Washington, D.C., April 19, 2016—The American Society of Landscape Architects has elevated 28 members to the ASLA Council of Fellows for 2016. 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 as demonstrated by their works, leadership and management, knowledge and service. The new class of Fellows will be recognized at the 2016 ASLA Annual Meeting & Expo, October 21-24, in New Orleans.
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.
Kenneth Bates, ASLA
Durango Custom Works LLC
Durango, Colo.
Kenneth Bates, of Durango Custom Works, received his nomination, for Service, from the Florida Chapter. Throughout his career he has served the Society assiduously. He brought more visibility and expansiveness to his chapter’s awards program. He also halted a state deregulation threat in 2011 and thereby galvanized the Society’s membership as stewards of public health, safety and welfare. To him, every venue is an opportunity to advance the profession—from his extensive community service to volunteer work within ASLA at all levels.His government advocacy efforts and ability to expand national recognition of landscape architects and students have proven him a champion for his chosen profession. His leadership, including contributions as chair of the ASLA nationalChapter Presidents Council, serves as a fitting example of how selfless dedication can raise public awareness of the value of landscape architecture.
Cathrine Deino Blake, ASLA
Stanford University
Palo Alto, Calif.
Cathrine Deino Blake, of Stanford University, received her nomination, for Leadership/Management, from the Northern California Chapter. For the past 20 years she has been the university landscape architect for Stanford’s 500-acre campus, widely recognized for its spectacular beauty and landscape integrity. The landscape white paper she developed is the guiding philosophy for all current work done on the campus. During the university’s $5 billion building program, which has involved the nation’s most prestigious design firms, she has been the client representative solely responsible for bridging the heritage of Frederick Law Olmsted and Thomas Church with modern environmental concerns. Her leadership has raised awareness of the value of the campus landscape and raised the bar for all landscape architects. She initiates and manages the landscape infrastructure project budget of $3.5 million per year as she ensures thoughtful, appropriate, student-friendly and forward-thinking planning and design.
Richard D. Centolella, ASLA
EDSA Inc.
Baltimore
Richard Centolella, of EDSA, received his nomination, for Works, from the Maryland Chapter. His portfolio of more than 300 projects encompasses memorable works that shape the social, economic and environmental well-being for all who visit, work and play within them. He understands clients’ needs and gets to the core of programmatic issues, which has positively influenced the tourism industry and economic vitality of entire regions. He consistently and artfully deals with construction issues and permitting with a focus on authentic, experience-based design that respects cultural sensitivities. He exudes passion, engenders high expectations and constantly strives to pursue excellence and integrity. Because of the relationships he has skillfully developed around the globe and his ability to nurture the next generation of landscape architects, clients call him when they need creative design and an undying determination for getting projects built.
Paula V. Cortés, ASLA
Cortés Associates
Cambridge, Mass.
Paula Cortés, of Cortés Associates, received her nomination, for Service, from the Boston Chapter. Through her award-winning work and community service leadership of multiple constituencies, hers is a showcase of the value and influence of landscape architecture and landscape architects. Protection and development of abandoned or underutilized open urban space are at the core of her passion for public betterment and longstanding service within the profession. Her gardens and public spaces, which includes extensive pro bono contributions, have become centers for community activity and respite and much-loved sites for wedding photographs, musical evenings, summer picnics, cooking classes and gardening workshops. Her conviction is to create more livable, inviting public landscapes. The many positive results of her leadership and skillful design are impressive evidence of her energy and commitment to the profession and the many people her work has blessed.
Thomas R. Doolittle, ASLA
Alta Planning + Design
Cambridge, Mass.
Thomas Doolittle, of Alta Design + Planning, received his nomination, for Service, from the Boston Chapter. As an advocate for the profession and ASLA leader, he has advanced the public’s understanding of landscape architects’ contributions to vibrant public spaces and livable, walkable cities. He volunteers countless hours to connect with other professions, organizations and civic groups to improve the lives of those around him. His organizational skills are invaluable, and his dedication and commitment to the profession are clearly evident to those with whom he works. His balanced perspective and clear expression of ideas consistently provide solutions to critical concerns, most notably within the Government Affairs Advisory Committee, which includes representation on all sides of the political spectrum, and on the Transportation Alternatives Program towards sustainable pollination populations.
Lake Douglas, ASLA
Louisiana State University
New Orleans
Lake Douglas, of Louisiana State University, received his nomination, for Knowledge, from the Louisiana Chapter. His expertise in American cultural landscape history—with particular focus on 19th century agriculture, horticulture and gardening—has resulted most recently in an exploration of the superlative agricultural reformer Thomas Affleck. His governance of peer-reviewed research continues to reveal the development of the profession. His critical literary work has provided volumes of new information about evolving environmental awareness, design theories, garden styles, garden workers and horticultural commerce. He has published extensively in academic journals, popular magazines, books and professional publications in America, Europe and Asia, most often with a focus on the intersection of landscape architecture and other disciplines. His long and distinguished career as a meticulous researcher and prolific writer to document American cultural landscape history has advanced profoundly the profession of landscape architecture.
Gregory D. Duckworth, ASLA
Founder, Environmental Concepts LLC
Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Gregory Duckworth, of Environmental Concepts LLC, received his nomination, for Service, from the South Carolina Chapter. In support of his profession, community, constituents and South Carolina, State Rep. Duckworth is a recognized leader in all his endeavors. He inspires others as he actively seeks service opportunities with passion, creativity and integrity. In the state legislature, his vision and experience as a landscape architect have propelled him to influential committee positions with oversight on issues of transportation, energy and the environment. His creativity and dedication are invaluable resources in addressing infrastructure improvement statewide as a means toward a better economic future. Earlier, while serving on the City of North Myrtle Beach Council, Duckworth contributed a tree-planting master plan and a focus on low-impact development and wind power generation that holds true to that city's ecological heritage as a premier Grand Strand destination.
Eric Ernstberger, ASLA
Rundell Ernstberger Associates Inc.
Indianapolis
Eric Ernstberger, of Rundell Ernstberger Associates, received his nomination, for Works, from the Indiana Chapter. His landscape designs reconnect communities. From small civic plazas and water features to massive urban redevelopment projects and durable spaces that host thousands of people, his work has received nearly 100 local, regional and national design awards and have been featured prominently in national design journals. He believes that carefully organized and detailed spaces for people to enjoy engage communities in a dialogue that strengthens relationships, and his creations are visited by millions of people each year. The development of Rundell Ernstberger Associates into one of the most respected design firms in the Midwest can be attributed to his extraordinary design creativity and graphic communication skills. He listens, observes and responds to his clients’ needs and presents design solutions that are innovative, inspired and attainable.
Charles Fryling, ASLA
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, La.
Charles Fryling, of Louisiana State University, received his nomination, for Service, from the Louisiana Chapter. Through his significant and longstanding volunteer service, he has led multiple diverse efforts to preserve and create significant environmental landscapes in Louisiana and neighboring states. His generous pro bono devotion of time and knowledge as a landscape architect in turn have preserved the cultural heritage these landscapes embody. It is evident to all with whom he has worked that his efforts are informed and guided by the professional ethics and stewardship tenets of ASLA. He is a leading spokesman and expert in the protection of the Atchafalaya River, the nation’s largest river basin swamp and the principal distributary of the Mississippi River. He is unique among experts on the Atchafalaya due to his skillful application of the design principles and philosophies of landscape architecture.
Robert J. Golde, ASLA
Principal, Towers|Golde LLC
New Haven, Conn.
Robert Golde, of Towers|Golde, received his nomination, for Works, from the Connecticut Chapter. The bold clarity and elegant simplicity evident in his body of work belies his sophistication and technical achievement. His subtle understanding of the complex constraints and opportunities of each specific site, insight into the aspirations of each stakeholder and sensitivity to conflicting concerns consistently leads him to functional, budget-sensitive and contextually appropriate solutions; solutions that are also strikingly beautiful. His greatest works gracefully resolve complex programmatic needs on difficult, historically sensitive and often constricted sites. His advocacy for the profession and for the principles of sustainability and humanism extend far beyond his built work. Both nationally and locally, his service and outreach have advanced significantly the visibility and efficacy of the profession, garnered the respect of allied professionals, and encouraged the next generation of practitioners.
Lucy Lawliss, ASLA
National Park Service (Retired)
Bradenton, Fla.
Lucy Lawliss, of the National Park Service, received her nomination, for Leadership/Management, from the Virginia Chapter. As the first historical landscape architect hired by National Park Service in the southeast region in 1991, she rose to national leadership and managed some of our country’s most treasured landscapes. Her career has ranged from regional cultural landscape program manager, to superintendent of three national parks and as the national NPS program manager in Washington, D.C. She has also authored and edited award-winning publications and served on influential national boards, which includes her tenure as board chair for the National Association for Olmsted Parks. She has also participated as a consultant to protect and promote nationally and internationally significant landscapes. She has put to good use her ability to enlighten fellow professionals, politicians and the general public on the meaning, value and importance of landscape preservation.
Tom Leader, ASLA
Principal, Tom Leader Studio
Berkeley, Calif.
Tom Leader, of Tom Leader Studio, received his nomination, in Works, from the Northern California Chapter. His career is distinguished by his ability to design and build artful parks, campuses and urban projects and apply those talents to communities that have the most to gain from them. Among his artistically original projects based on concepts of local culture are Shanghai Carpet, exhibited at the 2005 MoMA Groundswell Exhibit and Pool Pavilion Forest, which received a 2009 ASLA Honor Award. He is a respected advocate for the role of landscape architecture in the transformation of cities, such as with Birmingham’s Railroad Park, which changed the city’s entire civic dynamic; RiverFirst, along five miles of the Minneapolis riverfront; and Richmond Bayway,his firm’s current pro bono initiative in San Francisco.
E. Timothy Marshall, ASLA
ETM Associates LLC
Highland Park, N.J.
Timothy Marshall, of ETM Associates, received his nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the New Jersey Chapter. As a leader in public space management, he has provided strategies and guidance for many of the nation’s most respected landscape architecture firms and has an impressive list of significant national and international projects. His work is continually guided by the notion that parks and other public spaces that thrive are those that transcend the commonplace in all aspects of design quality, programming, facilities and maintenance. To him, design, implementation and ongoing management form a continuum of dynamic processes. He identifies and addresses potential problems through the creation and evaluation of alternative solutions to management goals and user needs. Beginning with his early work on Central Park, he is now an international authority and high-level practitioner of the art of park creation, restoration and operation.
Kim Mathews, ASLA
Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects
New York City
Kim Mathews, of Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, received her nomination, in Works, from the New York Chapter. Kim has consistently been bestowed with awards for both her planning and constructed work with institutional and public realm clients. Her design approach is solidly grounded in the fundamentals of thorough research, careful planning, ecosystem restoration and robust community engagement. Her substantial body of work demonstrates her commitment to the discovery and incorporation of a site’s cultural history. She promotes ecological function and develops solutions imbued with an authentic sense of each unique place. She works well with multi-year schedules and chronic funding challenges, and clients and communities value her dedication, enthusiasm, design ethic and ability to negotiate complex endeavors. Her most significant achievements are the result of long-lasting relationships with clients who appreciate her ability to address historic and cultural landscapes, especially in ecologically challenging settings. She is also a perennial advocate for the profession through ASLA.
Alan D. McKnight, ASLA
Columbus Recreation and Parks Department (Retired)
Columbus, Ohio
Alan McKnight, of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, received his nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the Ohio Chapter. The first landscape architect to serve as director of the Recreation and Parks Department in Ohio’s largest city—through times of economic expansion and the Great Recession—McKnight led a staff of 350 in the creation of new parks and greenways and maintained a system of 240 parks, 15,000 acres of real estate, 29 community centers, seven swimming pools, scores of athletic facilities, 90 miles of multiuse trails and six golf courses. His partnership approach to leadership changed the face of his city and connects the burgeoning Central Ohio region. He commissions landscape architects as the prime design consultants on major urban multidisciplinary park projects. The highly regarded, 20-year transformation of the downtown Columbus riverfront is now complete, and the effort has been led entirely by landscape architects.
David Meyer, ASLA
Meyer + Silberberg
Berkeley, Calif.
David Meyer, of Meyer + Silberberg, received his nomination, in Works, from the Northern California Chapter. Winner of the Rome Prize in Landscape Architecture, Meyer has distinguished himself through his rigorous approach to both design and execution. His goal has always been to create and build landscapes that transcend – that honor the inherent qualities of a site – and anchor themselves in the hearts and minds of the people who experience them. To Meyer’s mind, the most evocative, powerful spaces are characterized by purity, simplicity and restraint. They have visual order and make sense to the eye and the intellect. He credits his Iowa origins for this appreciation of strong, simple, sensual designs that employ nature’s palette judiciously. He has brought his signature integrity and rigor to projects ranging from a temporary installation at the American Academy in Rome to a 9,000-acre national park in China.
Gregory Miller, ASLA
Morrow Reardon Wilkinson Miller Ltd.
Albuquerque, N.M.
Gregory Miller, of Morrow Reardon Wilkinson Miller Ltd., received his nomination, in Service, from the New Mexico Chapter. At a time when similar professional organizations were suffering serious membership crises, he led a concerted effort to develop and enact an aggressive agenda that ensured the stability of ASLA. His strategy focused on programs that provide a wide range of valuable professional practice tools, help emerging professionals thrive, and maintain a diverse membership demographic. During his service as the New Mexico chapter trustee, on the Membership and Emerging Professionals Committees, and as vice president, he restructured the ASLA membership services programs, developed and instituted a decade-long program to bolster recruitment and retention, and dramatically enhanced the tangible benefits that membership affords practitioners, emerging professionals and educators. In short, his way to strengthen landscape architecture and its professional society was to strengthen every ASLA member.
Daniel J. Nadenicek, ASLA
University of Georgia
Athens, Ga.
Daniel Nadenicek, of the University of Georgia, received his nomination, in Knowledge, from the Georgia Chapter. He has dedicated his life to expanding the knowledge base of the profession through research, teaching, administration and service, with a particular focus on landscape architecture history. His prolific writings include scores of peer-reviewed and invited papers globally and chapters in scholarly publications. He served on the UGA Press editorial board, helped develop a new landscape design book series and currently edits Critical Perspectives in the History of Environmental Design and coedits Landscape Journal. His academic career encompasses more than 30 separate courses, 4,000 students, 25 master’s thesis committees and four Ph.D. committees. At Penn State, Clemson and Georgia, he worked with faculty to start six new programs; secured resources for students, faculty and the public; and engaged in more than 30 service projects.
Harriet Pattison, ASLA
Harriet Pattison Landscape Architect (Retired)
Newtown Square, Pa.
Harriet Pattison, received her nomination, in Works, from the Council of Fellows Executive Committee. She has been a principal collaborator with America’s most distinguished architects on projects now considered international icons that demonstrate the precise integration of landscape and 20th century Modernist architecture. This includes her insightful direction with Louis Kahn on both the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park in New York City. In these and her many other masterful works, including the Hershey Company International Headquarters, her designs evoke the complex, meticulous detail that seamlessly blends buildings and their landscapes. Her work puts on display her deft ability to handle complex sites and difficult design challenges. Likewise, working with Peter Bohlin on the Governor’s Mansion Garden in Harrisburg, Pa., she succeeded in the perfect combination of dignity and timeless grace.
Timothy F. Peterson, ASLA
SWA Group
Houston
Timothy Peterson, of SWA Group, received his nomination, in Works, from the Texas Chapter. His body of work has garnered dozens of design awards from ASLA, the American Planning Association and the American Institute of Architects and has elevated the quality of life throughout the Houston region by providing critical open civic space, such as Buffalo Bayou Park and Hermann Park Reflection Pool. His strength lies in his ability to translate innovative design ideas and carry them through design documentation, while working alongside contractors to realize the design’s fullest built potential. His command of the full range of design, technical, cost, and project management issues for large-scale urban design and landscape projects is unmatched. Through his expertise in landscape architecture, construction and project realization, he guides designs from inception on with a focus on ensuring a beautifully crafted project that is buildable and on budget.
Todd Richardson, ASLA
Richardson & Associates
Saco, Maine
Todd Richardson, of Richardson & Associates, received his nomination, in Works, from the Boston Chapter. Recognized regionally and nationally, his work spans the spectrum of project types and geographic locations with a balance of private, nonprofit and public projects. He engages audiences as small as a single client or classroom of students to larger communities and institutions. His influence as a designer is wide and lasting. Through both the processes and outcomes of design, he produces exceptional work that continually explores how places connect us to each other, to ourselves and to the landscape. The essence of his work is about the far-reaching possibilities held in these connections. His urban and naturalistic built work is beautiful and well-grounded with an indigenous quality. Materials used in deceptively simple ways appear to have always belonged where they are, and with timeless quality.
Elizabeth A. Sargent, ASLA
Liz Sargent HLA
Charlottesville, Va.
Elizabeth Sargent, of Liz Sargent HLA, received her nomination, in Works, from the Virginia Chapter. With a background in botany, American history and landscape architecture, she has been a steward to America’s most important places, including nine of America's 22 World Heritage Sites, 33 National Historic Landmark properties and more than 50 National Parks, shaping places as diverse as Mount Vernon, the Everglades, the Salk Institute and Valley Forge. She is adept at capturing the essence of landscapes and important features in ways that make sense to interdisciplinary teams. The view she articulates is that landscapes are shaped over time by the intersection of natural systems and human intervention. Her ecological approach to cultural landscapes management and preservation engages all disciplines with which she works. Her scholarly research, eloquent writing and practical and creative approaches to historic landscapes are remarkable.
Kenneth R. Seamon, ASLA
Seamon, Whiteside & Associates Inc.
Mount Pleasant, S.C.
Kenneth Seamon, of Seamon, Whiteside & Associates Inc., received his nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the South Carolina Chapter. His firm's successes are testament to his leadership, integrity and quest for excellence without ego or pride and with only the best interests of the community and environment at heart. Within his firm he has developed a culture that combines landscape architecture and civil engineering, with landscape architecture taking the lead to develop a holistic approach to master planning, design and construction. He challenges his colleagues to serve the community. One result of this approach has been landscape architects who are aware of the issues of stormwater and infrastructure management and civil engineers who are sensitive to the environment and the overall sense of place. A strong supporter of ASLA, his firm has produced three chapter presidents, a chapter trustee and a national vice president.
Scott Siefker, ASLA
Taylor Siefker Williams Design Group
Indianapolis
Scott Siefker, of Taylor Siefker Williams Design Group, received his nomination, in Service, from the Indiana Chapter. In the face of the recent recession, he has been instrumental in standardizing administrative, functional and legal requirements for local chapters so that his fellow ASLA members continue to enjoy the Society's services and public outreach. The vitality of many ASLA programs today owe their sustained success to his organizational abilities, commitment to professionalism and attention to detail and follow-through. These well-organized and well-received contributions have elevated the visibility and prominence of the profession. His update of the ASLA Chapter Operations Workbook includes best practices for chapters of different sizes, business documentation and archiving, and guidelines for a variety of operational standards for awards programs and digital content development. His leadership also created what is now a month-long annual celebration of landscape architecture.
Gary Strang, ASLA
GLS Landscape/Architecture
San Francisco
Gary Strang, of GLS Landscape/Architecture, received his nomination, in Works, from the Northern California Chapter. He is one of the first of the new generation of landscape architects to focus on urban landscape commissions in the era of urban revitalization and densification. Licensed in both landscape architecture and architecture, his work brilliantly creates a seamless synthesis of architecture, infrastructure and beautifully conceived and executed places to live, work, play and worship. He embodies the true complexity of the practice of landscape architecture with a razor-sharp intellect that fuels his award-winning design, practice and publications. He has responded to the need to connect people with nature by demonstrating the potential for rewarding new landscape types on piers, rooftops, garages and in densely impacted urban conditions. Through study, teaching, writing and professional practice, his work has contributed to expanding the traditional definition of landscape architecture.
Pat D. Taylor, ASLA
University of Texas
Arlington, Texas
Pat Taylor, of the University of Texas, received his nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the Texas Chapter. As a landscape architecture educator and advocate of the profession for 46 years and leader within the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, he is a leading proponent for the profession to related disciplines and the public. His expertise encompasses landscape architecture, urban design theory, resource management master planning, park planning and design, qualitative research methodology and organizational communications. He was instrumental in the establishment of the International Studygroup for the Multiple Use of Land (ISOMUL), a global platform for scientific debate and publication. As the UT Arlington program director he has chaired 63 thesis committees in addition to his professorial and administrative duties and responsibilities. Six have received national awards. He leads by example as he continues to shape the next generation of landscape architects.
Richard E. Toth, ASLA
Utah State University
Logan, Utah
Richard Toth, of Utah State University, received his nomination, in Knowledge, from the Utah Chapter. As a landscape architect and educator, with a particular emphasis on bioregional planning and design in the American West, he has authored more than 30 articles and research papers. He was among the first to develop interactive computer landscape modeling. From the beginning of his career at Penn State with Ian McHarg to his lasting dedication and commitment to responsible and inspired planning, he is dedicated to the culture and traditions of landscape stewardship. Hundreds of landscape architects in practice today have looked to him for mentorship and share his dedication to the profession. His outreach to communities, government bodies and environmental organizations have likewise engaged people outside the profession in regional planning, respect for the landscape and the duty of everyone to live responsibly.
Ramiro Villalvazo, ASLA
USDA Forest Service (Retired)
Fairfield, Calif.
Ramiro Villalvazo, of the USDA Forest Service, received his nomination, in Leadership/Management, from the Council of Fellows Executive Committee. The 2014 recipient of the ASLA LaGasse Medal, he has distinguished himself and his profession throughout the course of his career. His leadership in and dedication to public land management and international ecotourism have benefitted innumerable communities. He has also served as a catalyst and effective Forest Service proponent in the protection and management of scenic corridors. Moreover, he has been an ardent promoter of landscape architecture within the U.S. Forest Service. He served as the chief landscape architect for the Forest Service in Washington, D.C. As forest supervisor of the Eldorado National Forest in California, he managed 700,000 acres and a staff of more than 300 people. And, as the USFS Southwest Region public services director, he led the management of 18 national forests.
Headshots of the Fellows-elect are available to the media upon request.
Contacts:
Karen Grajales
Email Contact
(202) 216-2371.
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.