ASLA elevates 23 members to the Council of Fellows

Washington, D.C., May 16, 2017—The American Society of Landscape Architects has elevated 23 members to the ASLA Council of Fellows for 2017. Fellowship is among the highest honors the ASLA bestows on members and recognizes the contributions of these individuals to their profession and society at large based on their works, leadership and management, knowledge and service. The 2017 class of new fellows will be recognized at the 2017 ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo, October 20–23, in Los Angeles.

The designation of Fellow is conferred on individuals in recognition of exceptional accomplishments over a sustained period of time. Individuals considered for this distinction must be members of ASLA in good standing for at least 10 years and must be recommended to the Council of Fellows by the Executive Committee of their local chapter, the Executive Committee of ASLA or the Executive Committee of the Council of Fellows.

Michael Blier, ASLA
Landworks Studio Inc.
Boston
Michael Blier, of Landworks Studio, received his nomination, for Works, from the Boston Society. With more than three decades in both practice and academia, Blier evinces consistent deep devotion to design excellence and the advancement of landscape architecture as a robust design profession. His firm embodies a collaborative culture—the root of his success as a designer—with research as a staple of its ethos. He is published globally, and with his panoply of awards, it is common to find his work studied in the curriculum of the world’s top design schools. His early creations presented refreshingly atypical relationships among nature, technology, material and program. And his aesthetic evolution continues with highly nuanced visual vigor that challenges normative roles and typical design assumptions. His legacy will be his remarkable track record of cultivating young, talented designers.

Dana Nunez Brown, ASLA
Dana Brown & Associates Inc.
New Orleans
Dana Brown, of Dana Brown & Associates, received her nomination, in Service, from the Louisiana Chapter. Brown’s pro bono design work—for nonprofit organizations, churches and neighborhood groups—ranges in scale from small gardens to community center expansions. Just a sampling of her many contributions to those most in need in and around New Orleans are the Lafitte Greenway master plan; a sensory garden for autistic children; water management and master plans for parks in Hollygrove and Hoffman Triangle, both historic African American communities; and EPA water-quality monitoring and education at three local schools. As a volunteer on public panels and boards, she teaches community leaders about the importance of stormwater management and demonstrates the vital role landscape architects play in regional planning and development. She is an inspiring and consummate professional who places education and service above all else.

Nancy J. Brown, ASLA
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Washington, D.C.
Nancy Brown, of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, received her nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the Potomac Chapter. In the thousands of consultations undertaken annually, pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act, Brown is a compelling proponent of the importance of landscape architecture. She has stood strong with Native Americans to provide environmental justice when federal projects threatened their sites of religious and cultural significance. She guides communities struggling with the landscape architecture consultation process. And she works with agency leadership at every level as an equal partner and champion for landscape preservation. A skilled facilitator, trainer and speaker, she seizes every opportunity to educate about and advocate for public- and private-sector landscape preservation. Among her many notable contributions are the documentation of the Flight 93 crash site and preservation of the African Burial Ground National Monument in New York City.

Bruce Chamberlain, ASLA
Loam LLC
Minneapolis
Bruce Chamberlain, of Loam LLC, received his nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the Minnesota Chapter.  With the ability to communicate complex issues with skillful clarity, Chamberlain inspires new ways of thinking about public space and urban form. His sincerity and enthusiasm for community building and respect for diverse opinions allow him to achieve consensus on the myriad difficult and contentious issues of public space. Within and beyond the profession of landscape architecture, he transformed the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. In private practice, he likewise leveraged his professional experience and public stature to drive complex urban initiatives from vision to implementation. He blends the long-term vision of a landscape architect with the emotional empathy of a mentor, and, with his formidable management capabilities, consistently engages decision makers and the public in the enhancement of whole-community quality of life.

Teresa Chenney, ASLA
Mayer/Reed Inc.
Portland, Ore.
Teresa Chenney, of Mayer/Reed, received her nomination, in Works, from the Oregon Chapter. Chenney’s innovative, sustainable public spaces and urban designs display a seamless synthesis of art and science that interweave the social, aesthetic and practical. She engages clients and communities in a shared aspiration toward neighborhood improvement, volunteers in the community and mentors her staff to aspire also to advance social and environmental betterment. As senior designer she has contributed significantly to Mayer/Reed’s rise to international prominence. On the broader horizon, her attention to parks, plazas, higher education, sustainability, healthcare and corporate campuses have contributed substantially to the Pacific Northwest’s international reputation for outstanding public spaces and urban design. A lifelong student of landscapes, arts and culture in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia, her artful compositions of stone and plant materials are sophisticated and inspired.

Kelly Comras, ASLA
Kelly Comras Landscape Architecture
Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Kelly Comras, of Kelly Comras Landscape Architecture, received her nomination, in Service, from the Southern California Chapter. As a landscape architect with a juris doctorate, Comras is a dynamic force for the good of the profession, both nationally and in California.  Her engagement with neighborhood organizations, public boards and elected officials includes significant pro bono work that serves as an example for others. Her demonstration through action defines for those around her the importance of landscape-architect involvement in planning and land-use decision making in Los Angeles. Through her roles as president of the California Garden and Landscape History Society, editor of that society’s quarterly journal and a founding member of the Cultural Landscape Foundation Stewardship Council she continues to be extremely effective in broadening the public’s understanding of the core principles of landscape architecture.

Ned Crankshaw, ASLA
University of Kentucky
Lexington, Ky.
Ned Crankshaw, of the University of Kentucky, received his nomination, in Knowledge, from the Kentucky Chapter. A foremost expert on historic landscape management and preservation, and author of the landmark text Creating Vibrant Public Space: Streetscape Design in Commercial Historic Districts, Crankshaw has advanced the profession’s collective knowledge of landscape culture, especially in rural settings, and elevated the public’s appreciation as well. Through his work with public agencies and organizations locally, regionally and nationally, his vision spans transportation, landscape architecture and preservation. He has that rare ability to inform and inspire our love of the culture of landscape design, and thus has generated vital funding for land acquisition, public access and preservation of venerable venues from pioneer sites to historic cemeteries. Moreover, as a lifelong educator, he imbues our next generation of practitioners with applied skills, knowledge and insight.

Elen Deming, ASLA
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, Ill.
Elen Deming, of the University of Illinois, received her nomination, in Knowledge, from the Illinois Chapter. As a powerful advocate for design research and creative collaboration, Deming demonstrates that professional practice and higher education, although distinct, are fully interdependent. As coauthor of the transformative Landscape Architecture Research: Inquiry, Strategy, Design, she has blessed the profession with her ability to see both detail and panorama, and thus, she has earned international acclaim. Her wide-ranging career encompasses and balances academic theory and practical reality. As a result, her scholarship and writings are grounded in and informed by the special challenges facing design practitioners. Her reputation as a disciplined and inspiring teacher is legendary among the legions of students she has influenced throughout her teaching career. She is also a pioneer in e-learning-enhanced teaching methods that combine writing and visuals through engaging media.

Herbert Dreiseitl, ASLA
Rambøll’s Liveable Cities Lab and Atelier Dreiseitl
Uberlingen, Germany
Herbert Dreiseitl, of Rambøll’s Liveable Cities Lab and Atelier Dreisetl, received his nomination, in Works, from the Council of Fellows Executive Committee. Dreiseitl’s career is grounded in formal art, craft and water. His first design foray was a garden for the blind centered on a fountain, which allowed people to touch, listen and feel the fragile beauty of plants, the materiality of stone and the rhythmic dynamics of water. Since, he has concentrated on reconnection to authentic nature and skillfully crafted, beautiful places that soften all manner of malady and despair. His work has expanded naturally into landscape architecture for public squares, plazas, parks and, citywide strategies that address weather extremes and climate change. With cross-disciplinary comprehension of water systems in nature and the built environment he has developed a broad palette of living technologies for stormwater cleansing and infiltration, which he applies worldwide.

Peter Flinker, ASLA
Dodson & Flinker Inc.
Florence, Mass.
Peter Flinker, of Dodson & Flinker, received his nomination, in Knowledge, from the Boston Society. An author, lecturer, and practitioner, Flinker has established landscape architecture as the profession at the forefront of smart growth and sustainable design. His richly illustrated publications have led a generation of community leaders to appreciate that model regulations and design guidelines are the necessary progenitors to low-impact development and long-term urban revitalization. The vision he has provided over many years has been crucial to the enlivenment of specific downtowns, villages, commercial corridors and mixed-use growth centers throughout the Northeast. He has carved out a central role for landscape architects in policy planning and form-based codes. Throughout his remarkable career, he has given cultural, historic, visual and recreational resources equal weight with natural resources and has inspired others to prioritize greenway planning and open-space preservation.

Gina Ford, ASLA
Sasaki Associates
Watertown, Mass.
Gina Ford, of Sasaki Associates, received her nomination, in Works, from the Boston Society. Ford’s dedication to landscape architecture as a tool for social, economic and environmental urban resilience—at the planning and built-work stages—has distinguished her throughout her career, as do her many high-profile riverfront landscape designs the Chicago Riverwalk to the Hanafan Rivers Edge Park and the flood recovery planning in Cedar Rapids. She is a visible leader and advocate for the profession and has served on the Cultural Landscape Foundation Board of Directors since 2012. She led design studios in undergraduate and graduate programs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Rhode Island School of Design, the Harvard Graduate School of Design and Northeastern University. She is a member of the editorial board for Architecture Boston magazine and the advisory board for the Northeastern University School of Architecture.

Kona A. Gray, ASLA
EDSA Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Kona Gray, of EDSA, received his nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the Florida Chapter. Gray’s leadership has positioned current issues, such as diversity and the next 50 years of landscape architecture, at the foreground of the profession.  As president of the Landscape Architecture Foundation he spearheaded the 50+ Forward campaign and personally secured more than $800,000 in pledges and gifts. Overall, the campaign far surpassed its goal and culminated in $4.1 million toward research and scholarship to secure the long-term future of the profession. His work spans the globe, with projects in 30 countries, and focuses locally, from award-winning campus planning to pro bono park design and the only research institute dedicated to coral reef studies. His is a demonstration that well-designed outdoor spaces are not a luxury item; that there is a social and emotional return on investment that cannot be measured on a fiscal balance sheet.

Hui-Li Lee, ASLA
SWA Group
Sausalito, Calif.
Hui-Li Lee, of SWA Group, received her nomination, in Works, from the Northern California Chapter. Drawing from her firsthand understanding of both Eastern and Western thought processes, Lee has the rare ability to bridge that often-imposing cultural chasm. She commands a superior sense of scale, exceptional site planning skills, keen intuition, a deep understanding of contemporary landscape ecology and urban issues, and the ability to analyze the unique attributes of specific project sites. Early in her career she concentrated on landscapes for urban plazas, mixed-use spaces and office buildings. She now focuses on the large-scale urban renewal opportunities now beckoning in China. With this change of scale and purpose she addresses the urgent need for new and repaired infrastructure. She is an ideal advocate who strives to resurrect the invisible, nearly forgotten natural systems now so greatly at risk.

James A. Lord, ASLA
Surfacedesign Inc.
San Francisco
James Lord, of Surfacedesign Inc., received his nomination, in Works, from the Northern California Chapter. A landscape architect and urban designer with a background in architecture, Lord consistently aspires to highlight the materiality and siting of his projects. The stone paving at the IBM Plaza in Honolulu, for example, epitomizes his obsession with materiality. The plaza’s paving pattern reveals three dynamic qualities of the same volcanic stone to express Hawaii’s geology: honed to catch the light, flamed for a matte appearance that shimmers when viewed from above and split-faced to expose a rugged depth. Whether with Iwi communities in Auckland, New Zealand, or indigenous descendants in Honolulu, he is passionate about community involvement and builds on these conversations to capture a story—a moment—and make it a physical/spatial manifestation. In his imagination he brings cultural narratives to life.

Kamel Mahadin, ASLA
MK Associates
Amman, Jordan
Kamel Mahadin, of MK Associates, received his nomination, in Service, from the Council of Fellows Executive Committee. Mahadin is a skilled administrator who, as a Jordanian senator, holds perhaps one of the highest appointed position of any landscape architect in the world. As such, he shapes that kingdom’s national policy regarding landscape preservation, urban design and environmental justice.  He motivates with words, enraptures with landscape design, and inspires with artistry. He uses his extraordinary gift for drawing to communicate design concepts that capture the spirit of his nation. After earning his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in the United States, he returned to his homeland to found the first landscape architecture firm in Jordan. Among his many leadership positions, he chairs the University of Jordan architecture department, coordinates the Aga Khan Unit for Islamic Studies and is a consultant to the Hashemite Royal Court.

Christopher H. Manning, ASLA
Human Nature Inc.
Cincinnati
Christopher Manning, of Human Nature Inc., received his nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the Ohio Chapter. As a public servant, Manning leads by listening. His inspired ideas for park design and sustainable community improvement have dramatically influenced Greater Cincinnati’s urban renaissance and the connectivity of the entire region. Among his many volunteer efforts, he was successful in bringing the acclaimed Cincinnati Flower Show back to the urban core on the city’s riverfront. He has motivated hundreds of aspiring young designers, both as a teacher and through his firm’s outreach.  His sanitation district plan for northern Kentucky is now a stormwater laboratory and public park that incorporates a host of firsts in the region, including a green roof, rain harvesting, porous pavements, bioswales, wetlands, retention basins and step pools. His successful master plans include two LEED Gold campuses and one Platinum.

Evan Mather, ASLA
AHBE Landscape Architects
Los Angeles
Evan Mather, of AHBE Landscape Architects, received his nomination, in Knowledge, from the Southern California Chapter. Through film and video, Mather communicates the complexities of landscape architecture in ways that rivet the imagination. He has created dozens of short films and two feature films that profile projects and designers; espouse design theories; communicate issues of urban design, regional expression, and sustainability; and expose a universe of viewers to virtual landscapes they would not otherwise enjoy. His profusion of distribution includes the Internet, television, theaters, museums and film festivals. His works educate the general public and emerging professionals worldwide. In practice, his gift of cinematographic storytelling provides his clients with a compelling narrative and immersive sense of place. His groundbreaking synthesis of landscape architecture and movement continues to open up compelling new territory for everyone fortunate enough to view his work.

Gavin McMillan, International ASLA
Hargreaves Associates
San Francisco
Gavin McMillan, of Hargreaves Associates, received his nomination, in Works, from the Council of Fellows Executive Committee. McMillan’s work encompasses transformative post-industrial landscapes, urban ecology and hydrology, and the application of innovative sustainable design and construction principles. His projects of professional distinction include the 21st Century Waterfront and Renaissance Park in Chattanooga, the Louisville Waterfront Park in Kentucky, and the Riverfront Revitalization Plan and Cumberland Park in Nashville. His contribution to the innovative planning and sustainable construction of large-scale-event landscapes includes the Sydney 2000 Olympics in Australia, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London and The Commons in Minneapolis. He leads by example through his significant body of work, which showcases how challenging and complicated sites can be reconfigured creatively as valued cultural and ecological resources. He is one of those rare individuals who sees the trees and the forest simultaneously.

Emily M. O’Mahoney, ASLA
Gentile Glas Holloway O’Mahoney & Associates
Jupiter, Fla.
Emily O’Mahoney, of Gentile Glas Holloway O’Mahoney & Associates, received her nomination, in Service, from the Florida Chapter. O’Mahoneyreceived the 2016 ASLA Outstanding Service Award for her volunteer work within ASLA and its professional practice networks. She has chaired the Women in Landscape Architecture Professional Practice Network (PPN) and, since 2012, has been actively engaged on its leadership team. She has organized educational webinars, recruited posts for The Field webpage, and designed PPN surveys. On the Business Owners Support Subcommittee of the ASLA Professional Practice Committee she provided technical review and finalization of the ASLA Standard Contracts. She has been an active chapter leader for more than two decades.  She develops top-quality continuing education programs, removes barriers to practice, enlightens state legislators, encourages and supports emerging professionals, and increases awareness of the profession through youth career days and the Future Landscape Architects of America program.

Kevin Robert Perry, ASLA
Urban Rain|Design
Portland, Ore.
Kevin Perry, of Urban Rain|Design, received his nomination, in Works, from the California Sierra Chapter. Perry’s innovation and excellence in design span the public, private and academic sectors.  He is a passionate leader and advocate in the realm of green infrastructure and has the enviable ability to communicate innovative concepts concisely and effectively. His body of work demonstrates that landscape architects belong at the forefront of water management planning and design. As testament, his early projects in Portland, Oregon, some nearly 15 years in the ground, are standing the test of time magnificently. Images of his work illustrate presentations and articles on urban green infrastructure universally. And his San Mateo County Sustainable Green Streets and Parking Lots Design Guidebook from 2009 is the most comprehensive green infrastructure document of its time. He has made people see their streets differently.

Robert Richardson, ASLA
RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture
Austin, Texas
Robert “Bob” Richardson, of RVi Planning and Landscape Architecture, received his nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the Texas Chapter. Throughout his career, Richardson has advocated that the landscape architect is the prime planning and design consultant and the professional best suited to advance environmental values through community involvement. In 34 years he has grown his firm into five offices across three states. His leadership skills and business acumen are evident in his ability to match developers with investors, stay ahead of demographic and economic trends and manage multi-disciplinary teams. His commitment to environmental sensitivity and abundant open space has earned him many awards as well as high praise from the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. His impact on our communities and his profession stems from his passionate belief that the mission of landscape architecture is to protect the environment and enhance people’s lives.

Robert Uhlig, ASLA
Halvorson Design Partnership Inc.
Boston
Robert Uhlig, of Halvorson Design Partnership, received his nomination, in Works, from the Boston Society. Uhlig is a dedicated civic practitioner, design leader and thoughtful collaborator with clients, communities and interdisciplinary teams. His career-long tenet that powerful design transforms and inspires communities is exemplified in the Greensboro Center City Park and his design and planning of Boston’s Seaport, including the award-winning South Boston Maritime Park. His commitment to the rigorous integration of artful design is evident in the meticulous detailing at the Lakewood Cemetery Garden Mausoleum. His passion for stewardship based on natural systems is an integral part of each of his design and planning projects. His innovative work for Boston Architectural College (BAC) Green Alley stormwater harvesting is considered a model for urban academic campuses locally and nationally and has positioned the BAC as a leader in sophisticated sustainability.

Dennis C. Wilkinson, ASLA
Morrow Reardon Wilkinson Miller Ltd.
Albuquerque, N.M.
Dennis Wilkinson, of Morrow Reardon Wilkinson Miller Ltd., received his nomination, in Service, from the New Mexico Chapter. Through his diligence, Wilkinson has advanced the standing of the profession of landscape architecture in the key areas of licensure and continuing education. His greatest contributions as a leader came during his Council of Landscape Architecture Registration Boards (CLARB) presidency and the establishment of the Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System. That standardized approval process for educational providers and programs helps greatly to convince registration boards that landscape architects are effectively protecting public health, safety and welfare. This contribution has streamlined inter-jurisdictional registration and expanded the role that landscape architects play on multidisciplinary project teams. A clearer definition of the roles and responsibilities of ASLA, CLARB, Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA), Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA), Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB), and Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) allows each organization to work in cross-purpose harmony. These efforts have undoubtedly solidified the legal foundation of landscape architecture nationwide.

 

About the American Society of Landscape Architects
Founded in 1899, ASLA is the national professional association for landscape architects, representing more than 15,000 members in 49 professional chapters and 72 student chapters. Members of the Society use “ASLA” after their names to denote membership and their commitment to the highest ethical standards of the profession. Landscape architects lead the stewardship, planning, and design of our built and natural environments; the Society’s mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education and fellowship.