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Patricia O'Donnell, FASLA

“Landscape architecture training and skills empower me as an agent of action through diverse works and organizational collaborations. As a professional, I embrace life-long learning, creativity and integrated solutions for the benefit of people, planet and peace. It has been and is an honor to deepen worldwide understanding, respect for and action to uplift diverse cultural landscapes.”

 

Patricia O’Donnell, PLA, FASLA, possesses expertise, talent and a collaborative spirit that is widely recognized across the design and preservation professions and allied fields nationally and world-wide. Through four decades of work as a preservation landscape architect and of service as a thought leader, advocate, instigator, and innovator, she has advanced sustainable heritage. O’Donnell is widely respected as a pioneer in forging a path for landscape architects to be significant members of the preservation community.

Heritage Landscapes, her small firm, has received 99 awards for over 600 planning, design, construction, and communications projects, attesting to high-quality professional works. ASLA recognized this corpus with the prestigious 2019 ASLA Firm Award, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation bestowed the 2021 Crowninshield Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Wholly dedicated to heritage places, Patricia views cultural landscapes as shared commons intertwining nature and culture. Her works emphasize tackling current issues of planetary rights, biodiversity, cultural diversity, and inclusion aligned to global goals and local actions. With voice, knowledge and energy, O'Donnell has made a significant, transformative, and beneficial impact upon our profession, nation, heritage places, communities and hundreds of individuals, to a remarkable degree, as a passionate steward of our shared inheritance.

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James Corner, FASLA

“Landscape architecture has probably never had so much to offer society than it does today: the field's capacity to work creatively with complex natural systems combined with social experience, public space and community, places it squarely in the vanguard of today's built environment and urbanization. Landscape architects do not only resolve problems and create breathtaking beauty in cities, towns and places where people live - they also address the deeper cultural issues of our time: our shared relationship to nature, environment and to one another. Here, the pragmatic poetry of landscape is the art of milieu, the art of human being and becoming in worlds of geography, ecology, place and time.”

 

James Corner is the Founder of James Corner Field Operations, based in New York City, with offices in San Francisco, Philadelphia, London and Shenzhen. Important urban public realm projects include New York’s highly-acclaimed High Line; Seattle’s Central Waterfront; San Francisco’s Presidio Tunneltops; Chicago’s Navy Pier; London’s South Park Plaza at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park; Hong Kong’s Victoria Dockside; and Shenzhen’s new city of Qianhai.

James’s work has been recognized with numerous awards, most notably the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, the American Academy of Arts & Letters Award in Architecture, and the Richard Neutra Medal. He holds Honorary Doctorates in Design from the Technical University of Munich and Manchester Metropolitan University.

His work has been exhibited at the New York Museum of Modern Art; the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum; the National Building Museum; the Royal Academy of Art in London; and the Venice Biennale. Books include The High Line: Foreseen/Unforeseen (Phaidon, 2015); The Landscape Imagination (Princeton, 2014), and Taking Measures Across the American Landscape (Yale, 1996).

James is Emeritus Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, where served on the faculty since 1990, and as Professor and Chairman 2000-2013. He sits on the Board of the Urban Design Forum and the Government Advisory Board of Shenzhen, and is an Elected Member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters.

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Jim Donovan, FASLA

“Using my landscape architecture training in volunteer work has allowed me to engage and educate local, regional, and statewide leaders, committees and citizens in the many aspects of landscape architecture; it has been a deeply rewarding for me, educational and beneficial for the others, and a lot of fun for all of us (most of the time!).”

 

Jim Donovan, FASLA, PLA has practiced landscape architecture with purpose and joy for over 40 years. In 2008, Jim struck out on his own, founding Broadreach Planning & Design, a firm focusing on bicycle and pedestrian transportation and community planning & design. The firm worked across the country from its office Charlotte, Vermont. Recently, he shifted the focus of his work, which, as of now, he is still not calling retirement. His current position includes being an accidental land developer, a continually recycled ASLA Vermont Chapter officer, an ongoing pro bono Town consultant, a cheerful volunteer to the ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee assisting World Heritage Sites around the world, an advocate for landscape architecture at the Vermont legislature, and an unappointed leader of rogue planting teams around his hometown. Though no longer working for pay, Jim still maintains his landscape architect license in his home state of Vermont and his AICP designation. Jim served as VTASLA Trustee for as long as possible, and is still serving on several national ASLA committees, as well as several other volunteer committees locally, regionally, and internationally.

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Sadik Artunç, FASLA

“Landscape architecture has the keys for sustainable and resilient future.”

 

Sadık C. Artunç, FASLA, FCELA has been the Head of Department of Landscape Architecture at Mississippi State University (MSU) since January 2007. Prior to his tenure at MSU, he taught in the Robert S. Reich School of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University between 2007 - 1981.

A native of Turkey, Sadık is a naturalized citizen of the U.S.A. He has earned BS and MS in forestry and forest engineering from the University of Istanbul and MLA from the University of Michigan. He is a registered landscape architect in the U.S.A. and a registered forester and forest engineer in Turkey. His teaching involves design implementation and construction, site planning and design, and regional planning and design. His professional consulting involves large-scale planning and design with a focus mostly on recreation and tourism, resource planning, and design implementation and construction. Sadık has been an active member of various professional organizations and societies since 1981. Always a tireless and enthusiastic promoter of the profession of landscape architecture and ASLA, CELA, LAAB, and IFLA. Sadık served at various leadership capacities and levels: the Louisiana Chapter president (1991); chapter trustee (1996–2001); and finally, as the national vice-president of membership (2002–2004). He has served as the President of CELA in 2020-2021. Sadık was inducted into the ASLA Council of Fellows in 2000, and CELA Academy of Fellows in 2023.

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Charles A. Flink II, FASLA

“Landscape architecture has inspired and empowered me to pursue my passion for conserving our planet’s precious natural resources and at the same time designing landscapes that improve daily life. Throughout my career, I also enjoyed building priceless long-term friendships that have enriched my personal and professional journey.”

 

Chuck Flink, FASLA, is an award-winning author and landscape architect who during his 40-year career has completed work in 250 communities, 35 states, and 7 foreign countries. He is the recipient of four dozen national, regional and local awards, and has served on governing boards for American Trails, East Coast Greenway and the 911 National Memorial Trail. Notable works include the Anne Springs Close Greenway, South Carolina; Charleston County Greenbelt Plan, South Carolina; Miami River Greenway, Florida; Grand Forks Greenway, North Dakota; Razorback Greenway in Arkansas; and Grand Canyon Greenway, Arizona. Chuck is the 2006 NC State University College of Design Distinguished Alumnus, and 2019 NC State University Watauga Medal recipient. Chuck has authored three books about greenways and trails: Greenways. A Guide to Planning, Design and Development, Trails for the Twenty First Century, and The Greenway Imperative: Connecting Communities and Landscapes for A Sustainable Future.

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Steven N. Handel PhD, Hon. ASLA

“We have learned much about the ecology of plant communities, but without scientists closely collaborating with landscape architects that knowledge will never be expressed on the ground. This transdisciplinary partnership is critical for a sustainable world that can serve us all.”

 

Steven Handel studies the restoration of native plant communities, adding sustainable ecological services, biodiversity, and amenities to the landscape. He explores problems of urban and other heavily degraded lands. He is a Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Evolution Emeritus at Rutgers University. Previously, he was a Visiting Professor of Ecology at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design for four years, a biology professor and director of the Marsh Botanic Garden at Yale University. Dr. Handel is a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is the Editor of the professional journal Ecological Restoration. In 2007, he was elected an Honorary Member ASLA. He received the Society for Ecological Restoration’s highest research honor, the Theodore M. Sperry Award, “…for pioneering work in the restoration of urban areas.” Handel received his B.A. from Columbia and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell in Ecology.

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Biohabitats

“Biohabitats is both honored and humbled to receive this prestigious award from ASLA. We hope this spotlight on our ecologically focused, cross disciplinary work will illuminate the power of all design firms to urgently address and act on climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental justice. We need to rewild the world.”

 

Biohabitats engages with communities throughout North America and the world to restore nature, protect fresh water, address climate change and right environmental injustices. Rooted in nature-based solutions, Biohabitats provides industry leading research, regional conservation planning, ecological design, and restoration construction services to an array of clients and organizations. Biohabitats’ success in restoring habitat, protecting biodiversity, managing freshwater, and helping people adapt to a changing climate is backed by over 40 years of hands-on experience. With offices organized by Bioregions, Biohabitats’ approach to solving complex ecological challenges is deeply engrained in the natural patterns and cultural forms of the land. It’s rooted in the way we practice - guided by sound science, directed by a profound understanding of the land, and framed by traditional ecological knowledge. Recognizing this interconnectedness between people and nature, Biohabitats purposely supports an interdisciplinary team of landscape architects, ecologists, scientists, conservation planners, ecological engineers, and construction specialists. As a certified B Corp, Biohabitats operates under the ownership of a Perpetual Purpose Trust, where nature is our primary shareholder. Inspiring love for wild places is our purpose, restoring the earth is our mission, creating an ecologically rich world is our vision for the future.

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Jack Dangermond

“Landscape architecture and landscape architects have always immensely excited me. Landscape Architecture as a discipline is the only profession that integrates the sciences of our world with the power of design thinking. In many ways landscape architects are applied scientists. In their work they aspire to understand the context of a situation…considering all the factors; environmental, social, and economic, and then integrating this understanding into a creative design process to solve problems. Their work spans many scales; from local garden design to green infrastructure planning all the way to addressing global environmental challenges. In these challenging times, this discipline holds the promise of helping create a sustainable future. The role of Landscape Architects will become increasingly important and their impact on human behavior and the environment will be profound. From my perspective it is one of the most important professions of our time.”

 

A landscape architect by training, Jack Dangermond founded Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) in 1969 with a vision that computer mapping and analysis could help design a better future. Under Dangermond's leadership, that vision has continued to guide Esri in creating cutting- edge GIS and Geodesign technologies used in every industry to make a difference worldwide. Dangermond fostered the growth of Esri from a small research group to an organization recognized as the world leader in GIS software development. Esri employs more than 4,000 people worldwide; many who shared his passion for GIS in the early days are still with the company and remain dedicated to helping our users be successful.

Dangermond’s vision for Esri goes beyond building the leading GIS technology. He keeps the company mindful of global challenges and the needs of specific industries. The ongoing drive is to engineer ArcGIS to aggregate and integrate increasing quantities of data, to visualize and analyze the data to gain holistic understanding, and to help individuals and organizations make impactful evidence-based decisions.

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The Cultural Landscape Foundation

“Landscape architecture provides an unrivaled stage for living in harmony with natural processes while revealing and interpreting significant historic fabric and cultural lifeways. What excites me most is that the profession is uniquely positioned to shape our futures by understanding our past.”

 

The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) is a Washington, D.C.-based education and advocacy non-profit founded in 1998 with a mission of “connecting people to places.”

During the past 25 years TCLF has created an extensive, carefully vetted, and profusely illustrated digital database of thousands of cultural landscapes (What’s Out There®), multiple books about and a digital database with biographies of more than 1,000 landscape architects and allied professionals (Pioneers of American Landscape Design®), along with eighteen video oral histories, and has advocated for threatened landscapes and landscape features (Landslide®), saving dozens from demolition. In addition, TCLF’s conferences, tours, traveling exhibitions, annual thematic reports and digital exhibition, more than 750 videos, and numerous other initiatives have raised the visibility of our shared landscape legacy and those who shape it. In 2019, TCLF announced the creation of a global award – the biennial Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize®, which like the Pritzker Prize in architecture, includes a $100,000 purse, along with public engagement activities about the winner’s career and the discipline’s relevance and importance.

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Abigail Reimel, ASLA

“I am inspired by the hopeful nature of landscape architecture. Working amongst some of our greatest global challenges, we persist as a small profession with an outsized capacity for good.”

 

Abigail is a Florida-based landscape architect licensed in both Florida and Washington State working at the multi-disciplinary firm WGI. Originally from Michigan, Abigail attended Michigan State University where she earned a degree in Landscape Architecture. During her time at Michigan State, Abigail forged a path to serve as a member of the inaugural National Student Advisory Committee. In her second year with the committee, she was elected as the National Student Representative to the ASLA Board of Trustees. In this role, Abigail coordinated with state chapters for the development of better engagement practices with student chapters through direct contact and support. These practices came with a focus on lending a voice to issues faced by students and emerging professionals on a national level, targeted recruitment for increasing diversity across young professional groups, and creating tangible value in membership. She has been involved with numerous ASLA national committees over the past six years leveraging her experiences to better serve her home chapter in Florida. Within the Florida Chapter, Abigail was selected for the 2022 Exceptional Emerging Professional award and elected to her current term serving as the ASLA Florida Member at Large for Leadership & Membership.

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Diana Ferguson, Esq.

“I love the way that landscape architecture connects people to the world around them in so many ways that they often never even realize. Landscape architecture shapes and enhances the way people engage with their community. Holistic design approaches that include consideration of the landscape allow for innovative, effective and beautiful solutions that improve public safety, water quality, and so much more.”

 

Diana Ferguson has been an attorney and lobbyist with Rutledge Ecenia in Tallahassee, FL since 2011 and has represented ASLA FL since that time. Her work is concentrated in the areas of environmental and administrative law, regulated industries and government relations.

Diana previously served as the legislative staff attorney for the Florida Association of Counties. In that role, she lobbied water supply and water quality issues extensively as well as other environmental resource issues.

Diana graduated from the University of Missouri – Kansas City with a political science degree. She earned her Juris Doctorate from the Oklahoma City University School of Law. She is a member in good standing of the Texas Bar Association and of the Florida Bar Association.

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Jared Green

“Landscape architects are a creative force needed in the world today. Their optimism and passion, their ability to design with nature and build trust with communities, will help us solve some of our most difficult challenges.”

 

Jared Green is Senior Communications Manager and Editor of The Dirt blog at the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). He transformed The Dirt into a leading online design publication, with the goal of connecting landscape architects to broader media, policy, planning, and equity conversations.

He led communications for the ASLA Climate Action Plan and is a staff liaison to the ASLA Climate Action Committee. Working with ASLA members, he has developed numerous popular online resources, including case studies, resource guides, and virtual reality videos.

His writing on landscape architecture and design has appeared in Yale 360, ArchDaily, Metropolis, The Huffington Post, Grist, DesignBoom, Common Edge, and other environmental and design publications.

He is also author of Good Energy: Renewable Power and the Design of Everyday Life (Princeton Architectural Press, 2021) and editor of Designed for the Future: 80 Practical Ideas for a Sustainable World (Princeton Architectural Press, 2015).

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Devon Henry

“Landscape architects have a super power and ability to tell stories through one of one designs in public spaces and beyond.”

 

Devon Henry is a successful entrepreneur– managing a portfolio of companies in construction and logistics. With over 20 years leading and building organizations, he is currently the CEO & President of Team Henry Enterprises, LLC, a nationally recognized contracting enterprise based in Richmond, VA.

Devon has become the premier “go-to” professional for the removal and relocation of massive 19th century bronze sculptures. His company has successfully removed over 24 Confederate statues across the Southeastern U.S.

Devon’s team constructed the award winning Memorial to Enslaved Laborers on the grounds of the University of Virginia.

Devon has been the recipient of countless awards and recognition, to include Entrepreneur of the Year and Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities 2022 Humanitarian award.

Devon Henry has been featured in Fortune Magazine, Black Enterprise, Yahoo Business and most recently, on the cover of The New York Times and Washington Post. He has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, NBC Nightly News and several other national media outlets and podcasts as an expert on public space.

Devon received his BS in Biology from Norfolk State University, where he was named a Distinguished Alumni in 2013. Committed to giving back, Devon created an endowment at Norfolk State University that provides scholarships to in-bound NSU students majoring in STEM-related fields.

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Gilbert Holmes

“Prior to serving on LAAB, I had no idea that there was such a thing as a landscape architect. I loved learning about this profession and how vital it is to creating beauty and conservation of our vital resources.”

 

Gilbert A. Holmes is the Dean Emeritus at the University of La Verne College of Law and the University of Baltimore School of Law, the owner of ImPact Coaching, a professional and executive coaching company, the vice president of the Gamma Zeta Foundation and the Director of Curriculum and Development of the Foundation’s L.A.M.P. Mentor Program. He served as the Program Coordinator for the L.A.M.P. program from 2017-2022, during which enrollment in the Program increased 125%, and average scholarships and annual donations increased five-fold.

In addition to his service at the University of La Verne and the University of Baltimore, Dean Holmes served on the faculty and leadership of four other law schools – Seton Hall Law School, Southern Methodist Law School, Texas Wesleyan Law School, and Florida A&M College of Law.

Dean Holmes is a self-proclaimed accreditation junkie. He served on the Accreditation Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar and on the Membership Review Committee of the Association of American Law Schools. He also served as the Chair of numerous ABA Site Visit Teams as part of the sabbatical review process. He brought that experience to the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board.

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Senator Patrick Leahy

“Landscape architects make the best of our world. During my years in the Senate, I looked out my window at the Washington Mall and could see the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and ending at the Potomac. The landscape architects designed an image recognized throughout the world.”

 

A son of Vermont, born and raised in Montpelier, Patrick Leahy is an eight-time U.S. Senator. Never having lost a campaign, his name has appeared on the ballot in Vermont 24 times in runs for the U.S. Senate and for State’s Attorney. A 1961 graduate of St. Michael’s College in Winooski, and of the Georgetown University Law Center (1964), he has been married to Marcelle Pomerleau Leahy, a native of Newport, Vermont, and a Registered Surgical Nurse, for nearly 60 years. Together, they raised three children in both Vermont and Washington, and have throughout maintained the Leahy family home, a tree farm in Middlesex, Vermont. He is the longest serving U.S. Senator in Vermont history, the fourth longest serving U.S. Senator in American history, and has cast nearly 16,950 votes in the Senate. An avid and accomplished photographer, Leahy also has appeared in major motion pictures featuring his favorite superhero, Batman.

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Chelina Odbert

“Landscape architecture works at the intersection of natural, built, and social systems, and thus has an uncommon power–and responsibility–to at once make cities and communities more environmentally just, culturally inclusive, and physically resilient.”

 

Chelina believes in the power of community-engaged design to advance racial, environmental, and economic equity in neighborhoods and cities. As Founding Principal and CEO of Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI), she aims to bring good design to places where it is not often found and connect localized design interventions to large-scale policy change.

Chelina and the firm have been recognized widely for their work to build a more just public realm, including by the The Architectural League of New York, the Knight Foundation, and the Aspen Institute. In 2022, KDI received the National Design Award for Landscape Architecture from Cooper Hewitt. Chelina has held teaching appointments at Harvard Graduate School of Design and UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. She earned a BA with high honors from Claremont McKenna College and a Master of Urban Planning from Harvard University.

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Kristopher Pritchard

“From the moment I Googled "landscape architecture" when applying for this job, I knew this profession sounded interesting and right up my alley. With a math background and an interest in art and creativity, I felt right at home. But it was the CELA 2019 conference where I came home having "drank the Kool-Aid" knowing these were my people. It's really the people for me, but also the work they do using nature and keeping all beings and the planet in mind while designing for a better future. Thank you landscape architects!”

 

Kristopher Pritchard is the Accreditation and Education Director at ASLA where he manages the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB), the accrediting organization for professional landscape architecture degree programs, and LABash, the landscape architecture student conference. Pritchard has been at ASLA for nine years where he works with program administrators, faculty, and students from the more than 100 accredited academic programs to evaluate, advance, and advocate for the quality of professional landscape architecture education. Pritchard helped create a stronger partnership between ASLA and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA), and he represents LAAB at the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors (ASPA). Prior to joining ASLA, he worked at the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) and was a high school mathematics teacher. Outside of work, Pritchard plays on the Washington DSeahorses Water Polo team, helps his husband Bernard Farley organize and run Black Techno Matters, and bikes around Washington, DC.

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Alcibiades Tsolakis

“I came up to this quatrain in a garden by my house…

The kiss of the sun for pardon,: The song of the birds for mirth,--; One is nearer God's heart in a garden: Than anywhere else on earth.” ‑ Dorothy Frances Gurney, from God’s Garden, Country Life, 1913

 

Alkis Tsolakis is a professor of architecture and dean of the LSU College of Art & Design. He earned a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Architecture from the University of Oregon. Tsolakis was a founding faculty member of the Hammons School of Architecture at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, where he held several administrative posts and was acting director of the art department. He has practiced architecture and sculpture in Greece, France, and the United States. He was a founder and director of the Drury University Center in Greece and the head of the Department of Architecture at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.

He is currently serving as the interim director of the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture.

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