources to support Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ¡¯s nine-part Biodiversity & Climate Action 101 webinar series, which has been viewed more than 6,000 times. She hosted and moderated many of the sessions, helping landscape architects and product manufacturers alike turn knowledge into action.

Amy regularly shares insights at the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Conference and in the EXPO hall, advancing circular design practices and promoting climate-smart manufacturing aligned with the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Climate Action Plan. Her leadership, generosity, and commitment to collaboration continue to strengthen Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ and the future of the profession.