Legacy for Living Blog

ASLA Presidents History

October 30, 2024

The first 81 presidents of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Graphic prepared on the occasion of ASLA's 125th anniversary >

The Early Years

The original 1899 constitution of the American Society of landscape architects called for the annual election of officers. The small size of the membership lent itself to two phenomena no longer seen: presidential reelection and non-consecutive terms in office.

1. 1899-1901 — John C. Olmsted, FASLA*
2. 1901-1902 — Samuel Parsons, Jr., FASLA*
3. 1902-1903 — Nathan F. Barrett, FASLA*
4. 1903-1905 — John C. Olmsted, FASLA*
5. 1905-1907 — Samuel Parsons, Jr., FASLA*
6. 1907-1909 — Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., FASLA*
7. 1909-1911 — Charles N. Lowrie, FASLA*
8. 1911-1912 — Harold A. Caparn, FASLA
9. 1912-1913 — Ossian C. Simonds, FASLA*
10. 1913-1914 — Warren H. Manning, FASLA*
11. 1914-1918 — James Sturgis Pray, FASLA
12. 1918-1922 — Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., FASLA*

* - Charter Member

John C. Olmsted, FASLA: The first and fourth president of ASLA.

The Era of Long Terms

The bylaws of 1922 created a two-year term of office for the presidency. Reelection of presidents was still very common, but not non-consecutive reelection. This may be due to the fact that immediate past presidents were frequently given an at-large seat on the Board of Trustees.

13. 1922-1927 — James L. Greenleaf, FASLA
14. 1927-1931 — Arthur A. Shurcliff, FASLA
15. 1931-1935 — Henry Vincent Hubbard, FASLA
16. 1935-1941 — Albert D. Taylor, FASLA
17. 1941-1945 — S. Herbert Hare, FASLA
18. 1945-1949 — Markley Stevenson, FASLA
19. 1949-1951 — Gilmore D. Clarke, FASLA
20. 1951-1953 — Lawrence G. Linnard, FASLA
21. 1953-1957 — Leon Zach, FASLA
22. 1957-1961 — Norman T. Newton, FASLA
23. 1961-1963 — John I. Rogers, FASLA

The 50th ASLA Annual Meeting at the Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC. April 4, 1949. Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. is featured near bottom-center.

Modernizing

ASLA went through a great deal of change in the 1960s and 70s – including moving from Boston to Washington, DC and experimenting with outsourced organizational management. In 1962 the bylaws changed to include the election of multiple vice presidents, each in charge of separate functions and committees. While not prohibited, no president in this period served more than one term in office.

24. 1963-1965 — John Ormsbee Simonds, FASLA
25. 1965-1967 — Hubert B. Owens, FASLA
26. 1967-1969 — Theodore Osmundson, FASLA
27. 1969-1971 — Campbell E. Miller, FASLA
28. 1971-1973 — Raymond L. Freeman, FASLA

The Current System

The ASLA bylaws have never expressly forbidden the reelection of presidents, but this is functionally impossible now because of the system adopted in 1972. Instead of holding elections for a president whose term of office began months later, elections are instead held for the new position of "President Elect". These are three year leadership commitments that automatically cycle through the positions of President Elect, President, and Immediate Past President; all of which have seats on the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees.

29. 1973-1974 — William G. Swain, FASLA
30. 1974-1975 — Owen H. Peters, FASLA
31. 1975-1976 — Edward H. Stone, II, FASLA
32. 1976-1977 — Benjamin W. Gary, Jr., FASLA
33. 1977-1978 — Lane L. Marshall, FASLA
34. 1978-1979 — Jot D. Carpenter, FASLA
35. 1979-1980 — Robert L. Woerner, FASLA
36. 1980-1981 — William A. Behnke, FASLA
37. 1981-1982 — Calvin T. Bishop, FASLA
38. 1982-1983 — Theodore J. Wirth, FASLA
39. 1983-1984 — Darwina L. Neal, FASLA
40. 1984-1985 — Robert H. Mortensen, FASLA
41. 1985-1986 — John Wacker, FASLA
42. 1986-1987 — Roger B. Martin, FASLA
43. 1987-1988 — Cheryl L. Barton, FASLA
44. 1988-1989 — Brian S. Kubota, FASLA
45. 1989-1990 — Gerald D. Patten, FASLA
46. 1990-1991 — Claire R. Bennett, FASLA
47. 1991-1992 — Cameron R. J. Man, FASLA
48. 1992-1993 — Debra L. Mitchell, FASLA
49. 1993-1994 — Thomas P. Papandrew, FASLA
50. 1994-1995 — Dennis Y. Otsuji, FASLA
51. 1995-1996 — Vincent Bellafiore, FASLA
52. 1996-1997 — Donald W. Leslie, FASLA
53. 1997-1998 — Thomas R. Dunbar, FASLA
54. 1998-1999 — Barry W. Starke, FASLA

The graphic ASLA Presidents Past, Present, and Future as displayed at the ASLA Pavilion on the EXPO floor. 2024 ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture, Washington, DC, October 6-9, 2024.

55. 1999-2000 — Janice Cervelli Schach, FASLA
56. 2000-2001 — Leonard J. Hopper, FASLA
57. 2001-2002 — Rodney L. Swink, FASLA
58. 2002-2003 — Paul F. Morris, FASLA
59. 2003-2004 — Susan L. B. Jacobson, FASLA
60. 2004-2005 — Patrick A. Miller, FASLA
61. 2005-2006 — Dennis B. Carmichael, FASLA
62. 2006-2007 — Patrick W. Caughey, FASLA
63. 2007-2008 — Perry Howard, FASLA
64. 2008-2009 — Angela D. Dye, FASLA
65. 2009-2010 — Gary D. Scott, FASLA
66. 2010-2011 — Jonathan Mueller, FASLA
67. 2011-2012 — Susan M. Hatchell, FASLA
68. 2012-2013 — Thomas R. Tavella, FASLA
69. 2013-2014 — Mark A. Focht, FASLA
70. 2014-2015 — K. Richard Zweifel, FASLA
71. 2015-2016 — Chad D. Danos, FASLA
72. 2016-2017 — Vaughn B. Rinner, FASLA
73. 2017-2018 — Gregory A. Miller, FASLA
74. 2018-2019 — Shawn T. Kelly, FASLA
75. 2019-2020 — Wendy Miller, FASLA
76. 2020-2021 — Tom Mroz, FASLA
77. 2021-2022 — Eugenia Martin, FASLA
78. 2022-2023 — Emily O'Mahoney, FASLA
79. 2023-2024 — SuLin Kotowicz, FASLA
80. 2024-2025 — Kona Gray, FASLA
81. 2025-2026 — Bradley McCauley, FASLA