The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has elevated 31 members as Fellows for their exceptional contributions to the landscape architecture profession and society at large. Election to the ASLA Council of Fellows is based on their works, leadership and management, knowledge and service.
ASLA will formally recognize its 2018 Fellows at the ASLA 2018 Annual Meeting and EXPO, Oct. 19–22, in Philadelphia. Additional information about the 2018 Class of Fellows, as well as previous ASLA Fellows, is available on the ASLA Council of Fellows webpage.
2018 ASLA Fellows
Timothy Baird, ASLA, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
Timothy Baird, of Cornell University, received his nomination, in Knowledge, from the Council of Fellows Executive Committee. Drawing on the lessons gleaned from a multi-faceted career, including practice at internationally recognized firms and teaching at Cornell, Penn State and Texas Tech, Baird has imparted both theoretical and practical wisdom to the next generation of landscape architects, serving both as a mentor and exemplar. Because of his work as a thought leader, innovator, researcher and accomplished practitioner, he has provided his students with both a model to follow and the knowledge and wisdom to become highly regarded professionals in their own right. His studios are among his many academic innovations and now include interdisciplinary collaboration between architecture and landscape architecture students, an acknowledgment of the realities of the professional world they will come to inherit. Baird’s service for eight years as a devoted member of the Flight 93 National Memorial Task Force, and as manager of the international memorial design competition, reveals a selfless dedication to the highest ideals of the profession and sets an example for his students and the entire landscape architecture community.
Caron N. Beard, ASLA, Beard Landscape Development (Retired), Friendsville, Tenn.
Caron Beard received his nomination, in Service, from the Tennessee Chapter. As a lifelong practitioner, mentor and ASLA leader, Beard has made contributions to ASLA chapters across the nation as well as to the national society. From Idaho and the Pacific Northwest to Arizona and Tennessee, he has brought a message to decision-makers about the value and role of landscape architects in the shaping of the public realm and in protecting the public’s health, safety and welfare. Beard has been an active participant in ASLA’s work as a volunteer and elected leader. He led the formation of the Arizona Chapter in 1973, and soon after that turned back a threat to the state’s landscape architecture licensing law. At the Tennessee ASLA Chapter, he represented the profession at every level, from high school career days to the adoption of a countywide master plan and a state-road landscape design initiative, the latter being one of many efforts he made to ensure the involvement of landscape architects in the design of transportation corridors and other public spaces. Beard was also pivotal in the accreditation of the University of Tennessee landscape architecture program. Through his example, he has demonstrated that through active advocacy in the service of ideals and principles, one person can make a difference for the profession and the communities it serves.
Jereck Boss, ASLA, OJB Landscape Architecture, Houston
Jereck Boss, of OJB Landscape Architecture, received his nomination, in Works, from the Texas Chapter. Boss has brought his skills to bear on a broad range of institutional, corporate campus, mixed-use and large-scale urban design projects, including walkable and innovative streetscapes. He has a respect for natural topography and considers the backdrop of each landscape as a vital part of the whole composition. To each project, he brings a philosophy that good design should not be neutralized by limitations. Instead, apparent constraints should catalyze and inspire better design because they push designers to come up with creative solutions that would otherwise not be considered. Both Boss’s clients and fellow professionals from all disciplines have admiration, first and foremost, for his integrity, but also for the depth of his technical ability, commitment to collaboration, sensitivity to environmental needs and respect for the communities served by his award-winning designs.
Andrew C.N. Bowden, ASLA, Land Concern, Santa Ana, Calif.
Bowden, of Land Concern, received his nomination, in Service, from the Southern California Chapter. Bowden has served as an advocate for ASLA and the profession, playing a role in California and nationwide in defense of licensure; advocacy for the central role of landscape architects in promoting the health, safety and welfare of the public; and supporting innovative paths to joining the profession. His grasp of issues and expression of ideas have driven solutions even during challenging legislative and regulatory battles. He leads by example and is a mentor to students and emerging professionals alike. While Bowden was a member of the California Landscape Architectural Scholarship Fund, the endowment rose from $150,000 in the 1990s to exceed $1 million, allowing the scholarships to be given in perpetuity. His leadership included service as co-chair of the 2017 ASLA Annual Meeting in Los Angeles and a lifetime of community service devoted to environmental and social concerns.
Mary Anne Cassin, ASLA, Portland Parks and Recreation (Retired), Portland, Ore.
Mary Anne Cassin received her nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the Oregon Chapter. During 35 years within the Portland, Oregon, park system, Cassin’s leadership and management abilities, professional proficiency, strategic thinking and political acumen have enabled her to be a force behind the region’s national reputation for urban design excellence. She has long been devoted to promoting the role of open space in cities and was instrumental in securing the 2011 National Recreation and Parks Association Gold Medal for Portland. Using her knowledge, political acumen and persuasive skills, she has helped push for creative financing strategies for park expansion and improvements. Among her accomplishments is a policy requiring developers to pay a fee for additional parks and recreation facilities, which she steered through city council then helped institutionalize. Respected and admired by citizens and professionals alike, Cassin has helped inspire the entire community to share her passion for parks and natural spaces within our urban world.
James Corner, ASLA, James Corner Field Operations, New York
James Corner, of James Corner Field Operations, received his nomination, in Works, from the New York Chapter. Influential as a designer, educator, thought leader, and public figure, Corner has advanced the field of landscape architecture and urbanism in America and around the world. His leadership on urban projects, lectures and writings and distinguished academic career has placed him at the forefront of contemporary landscape practice. His work is renowned for innovative design across a variety of project types and scales, with a special commitment to the design of dynamic urban realms that are informed and inspired by the ecologies of place, people and nature. At the University of Pennsylvania School of Design Landscape Department, Corner pioneered the establishment of landscape urbanism theory, which has positioned landscape architecture as critical to city development. This expanded understanding of what landscape architecture encompasses paved the way for landscape architects to lead multidisciplinary projects that would have previously been driven only by architects or engineers.
Christopher Dacus, ASLA, City and County of Honolulu (Retired), Honolulu
Christopher Dacus, received his nomination, in Service, from the Hawaii Chapter. Now retired, Dacus worked for the Hawaii Department of Transportation and Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation for 18 years, contributing to the improvement of the state’s open spaces and the preservation of its natural beauty. Devoted to his community and his profession, he has worked pro bono on 17 boards to champion environmental causes, including the effort to decrease the use of invasive plant species and promote the use of the state’s native plants in landscape designs. To share his enthusiasm for Hawaii’s natural world with the public, Dacus developed a Hawai’i Native Plant Poster that features the 25 most popular native plants for landscape use. He took a leadership role in fighting invasive species and helped develop best-management practices to reduce irrigation water use. Over a 10-year period, he wrote articles for Hawaii’s landscape industry professional magazine and established a seed bank for the long-term propagation of native plants. Throughout his career, he has been an advocate for his profession and served in leadership roles in the Hawaii chapter of ASLA and is now applying his ethic of public service to improving the lives of people living with Parkinson’s disease.
Deborah Allison Deets, ASLA, City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Deborah Deets, of the City of Los Angeles, received her nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the Southern California Chapter. As a leader of the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation’s Watershed Protection Program, Deets has demonstrated the value of her skills as a landscape architect in an engineering-dominated professional culture. A leader in defining new standards and landscape-based strategies for green infrastructure projects, she has been a team leader for significant stormwater projects in the region. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti lauded her leadership and management skills that have benefitted the city for more than 20 years, commending Deets for serving her community with grace and ability. Her implementation of passive biofiltration and irrigation systems within a phased planning approach convinced her fellow flood-control professionals that a resilient strategy for building connectivity among open spaces and streets is both technically feasible and well understood by landscape architects. Her award-winning work and community leadership have raised the profile both of the landscape architecture profession and the sustainable principles to which she has devoted her career.
Sandra K. Fischer, ASLA, Fischer Bouma Partnership, Bainbridge Island, Wash.
Sandra Fischer, of Fischer Bouma Partnership, received her nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the Washington Chapter. With a practice that has spanned the Pacific Northwest, Great Plains and Northern Rockies, Fischer has worked to create livable, walkable and economically sustainable communities. She has led award-winning global consultancies and regional multidisciplinary firms, and through her active participation in civic and professional organizations, has raised the profile of landscape architecture in places where the profession is less established. A hallmark of Fischer’s success, and a source of her influence, has been her ability to develop the talents of those around her. Through mentorship and the example of her integrity, she nurtures employees, students and emerging professionals, with an interest in bringing women into the kind of leadership positions she has pioneered.
David Gorden, ASLA, Mark M. Holeman Inc., Indianapolis
David Gorden, of Mark M. Holeman Inc., received his nomination, in Service, from the Indiana Chapter. Typically engaged in several volunteer commitments at once, Gorden has left a legacy through his leadership and service. In every program, outreach event and elected or appointed position he has undertaken, Gorden has elevated the stature and awareness of landscape architecture regionally and nationally. Within the profession, he engages fellow members in events and issues that increase their knowledge and community standing, and outside groups seek his leadership, expertise and enthusiasm. His commitment to public and professional service improves environments for people, provides additional tools for practicing landscape architects and promotes the profession beyond its chapters and practitioners in areas such as invasive species. He remains active with the Indiana Invasive Plant Advisory Committee as its sole landscape architect, only one of his many volunteer roles, all of which are devoted to raising public awareness of the value of gardens, cultural landscapes and the incorporation of beauty in community life.
Earl H. Graffam, ASLA, OLIN, Philadelphia
Earl “Skip” Graffam, of OLIN, received his nomination, in Works, from the Pennsylvania-Delaware Chapter. Graffam’s global award-winning work balances the unique needs of each site, the people who will use it and the environment as a whole. As OLIN’s director of research, he fostered the integration of input from communities, governments, designers, engineers, scientists and other collaborators to create public spaces that ignite social engagement and enliven living and cultural systems. He is the complete landscape architect, a professional with a depth of knowledge in both architecture and landscape architecture. There isn’t an aspect of practice that Graffam hasn’t mastered from conceptual design through construction, giving him a reservoir of wisdom he shares through collaborative design and research studios and as a university lecturer. His ability to work simultaneously at multiple scales of design has contributed to the implementation of multifunctional landscapes— spaces which also act as catalysts for improving the ecologic, economic and social health of communities and their citizens.
Mary Taylor Haque, ASLA, Clemson University, Clemson, S.C.
Mary Taylor Haque, of Clemson University, received her nomination, in Knowledge, from the South Carolina Chapter. A speaker and author throughout her career, Haque has pursued every endeavor with enthusiasm. Thousands of students have come out of her classes steeped in the methodology and discipline of landscape architecture and endowed with the ability to synthesize, think creatively and systemically and work together with their peers and clients. As scholar, mentor and educator, Haque has promoted the importance of landscape architecture through a body of knowledge and array of projects. Haque and her collaborators have designed more than 250 projects across South Carolina. Her planning and design contributions include residences, businesses, institutions, recreational facilities, urban restorations and municipal projects. For over three decades, Haque has been an advocate for the use of sustainable landscape architecture, active living and low-impact development principles. Her three dozen awards are a testament to her devotion to the profession, the education of budding professionals and her work to bring the wonders of landscape architecture to children of all ages.
Walter Havener, ASLA, Surface 678, Durham, N.C.
Walter Havener, of Surface 678, received his nomination, in Works, from the North Carolina Chapter. Havener is an influential landscape architect, sought out by architects who seek environmental design. Because he believed landscape architects were not sufficiently appreciated and that the region would benefit from better design he devoted himself to engaging architects, engineers, graphic designers and artists to collaborate on projects that reflect landscape as an integral part of their built context. Significant among his work is the transformation of a prison yard into gardens at the North Carolina Museum of Art West Gallery and Sculpture Park. His body of landscape design work comprises a collection of projects. He is a pioneer in the practice of stormwater management across the region and is credited with raising the profile of the profession throughout North Carolina.
David Lennox Hocker, ASLA, Hocker Design Group, Dallas
David Lennox Hocker, of Hocker Design Group, received his nomination, in Works, from the Texas Chapter. Hocker’s work is known for the use of recycled materials, which he employs in unexpected ways. He has a sense of scaled relationships and construction detailing, and drawing on his Texas roots, he has mastered a design vocabulary rooted in regional landscapes and native plants. His awarded projects are contextual, researched and detailed. The results are sustainable environments enriching the lives of the owners, the community and our profession. Hocker is renowned as a listener and a collaborator who places the needs of the client and the project at the forefront of his design approach. His clients enjoy his honesty, hard work, knowledge and creativity, attributes which have garnered his firm over 30 design awards.
Ying-yu Hung, ASLA, SWA, Los Angeles
Ying-yu Hung, of SWA, received her nomination, in Works, from the Southern California Chapter. In her two decades of practice, Hung has employed her design skills to transform derelict parcels into active public spaces. Pushing through design constraints, she realizes her concepts through innovative material applications that meet challenging budgets and site conditions. The places she brings to life empower communities and ignite their imagination of what is possible when people work together to improve their neighborhoods. Hung’s design process includes a search for a community’s desires by listening and gathering information through conversations, research, site observations and public outreach. She is active in academia as an instructor and mentor to the next generation of landscape architects and is also an author on contemporary issues. She challenges students to tackle social and environmental problems, such as gentrification and climate change, leading through the example of her work which spans the globe from California, Texas and Pennsylvania to her Gubei Pedestrian Promenade in Shanghai.
Kathleen John-Alder, ASLA, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J.
Kathleen John-Adler, of Rutgers University, received her nomination, in Knowledge, from the New Jersey Chapter. John-Adler inspires colleagues and students to think about their actions toward the land. An artist and award-winning practitioner with a grasp of the history of the profession and its methods over the past century, she is a born teacher with insight into the nature of design and has the ability to explain it visually and in writing. Her examination of the work of Lawrence Halprin and Ian McHarg has increased our understanding of ecology in environmental discourse and expanded our appreciation of modernist design and its contribution to our profession. John-Alder’s early career included an associate partnership with OLIN before moving into academia where her research dealt with the transformative role of environmentalism in the mid-20th-century landscape and the impact of climate change, including in the Arctic. She has earned her place in a circle of hybrid practitioner-scholars working at the frontiers of landscape architecture to discover its larger potential.
Douglas Jones, ASLA, LeBlanc Jones Landscape Architects, Boston
Douglas Jones, of LeBlanc Jones Landscape Architects, received his nomination, in Works, from the Boston Society. The landscapes envisioned by Jones are resilient and vibrant. His mastery of sculptural gradation, detail and balanced proportion is evident in his designs. Growing up in Idaho, Jones was inspired by its varied landscapes and topology, which have helped infuse his work with the sculptural qualities of natural landforms. Designs flow from his integration of the design and site with their broader context. His awarded work spans across New England and New York and extends to the U.S. Armed Forces Garden in Caen, France. Through pro bono work he continues to demonstrate that landscape architecture is a necessary component of a built environment that shapes better communities.
Brian Katen, ASLA, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Brian Katen, of Virginia Tech, received his nomination, in Knowledge, from the Virginia Chapter. Through his practice, research and teaching Katen has demonstrated a commitment to place-based inquiry and has shown a commitment to honoring local and regional cultural identity. His research and teaching challenge first-readings of the landscape and reveal the hidden cultural dimensions of our everyday public spaces. Katen’s research on the diverse layers of Virginia’s cultural landscapes and the sites of memory of marginalized groups have been at the forefront of recent place-based scholarship and has challenged the completeness of our traditional histories. Katen exemplifies what an academic leader should be, undertaking research on Virginia’s invisible cultural landscapes and confirming that early-20th-century African American public spaces were realms for both social encounters and the formation of identity.
Robin Key, ASLA, RKLA Studio Landscape Architecture, New York
Robin Key, of RKLA Studio Landscape Architecture, received her nomination, in Service, from the New York Chapter. During Key’s professional career, she has reimagined iconic sites such as the St. Patrick’s Cathedral grounds and Central Park’s Tavern on the Green. Beyond her award-winning projects, though, she shares her professional expertise to heighten the experiences of others. Her pro bono contributions include landscape architecture considerations for the Olana State Historic Site, the Cultural Landscape Foundation and designNYC. As the Olana Partnership’s first landscape-architect board member, she advocated for a plan for the 250-acre Hudson Valley mansion grounds. Working pro bono with designNY in 2008, she developed an integrated landscape design for Serviam Gardens, which provides low-income housing to seniors in the Bronx. She proves to all who enter her orbit that good places come from grit, determination, generosity of spirit and design excellence.
Kas Kinkead, ASLA, Cascade Design Collaborative, Seattle
Kas Kinkead, of Cascade Design Collaborative, received her nomination, in Service, from the Washington Chapter. Kinkead is a leader in Seattle and at the state and national levels, elevating her profession in the eyes of decision makers when she advocates for sustainable building, green infrastructure and public K-12 educational facilities. She is a member and twice chair of Washington State’s Technical Advisory Committee on publicly funded K-12 schools. With her guidance, the state passed both a funding-eligibility law for outdoor classrooms and a sustainable design protocol for new schools that includes stormwater and low-impact development strategies. Kinkead’s talent for persuasion grows from her ability to personalize projects and her understanding of K-12 educational goals, community values and age-appropriate connections to landscape. She is an advocate for women in the design professions and has been a champion of practice licensure for landscape architects, making her an inspiration to her colleagues and a role model of effective leadership.
Edward Marshall, ASLA, Stephen Stimson Associates, Cambridge, Mass.
Edward Marshall, of Stephen Stimson Associates, received his nomination, in Works, from the Boston Society. Marshall choreographs the elements of his composition—grading, sight lines, planting and context—through an economy of materials and simplicity of forms. He believes an uncluttered landscape allows users to take ownership of a site. From residential gardens to municipal parks and campuses, he employs continuity, scale and sense of place to shape the design concept. Marshall’s craftsmanship and attention to detail reflect his belief that design should infuse all levels of a project. Within his firm he is committed to a collaborative design process and a culture of mentorship, serving as an inspiration for young designers. His landscapes unite sustainability with craft to create environments that heighten awareness with four seasons of beauty.
Chris Moyles, ASLA, Reed Hilderbrand LLC, Cambridge, Mass.
Chris Moyles, of Reed Hilderbrand, received his nomination, in Works, from the Boston Society. Moyles adhered to his firm’s commitment to building sustainably and was one of the profession’s voices for high-performance landscapes that integrate artistic practice with science and technology. His work is straightforward in its spareness and appropriateness to site and program. Moyles believed that a site’s beauty becomes powerful when design reveals the natural systems and processes underlying a landscape’s ecosystem. A designer and draftsman, he lectured on sustainable design practices and ways to ensure that landscape performance endures for lifetimes. He was a valued collaborator among related professionals, clients and communities while encouraging those with whom he worked to find balance and mutual respect among a site’s history, architectural features and contemporary requirements.
Thomas L. Mroz Jr., ASLA, SmithGroupJJR Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich.
Thomas L. Mroz Jr., of Smith Group JJR, received his nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the Michigan Chapter. Mroz has built his career on a foundation of management and leadership. He has applied these skills to advancements in various areas of the landscape architecture profession—yielding transformative impacts for his clients, his firm and a future generation of professionals. He has applied his business acumen both to his firm and to ASLA, serving as a leader and advocate at the state and national levels. Among Mroz’s contributions is his participation in the Landscape Architecture Firm CEO Roundtable and service on the national Board of Trustees. He is renowned for his support of mentorship and professional development among his staff, which includes the establishment within his firm of a scholarship program for landscape architecture students from underrepresented populations, demonstrating his role as a force for the future of the profession.
Michael Edwin Nichols, ASLA, Nichols Design Group Inc., Solana Beach, Calif.
Michael Nichols, of Nichols Design Group, received his nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the San Diego Chapter. From his time as an undergraduate to his earliest days as a Southern California landscape architect, Nichols has been driven to share his talents and passion with his community. He ran for the Solana Beach City Council in San Diego County, beginning his tenure in 2006, and has served three times as mayor. His leadership has transformed his city into an environmentally progressive community in California and has raised awareness among government officials at all levels of the importance of landscape architecture in urban planning. Both as a practitioner and as an elected official, he has guided his city to become an environmental frontrunner on climate-change issues, walkability and green development. Through the example of his professional work and his commitment to public service he has raised the profile of the profession and demonstrated the power of landscape architecture to transform communities.
W. Scott Parker, ASLA, DesignWorks LC, Charleston, S.C.
W. Scott Parker, of DesignWorks, received his nomination, in Works, from the South Carolina Chapter. Parker’s commitment to enriching the lives of others is contagious. Inspired by his passion for place-making, clients, public officials, the public and other design professionals are drawn to him, enthusiastic to join in his effort to bring beauty to their communities. His work ranges from master plans to the smallest gardens, each completed with sensitivity to all living organisms. From his resort work in Kiawah Island, S.C., and Doonbeg, Ireland, to the redevelopment of closed government installations in South Carolina, Alabama and Washington, D.C., his plans have become models for the future. His outreach and advocacy are extensive, such as with the Charleston Parks Conservancy and throughout the Low Country. Both through his professional body of work and the example he sets by his devotion to his community, Parker’s influence will be long felt by the public and the profession alike.
David A. Rubin, ASLA, Land Collective, Philadelphia
David A. Rubin, of DAVID RUBIN Land Collective, was nominated, in Works, by the Pennsylvania-Delaware Chapter of ASLA. Rubin founded his studio following his tenure as a Fellow of The American Academy in Rome in 2011-2012. DAVID RUBIN Land Collective is a landscape architecture and urban design studio committed to practicing with an emphasis on empathy-driven design strategies. They are recognized for designs with positive social impact upon cities, as well as an inclusive approach to engagement. Rubin is responsible for the design of Canal Park in Washington, D.C.; Lenfest Plaza at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Pennovation Campus, both in Philadelphia; as well as The Commonground at Eskenazi Health Hospital, the Indianapolis Museum of Art Master Plan, and the Cummins DBU Headquarters, all in Indianapolis. Rubin is currently a visiting professor at The Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, and has also taught and lectured at a number of educational institutions.
Adrian L. Smith, ASLA, City of New York Parks and Recreation, New York
Adrian Smith, of the City of New York Parks and Recreation, received his nomination, in Service, from the New York Chapter. To engender increased recognition of the role landscape architects play in society, Smith engages everyone from school children to lawmakers with his volunteer projects. He inspires high school students to enter the profession, with a focus on inner-city recruitment, and advocates for regulation that includes landscape architects as equals with architects and engineers. In an era when landscape architects’ services are vital to creating healthy and resilient urban communities, his efforts have opened a seat at the table for his colleagues at the outset of every project. Throughout his service to the public and profession, he has translated into action his love for nature, the environment and design. His calls for advocacy at the chapter and national level have resulted in gains in how the public views landscape architects and their role in community life.
Ted H. Spaid, ASLA, SWT Design Inc., St. Louis, Mo.
Ted Spaid, of SWT Design, received his nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the St. Louis Chapter. Spaid has cultivated a standalone landscape architecture firm in the Midwest, grounded in advocacy for sustainability and evidence-based design. In the alignment of scale, complexity and public engagement, his pursuit of excellence is constant. Spaid is a leader in environmental design and was instrumental in the development of the Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES), leading two SITES-certified pilot projects, including the campus of SWT Design, which the firm uses as a living laboratory. Throughout his career, he has been focused on the development of the greater St. Louis community, including service as the only landscape architect on the City Planning Commission and by leading an effort to provide urban residents with access to fresh produce and open space. He is a leader in issues related to landscape architecture education, reflecting his commitment to ensuring that the profession continues to serve as designer and protector of the public realm.
George E. Stanziale, ASLA, Stewart, Raleigh/Durham/Charlotte, N.C.
George Stanziale, of Stewart, received his nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the North Carolina Chapter. Throughout his career, Stanziale has applied the landscape-architecture design approach to every aspect of leadership and management, a mindset he has employed in the transformation of a traditional engineering firm into its current form as an integrated force of 200 multidisciplinary professionals. Stanziale has pioneered and refined a multidisciplinary, consensus-based approach to design that has transformed the landscape architecture profession in North Carolina. His volunteer leadership includes the establishment of ULI Carolinas, which now supports more than 700 members and the transformation of North Carolina State University’s landscape architecture curriculum into one that balances design with professionalism. By bringing together diverse minds and professions and engaging with the people of his state, Stanziale has unleashed the power of landscape architecture and placed it at the center of the transformation of his community.
Thaïsa Way, ASLA, University of Washington, Seattle
Thaïsa Way, of the University of Washington, received her nomination, in Knowledge, from the Washington Chapter. Way impacts the profession through her teaching, research, scholarship and leadership. As a learner, critic, educator and advocate, she engages the role of design in the social values and environmental ethics related to the concepts of landscape and urbanism. A regarded professor, Way educates students to examine how the histories of urban landscapes, particularly public spaces, inform contemporary design and policy making. Weaving an understanding of history, culture and place, she guides these future practitioners through their exploration of what it means to develop healthy and equitable cities in the U.S. and around the globe. Her writings and lectures have a reputation for scholarship and insights into the role of landscape architecture in the broader world and the intersection of urban landscape, design and history. Way is not merely a chronicler of the profession, but an active agent in its transformation.
Jim Wescoat, ASLA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
Jim Wescoat, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, received his nomination, in Knowledge, from the Council of Fellows Executive Committee. Wescoat is a geographer, hydrologist, historian, educator and landscape architect who bridges the worlds of scholarship and practice. Colleagues call him an interdisciplinary team all to himself. Wescoat’s contribution to the profession not only includes contributions to our body of knowledge but also leadership in addressing environmental problems around the world, particularly those related to water. He is at the top of two fields: the history and conservation of Islamic gardens and large-scale water management and policy. Water has been the unifying theme in his work, especially the study of water-conserving design across varying scales, regions and cultures throughout the world. He contends that water is to a landscape as energy is to buildings and only by scrutinizing how water is distributed throughout society can we understand whether our environmental plans are sustainable. Wescoat has had and will have, an effect on the profession, compelling landscape architects everywhere to think more about structures in geographic and environmental terms and to incorporate insights into how societies draw on local water supplies into their designs.