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Shawn Kelly, FASLA

“Landscape architects truly influence the way the world turns on a daily basis… We’re becoming recognized as the leaders in truly sustainable practice.” ‑ President-Elect speech before the Board of Trustees, May 17, 2014

 

Shawn Kelly, FASLA has worked full time at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and as principal in his design firm, Kelly Design Group, LLC, over the last 30 years. As both educator and mentor, Kelly has been effective in his nurturing of the future of landscape architecture. In practice, Kelly has continued to produce solutions at the cutting edge of water harvesting and quality improvement. In education, his work with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to form the Center for Sustainable Design has placed him in the forefront of demonstrating the integrity of landscape architecture to academics and administrators. Kelly has also lectured widely on the importance of working with indigenous communities to create equity, justice and cultural cohesion. Kelly is an active advocate for landscape architecture nationally and regionally and was involved in the efforts to support licensure for landscape architects in Wisconsin, testifying before a Legislative Committee to build support for the first adoption of a Title Act (which would ultimately become State Law). Kelly’s three decades of service to ASLA include serving as Vice President of Membership as well as President of ASLA in 2019 as well as helping to formulate a white paper with the ASLA Committee on Education regarding the status of education for landscape architects and STEM education.

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Laura Solano, FASLA

“The best thing about being a landscape architect is the ability to create something that affects the daily lives of people. When people visit projects designed by a landscape architect, they don’t necessarily know they are in a highly considered and constructed space, but they do sense that they are someplace that momentarily lets them turn their attention towards the natural world.” ‑ ASLA Emerging Professionals Ask Me Anything Event

 

Laura Solano, FASLA, is a registered Landscape Architect and Partner at Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. (MVVA). She is one of the managing Partners in MVVA’s Cambridge office and has been involved in many of the firm’s best known and award-winning projects in North America, including Teardrop Park, Alumnae Valley at Wellesley College, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, the Restoration of Pennsylvania Avenue at the White House, and the United States Embassy in Mexico City. Currently, she is working on the Port Lands in Toronto, Ontario, a flood protection infrastructure project that will transform a former industrial waterfront into vibrant riverine and upland landscapes. Solano is a nationally recognized expert in landscape technology and leads MVVA’s technological innovations, which have been essential for advancing the firm’s design excellence alongside sustainable and resilient performance. For over 25 years she taught at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and was appointed the Trott Distinguished Visiting Professor at The Ohio State University, her alma mater. In 2020 she was inducted as a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects. As part of her professional advocacy, Laura lectures nationwide at universities and professional associations on the potential for creative overlap between landscape design, technology, and science. Her writings on these topics have been widely published and her expertise contributed to the soil section of the ASLA SITES initiative. She currently serves as a Lead Facilitator for the Landscape Architecture Foundation’s Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership.

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Ebru Ozer

“ACE Legacy Project is a great opportunity to introduce our profession to a younger generation. The students involved learn about landscape architecture by working on a real-life design problem. They receive feedback from the leading design and construction professionals of our region and learn digital drawing skills from our [Florida International University] Landscape Architecture students. It’s been very rewarding to witness all these intergenerational exchanges.” ‑ ASLA 2020 Ace Legacy Project video

 

Ebru Ozer is an inspiring volunteer leader who is committed to bringing the profession to people. The impacts of her dedication and volunteer service have achieved lasting results: the successful process and implementation of the ACE Legacy Project in Miami, her sustained engagement in ASLA at a national, state, and local level, her leadership with the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, and her service as Treasurer for the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) from 2019-2021. Notably, Ozer played a crucial leadership role in the development of Future Landscape Architects of America (FLAA), a non-profit created in 2015 to promote landscape architecture within K-12 schools. FLAA started off as a grassroots effort focused on underprivileged students and underfunded schools in Palm Beach County, FL. Thanks to Ozer’s leadership and commitment, it now reaches 3,000 students in over 40 schools, non-profits, and community groups throughout the country. Ozer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture + Environmental and Urban Design at the College of Architecture and The Arts at Florida International University (FIU), where she is a member of the FIU President’s University Sustainability Committee and serves on the FIU GIS Advisory Committee. Her research has been supported by grants from the National Landscape Architecture Foundation, The United States Department of Education, Florida Department of Transportation, City of Sweetwater, The Metropolitan Center at FIU, the Cejas Family Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and The Wolfsonian-FIU. She is also a co-author of Best Practices in Sustainable Building Design (2012).

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Matt Arnn, PLA, ASLA

A particularly satisfying aspect of my work is celebrating the role of our next generation of landscape architects as integral in defining the character of our national forests and grasslands, a sense of place, through what we build, where we build and how we maintain our sites. We are really only borrowing these public lands, and so it’s critical for younger professionals to help set a framework for their use. ‑ Matt Arnn, PLA, ASLA

 

Matt Arnn, ASLA, is the U.S. Forest Service’s Chief Landscape Architect, providing professional leadership to the agency’s 120+ landscape architects practicing on over 190 million acres of National Forests and Grasslands. He assists in planning, design and administration of 10 National Monuments, 22 National Recreation Areas, and 11 National Scenic Areas. Within the Forest Service, he provides training to numerous landscape architects and other environmental and technical disciplines. Before joining the Forest Service, Arnn was a practicing landscape architect in New York City with Lee Weintraub Landscape Architecture, and a founding partner with iSTUDIO Architects in Washington, DC. Arnn holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in landscape architecture, urban design, and planning from the University of Texas, Austin; The City College of New York; and the University of Virginia - School of Architecture.

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Kofi Boone, FASLA

“When you start to go through history and start to see these moments where people reconnected to place and it enabled all these changes to occur.” ‑ Landslide 2021: Race and Space video

 

Kofi Boone, FASLA, the Joseph D. Moore Distinguished Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, has taught at the North Carolina State University College of Design for more than 25 years. In 2019, Boone was recognized as a “Most Admired Educator” by Design Intelligence for successfully blending academic and community interests in his seminars and studios. As a researcher, his work and publications have garnered recognition and awards. His article, “The Resilience of Ruinous Futures (2009)”, laid the foundation for popularizing the concept of Racialized Topography in landscape architecture analysis. In response to the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in 2016, he worked with NC State University’s Coastal Dynamics Design Lab to generate Homeplace: A Conversation Guide for Six Communities Recovering from Hurricane Matthew. The Guide, winner of an 2018 ASLA Award of Honor in Communications, was a benchmark that clarified the terms and concepts necessary to participate in hazard mitigation and led to an intensive week-long community workshop focused on Princeville, North Carolina, the first chartered town incorporated by African Americans in the United States. Currently President of the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF), Kofi joined LAF’s Board in 2018 and served as Vice President of Education where he championed organizational transformation based on best-practices in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

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Mikyoung Kim Design

“Our studio is a collaborative think tank researching the science of human and ecological resiliency.” www.myk-d.com

 

As designers of restorative landscapes, Mikyoung Kim Design addresses some of the most pressing environmental and health related issues through research, both in human cognition and in green storm water technologies. Their goal is to create bespoke experiences that improve civic health by drawing people outside and engaging the natural world. Twenty years ago, Mikyoung Kim Design began with a focus on human centered design. Today, their evidence-based design work engages communities and landscapes across the spectrum. From waterfronts and workplaces to public gardens and healthcare centers, Mikyoung Kim Design is interested in bringing restoration and wonder to the everyday experience. Mikyoung Kim Design work has earned awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects, Fast Company, Architectural Digest, Harvard University, Boston Society of Landscape Architects, LandForum, and many others.

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National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP)

“NAOP advances Olmsted principles and legacy of irreplaceable parks and landscapes that revitalize communities and enrich people’s lives.” www.olmsted.org

 

The National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP), established in 1980, is a coalition of design and preservation professionals, historic property and park managers, scholars, municipal officials, citizen activists, and representatives of numerous Olmsted organizations around the United States. Its concern is the legacy of landscape work left by Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. and the firm continued by his sons. For more than 30 years, NAOP has raised awareness of the importance of the Olmsted legacy among public officials, community leaders, landscape design professionals, and academics. NAOP encourages scholarship, publishes key reference materials, supports local park restoration, and provides technical assistance to preservation efforts. The Olmsted legacy needs a strong national advocate. Historic parks and landscapes around the country face multiple threats from development pressure, shrinking municipal budgets, and lack of understanding about the breadth and importance of the Olmsted-designed landscapes. NAOP is the managing partner of “Olmsted 200: Parks for All People,” a creative coalition to explore the many ways in which Olmsted’s values can address today’s challenges. The campaign has brought global attention to the importance of landscape architecture and Olmsted’s principles.

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Charles Kene Okigbo, ASLA

“Designing the public realm is a mind-blowing prospect. Every day we shape the physical fabric of society. Our ideas influence how people think, move, and feel. Weaving that fabric in a positive way, with peers who share that sentiment is exciting!” ‑ Charles Kene Okigbo

 

A talented designer, Kene Okigbo, ASLA, is a contributing member of the RDG Planning & Design landscape architecture studio in Omaha, Nebraska. Okigbo has been involved with projects in various market sectors including parks and recreation, universities, sports facilities, and urban design. He is truly passionate about creating environments that positively impact the community and is inspired by the rejuvenation of existing spaces to better serve their people. Okigbo’s goal in every project is to communicate the needs of a community through landscape architecture and compelling design. He has served on ASLA the Government Affairs Committee, the Climate Action Committee, the LAM Editorial Advisory Committee, the Great Plains Chapter Emerging Professionals Committee (as chair), and the Associate Advisory committee, also as chair. Okigbo is also a Branding and Marketing Committee Member for the TEDxOmaha. He was an active ASLA Diversity Summit participant, has volunteered as mentor for the ACE Mentor Program of America and, most recently, served as moderator for ASLA’s inaugural Pre-K-12 virtual summit Dream Big with Design.

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Jean Catalano

Jean Catalano currently has served as a public member of the South Carolina Board of Landscape Architectural Examiners since 2014. She is an advocate for the many ways in which landscape architects provide services to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people of South Carolina. Catalano encouraged the board to conduct strategic planning to alleviate friction issues in the licensure process, which resulted in several procedural changes that streamlined the application process for emerging professionals. These efforts removed barriers to licensure and encouraged growth and diversity in the field. Her colleagues consistently praise her dedication, knowledge, enthusiasm, leadership, participation, and willingness to learn. She regularly participates in meetings with the Council of Landscape Architect Registration Boards (CLARB), who regards her as a “model public member.”

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Dr. Lisa E. Harris, M.D.

Dr. Lisa E. Harris, M.D., has practiced medicine for 30 years at the nationally renowned Eskenazi Health system in Indiana where she now serves as CEO. Dr. Harris has dedicated her career to improving healthcare for vulnerable and underserved populations; Eskenazi Health serves more than 1 million patients annually. She is also associate dean at Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Harris is past chair of America’s Essential Hospitals and provides leadership to nine nonprofit boards at the local, state, and national levels. She has demonstrated committed advocacy for the power of the natural and built environments in improving community and patient health. The Eskenazi Health campus is among the first and largest hospital campuses in the United States and the first in Indiana to achieve LEED® Gold certification. This achievement is in no small part due to Dr. Harris’s advocacy for the incorporation of landscape in support of both sustainability and community wellness goals.

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Elizabeth Hebron

Elizabeth Hebron has served ASLA National for more than six years. She began as the first state government affairs hire for ASLA and is now its first, and current, director of state government affairs. She works with ASLA Chapters across the country to promote and defend landscape architecture licensure and to advance other key issues impacting the profession. Prior to joining ASLA, she worked four years on Capitol Hill and spent 10 years lobbying on federal legislative issues involving historic preservation, tax appropriations, and affordable housing. Hebron helped create a stronger partnership between ASLA and the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB), and she represents ASLA in the Alliance for Responsible Professional Licensing (ARPL). She has also played a leading role in establishing ASLA’s Women of Color Licensure Advancement Program.

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