Board of Directors

Alexa Bush, PLA, is passionate about creating equitable and resilient cities. She is the Director of the Planning & Development Department for the City of Detroit, managing a team responsible for planning and implementing neighborhood and economic development citywide. She rejoined the department after three years working in philanthropy at the Kresge Foundation, funding public space, climate-focused, and equitable economic recovery projects in Detroit, having previously spent six years working at the city, helping restructure the department after Detroit’s municipal bankruptcy. 

Alexa is a licensed landscape architect and received her bachelor's degree in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard University and her Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia.

Elaine Kearney, FASLA, PLA, leads TBG San Antonio as Managing Principal where she works to create compelling landscapes rooted in the ecology and unique environment of the Edwards Plateau region. Before returning to her native Texas in 2015, Elaine practiced in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Portland, Oregon. Her background also includes academic engagements at such institutions as Trinity University, Boston Architectural College, and Portland State University. Elaine was honored as the recipient of the 2022 Texas ASLA Service Award for her commitment to advancing landscape architecture causes in Texas and beyond.

Elaine believes that the issues of our time require the nuanced voices of landscape architects and was attracted to serving on the LAF Board of Directors, in part, by LAF’s emphasis on future practitioners. She’s excited to play a role in expanding diversity and access to landscape architecture education through LAF’s scholarship programs.

Alma Du Solier is a Mexican-American landscape architect and the Studio Director at Hood Design Studio, an award-winning cultural practice based in Oakland, California, which merges landscape architecture, public art, and urban design. Alma has a Bachelor of Architecture from ITESM (Mexico), and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. She has been practicing in the U.S. since 1999, where she has been the lead designer for a wide range of projects primarily in complex urban settings. Alma is a recurrent guest lecturer for advanced design studios at UC Berkeley.

Alma joined the LAF Board of Directors because of her admiration for LAF’s mission which recognizes the transformative effect landscape has in our cities and beyond. In particular, she has contributed time and thought leadership to the LAF programs that provide direct support to students and young professionals. 

B. Scott LaMont, PLA, is a 25-year veteran of EDSA. As CEO, his responsibilities include overseeing the 180-person firm, setting the tone of a firmwide culture, and developing a growth strategy that prioritizes design excellence. Possessing a collaborative style, Scott has a proven track record in leading teams, projects, and strategic initiatives. Optimistic and a critical thinker, his domestic and international experience spans large scale planning assignments to mixed-use, residential, hospitality, and urban works that have strengthened EDSA’s reputation as a creative leader. Scott holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Florida, where he currently serves as the Chair of the Landscape Architecture Advisory Board.

Scott joined the LAF Board of Directors because he strongly believes in the profession’s ability to shape the future through resilient design solutions. He uses his personal experiences to problem solve and contribute to thoughtful conversations while supporting the mission and initiatives of the organization.

 Kevin Conger, FASLA, PLA, is a Founding Partner of CMG Landscape Architecture. With a focus towards creating democratic public space and improving the social and ecological wellbeing of our cities, he believes greater community awareness and engagement results in better stewardship and more sustainable communities. He was awarded a Seed Fund Fellowship for his commitment to creating more vibrant, democratic public spaces in San Francisco, and contributes considerable volunteer efforts for public space issues.

When Kevin was an undergraduate student, his professor, Gary Dwyer, asked students on the first day of class to write down why they wanted to study landscape architecture. Kevin’s journal entry said: “To make a positive difference in environmental design.” Kevin is particularly interested in helping LAF with its work to cultivate new leaders in landscape architecture, specifically through the LAF Fellowship and LAF Ignite programs. He enjoys learning from the inspiring people that are involved with LAF.

Lauren Leighty, PLA, is a Vice President and Campus Studio Leader with SmithGroup. She is a trusted partner to many respected higher education institutions across the country, helping them plan for their futures and address the multi-layered challenges they are facing. As both an urban designer and a landscape architect, Lauren is skilled at working across scales. Lauren received a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Urban Design from the University of Michigan. She is a member of SmithGroup’s Board of Directors and the University of Michigan’s Taubman College Alumni Council.

Lauren is incredibly honored to continue the rich legacy of SmithGroup’s (formerly JJR) involvement with LAF. She sees it as an opportunity to magnify her own capacity to influence change and also to work alongside her peers in landscape architecture to translate energy and passion into action.

C.L. Bohannon, PhD, FASLA, is Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs + Community Engagement and Associate Professor in Landscape Architecture in the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia. Dr. Bohannon works in the landscape context of community history and identity, social/environmental (in)justice, and community learning. His research has contributed to the theorization and application of community engagement in design education. He teaches courses on community-engaged design research, design research methods, and seeing, understanding and representing landscapes.

He served as the President of the Virginia Chapter of ASLA in 2019 and was elevated to ASLA Fellow in 2023. His inspiration to be on the LAF Board of Directors stems from his deep commitment to fostering inclusive and equitable communities through design and to advocating for and implementing practices that promote justice and inclusion in the field of landscape architecture.

Alexis C. Landes is Managing Principal at SCAPE, where she oversees firm-wide business development, project development, and finances. She liaises with clients to understand their needs, working within SCAPE to develop tailored design solutions, operational strategies, and project teams. Over the past 8 years, she has overseen the firm's expansion from one office with 12 staff members to 3 offices with nearly 100 staff members. As an experienced landscape designer and urban planner, Alexis has led the project teams for the Resilient Boston Harbor Vision and subsequent coastal resilience plan for the Dorchester neighborhood in the city. Profiled in Madame Architect on her leadership role at SCAPE, she frequently lectures about operational strategies for firm growth and practice across the U.S. 

​​In her role at LAF, she works with fellow board members and affiliated groups to advance collaborative leadership across the field of landscape architecture, advocating for diversity of voices across the Foundation's work and professional practice at large.

Rikerrious Geter is an Associate at SCAPE. His experience working across the west coast conveys his approach to practice – working with and for community. In his work, Rikerrious examines how public space can encourage equitable, healthy, and sustainable communities through active community participation, while maximizing ecosystem health. Rikerrious received his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Georgia. He also serves on the Executive Board of BlackLAN and formerly on the Washington ASLA – SEP Committee, and the Seattle Design Commission.

Rikerrious believes that an important strategy to increasing awareness of climate change and access to public space in marginalized communities of color is by increasing their voice and participation in the profession. He is excited to help continue LAF's legacy of reducing financial barriers through the Foundation's scholarship programs and focus on climate resilience.

Patricia Algara, FASLA, PLA, was born and raised in Mexico, she is the founding principal of award-winning BASE Landscape Architecture. A recognized leader in sustainable design and community involvement, Patricia creates landscapes that immerse people of all backgrounds and abilities in learning, exploration and play. Patricia’s community involvement and advocacy expand the boundaries of traditional landscape architecture. She founded an NGO that creates healthy habitats for pollinators. She has lectured at many universities nationally and internationally. She received her MLA from UC Berkeley in 2007.

Patricia is honored to be part of the LAF Board of Directors because of her admiration for LAF’s work and mission which believe that landscapes have the power to affect the world and change people’s lives.  She also sees this as an opportunity to learn, grow, and innovate alongside outstanding leaders in the profession. She is particularly committed to representing the voice of pollinators as species extinction has been identified as a key issue in the need for sustainable landscape solutions greater than ever and the need to identify nature as our main client.

Meg Calkins, FCELA, FASLA, is a Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at North Carolina State University and holds an MLA and MArch from the University of California at Berkeley. She has taught and written about resilient site design and sustainable construction for twenty-five years. As an LAF Fellow for Leadership and Innovation she advanced a book manuscript with the working title, Details and Materials for Resilient Sites: A Carbon Positive Approach that will be published by Routledge in Spring 2025.

Meg is also the author of Materials for Sustainable Sites and editor of the Sustainable Sites Handbook. She has taken an active leadership role in development and implementation of the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) since 2003. She is pleased to serve on  the LAF Board of Directors to continue her work advancing the profession of Landscape Architecture to meet the challenges of climate change.

Liz Camuti, PLA, ASLA, is an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at Tulane University, where she directs the Gulf Coast Climate Futures project, supported by the National Academies’ Gulf Research Program. Her expertise is in visual storytelling and geospatial representation aimed at effectively communicating complex ecological, economic, and social systems to public audiences as part of an engaged design process.

In addition to her work at Tulane, she is a licensed landscape architect and Senior Associate at SMM in New Orleans where she applies nearly a decade of experience in climate adaptation and coastal resilience work to public projects at various scales across the Southern U.S. She previously worked at SCAPE Landscape Architecture, where she played a key role in developing graphic communications strategies for large-scale regional planning projects, including Louisiana's 2023 Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast.

As the graduate 2018 National Olmsted Scholar and a former LAF Innovation + Leadership fellow, Liz is passionate about helping new generations of students make contributions to the field that will shape the future of landscape architecture.

Gonzalo Cruz, ASLA, is the Design Principal for Metro New York and leads AECOM’s Urbanism + Planning Practice locally as well as strategic collaborations across the Americas and abroad. His award-winning studio portfolio incorporates traditional forms of practice as well as large-scale infrastructure as it is driven by public realm design. Gonzalo’s diverse professional accomplishments are rooted in his interdisciplinary background. In recent years, he has been creating innovative work at the intersection of large-scale infrastructure and placemaking with a focus of coastal resilience design, including South Battery Park City Resilience Wagner Park and Pier A Plaza, Brooklyn Montgomery Coastal Resilience Open Space and Hoboken Cove Waterfront Park to name a few. His practice has received awards from ASLA, AIA, NYC by Design and the Chicago Atheneum Design Excellence Award in Open Space design for World Trade Center’s Liberty Park. Gonzalo holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the City College of New York and a Master of Landscape Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.

As one of the founding principals of C+R, Aida Curtis, FASLA, has built a practice over four decades focused on the enrichment of the public realm. Through the range of her experience — from the largest public projects in South Florida to meaningful philanthropic efforts — she leads with a spirit of collaboration centered on design and social equity. She is the only landscape architect appointed to serve on the Climate and Heat Health Task Force of Miami-Dade County and helped to develop its first Extreme Heat Action Plan. Aida convinced the City of Miami to establish an ordinance that requires a landscape architect to be involved in all projects that involve stormwater and encourages all waterfront development to follow the Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines.

On the LAF Board of Directors, she looks forward to collaborating with a diverse group of professionals to advance landscape architecture into a leadership role in addressing climate crisis. As a Hispanic female, she wants landscape architects with diverse backgrounds and voices coming together to answer this urgent call to action.  

Ari Daman, PLA, is a landscape architect and urban designer, and the founder and creative director of Public Landscape and Urbanism Studio (PLUS), a socially conscious design practice with offices in San Francisco, Bengaluru, and Chennai. Founded in 2020, PLUS serves as a platform for a new generation of landscape architects and allied professionals to engage in projects that advance ecological resilience, social impact, and inclusive public spaces. Ari also co-founded the Narayanan Family Foundation, which supports innovation in social and ecological design, AI for social good, and educational opportunities for underrepresented children and youth. Through the Foundation and PLUS, he has helped launch design incubators, research fellowships, and community-based ecological initiatives in both India and the U.S.

These initiatives reflect Ari’s belief that design can be a catalyst for environmental and social change. He is committed to empowering the next generation of designers with mentorship and opportunities, and through his role on the LAF Board, he looks forward to advancing access to education, leadership, and support for emerging landscape architects dedicated to ecological and socially impactful work.

Jennifer Dowdell, ASLA, is a Practice Leader in Landscape Ecology, Planning and Design, where she merges ecological resilience strategies and environmental justice in design and planning. Her projects include greenways, parks, institutional lands, brownfields, and urban ecological frameworks. She previously worked ASLA, contributing to Landscape Architecture Magazine and Government Affairs. Jennifer has also written for the Wilson Quarterly, PLACES Journal, The Nature of Cities blog; she recently contributed a chapter in The Landscape Approach: From Local Communities to Territorial Systems. She has lectured at Columbia University, Morgan State, University of Michigan, UVA, Temple University, Montana State, University of Maryland, and University of Texas. She’s spent time in the Balkans, Aotearoa- New Zealand, and Australia exploring generational community relationships to rare ecosystems.

As a member of the LAF Board of Directors Jennifer looks forward to cultivating deeper discussions around the biodiversity crisis; holistic and equitable approaches to landscape resilience in response to climate change.

Grant is a member of Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation, Chair and founding member of the Canadian Society for Landscape Architect’s (CSLA) Reconciliation Advisory Committee, and Indigenous Design Lead at PFS Studio where he works closely with Indigenous collaborators on planning and design projects. Grant was the first Canadian to be named National Olmsted Scholar by LAF in recognition of his research on climate adaptation informed by Traditional Knowledge. In 2021 the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects awarded him the Emerging Professional Award for his demonstrated leadership and contributions to the profession.

Grant holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design from the University of Manitoba, Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of British Columbia, and a Master of Urban Design in Landscape Architecture with distinction from Harvard University.

As Deputy Chief of Urban Design, Diana Fernandez Bibeau works to elevate the importance of design and champion the transformative power of green, equitable and walkable communities for all. As part of her work, she partners on the Mayor's Green New Deal agenda and various city departments to align urban design efforts into a comprehensive vision for the city. Over the span of over a decade, Diana has worked across private and public sectors to build a design portfolio that reassesses the policies that have perpetuated race, gender, environmental and socioeconomic inequality, and created new design methodologies that can respond to and correct them.

Diana is honored to join the LAF Board of Directors in supporting the advancement of landscape architecture and the power of design to make our world a better place. LAF has profoundly transformed the trajectory of her career and she is honored to serve as a board member.

Eric Gilbey, PLA, uses his professional experience as a practicing landscape architect and his experience in CAD and BIM in his role as product marketing manager for the landscape industries at Vectorworks, where he continues to help landscape architects develop best practices, including sustainable site design and site-specific BIM. He is a past president of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, past president and trustee of the Maryland ASLA chapter, and continues to serve as a leader of ASLA’s Digital Technology PPN.

Since learning about the LAF and the Sustainable Sites Initiative in 2010, Eric has pursued technology development to assist and enable better performing landscapes through design and analysis. His employer, Vectorworks, began sponsoring the LAF in 2013 and as a director, he looks forward to providing thought leadership and industry/academic outreach to disseminate the knowledge and resources generated for the betterment of practice and our environment.

Michael Grove, FASLA, PLA, is a partner and Principal Landscape Architect at Sasaki. Leading the much of the firm’s international work, he offers unique insight into the impacts of urbanization in rapidly growing cities around the world. Michael's career spans a variety of project types and scales including regional planning, urban districts, and waterfronts. He collaborates closely with clients, consultants, stakeholders, and a host of allied professionals to generate planning and design strategies that result in visionary yet pragmatic solutions.

Michael is a fierce advocate for the vital role that landscape architects play in shaping contemporary society, and believes that the role of the designer is to make cities more livable, equitable, resilient, and just. He was attracted to serving on the LAF Board of Directors because he feels that landscape architects need to foster collaboration within and beyond our professional expertise to exchange best practices, increase dialogue, remain curious, and be more visible as thought leaders. Landscape architects must claim a strategic seat at the table where decisions impacting the future of the planet are made, and Michael feels that LAF’s focus on expanding diversity in the profession is critical to ensure that a variety of perspectives, expertise, and lived experiences result in more inclusive solutions to the pressing social and environmental issues of our time.

Allison Harvey, PLA, is a Principal at OJB and co-established the firm’s Philadelphia Studio. She leads OJB*lab, the firm’s research initiative, advancing design through inquiry and innovation. Her approach celebrates the convergence of art and science, where she leverages her training in physics and research prior to becoming a licensed landscape architect. She was the inaugural recipient of the LAF Research Grant in Honor of Deb Mitchell, supporting her work on air quality in near-highway public spaces — research that continues through collaborations with the EPA and informs major projects like the Chinatown Stitch in Philadelphia. Her research and project work is dedicated to creating generational landscapes rooted in ecology, culture, and wellness.

Allison brings a transdisciplinary lens to landscape architecture. She’s inspired by LAF’s commitment to innovation and stewardship. As a member of the LAF Board of Directors, she looks to champion research-driven methods and cross-sector partnerships to shape resilient, equitable landscapes.

Ying-yu Hung, FASLA, PLA, is a registered Landscape Architect in California and a Fellow at the American Society of Landscape Architects. She holds a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from Harvard University, and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Architecture from UC Berkeley. Ms. Hung has over 30 years of experience practicing landscape architecture; she is the recipient of multiple national awards. Currently, Ms. Hung manages the Los Angeles office of SWA – an international landscape, planning and urban design firm with over 60 years of history working on projects in the U.S. and abroad. Ms. Hung relishes working in the public realm. Her deep passion lies in the design of small-scale intimate spaces. As a designer who focuses on serving local communities, her ability to choreograph spaces and materials lead her to create beautiful, timeless environments that are rich in experience as well as sustainable. A strong believer in mentoring the next generation of environmental stewards, Ms. Hung has taught design studios at University of Southern California and at Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, and continues to give lectures at various professional conferences.

Jacob Kuhn, RLA, is currently a Senior Landscape Architect at MNLA. His experience designing and managing projects in the public realm with multiple community stakeholders has made him keenly aware of how critical an inclusive design process is. His approach to design is driven by a passion for environmental justice, as well as a belief that the intersection of landscape, ecology, art, and culture holds immense potential for a more connected, resilient future. Jacob is a Registered Landscape Architect in the state of New York, and he is a WEDG Associate.

As a 2018 LAF Olmsted Scholar, Jacob has been a longtime champion and admirer of LAF's role in leveraging the talents of landscape architects to create enduring, positive change for people and the planet. As a Board member, he hopes to engage with designers, policymakers, and communities to overcome the resistance to climate policy and create systems that are supported by political will, community backing, and long-term investment.

Clarence Lacy is a Senior Project Director at RIOS. His experience working in Toronto, the San Francisco Bay area, and Los Angeles works to transform the way we think about cities - using landscape architecture to express inclusively the individuals’ voices to unify, inspire, and enlighten communities. Throughout his career, Clarence has been dedicated to increasing pathways into the profession for BIPOC students, creating equitable access to public space and examining scaled impacts of environmental justice.

On the LAF Board of Directors, Clarence is particularly interested in initiatives that address the growing inequities around climate change and access to nature and quality green space. He is also wants to make the profession more accessible and supportive of Black and Brown students and young professionals.

Conners Ladner, PLA, is a Principal at Design Workshop, where he serves on the firm’s board and helps lead the Austin Studio. His work spans urban parks, cultural landscapes, and large-scale ecological systems, guided by rigorous research, comprehensive analysis, and an iterative design process. Conners is passionate about creating resilient, people-centered places that reflect the unique character of their context.

Informed by his Master of Arts in Human Dimensions of Organizations, Conners leads with empathy and a belief in the power of collaboration. A dedicated mentor and advocate for studio culture, he finds purpose in guiding emerging designers as they develop their voice, refine their craft, and grow into confident leaders. Conners is excited to help shape how LAF continues to nurture leadership, mentorship, and growth within the profession.

José de Jesús Leal, ASLA, is a truth-teller, and a Landscape Architect, who considers laughter good medicine. His personal and professional journeys have always been spiritual—guided by the understanding that he is still a student with a deep passion for learning. As Director of MIG's Native Nation Building Studio, his work focuses on the power of co-creation and inclusive community-based design and planning that is culturally sensitive. For José, supporting Native Nation sovereignty and Native community self-determination are critical goals. As a centuries-old practice shaped by culture, José uses landscape architecture to uncover, explore, and reflect hidden truths and stories that can lead to healing, restoration, and a better path forward.

José is humbled to have the privilege to serve on the LAF Board. He is inspired to help LAF find ways to contribute to Native communities’ vitality and wellbeing while supporting positive change for future Native Landscape Architects.

Jade Paul is a landscape architecture principal for Jacobs.  For over two decades Jade has dedicated her career to design inspired by natural processes, based on the notion that ecology and vibrant people-centered space can thrive simultaneously.  She leads Jacobs’ nature positive strategies for the Americas and has worked with organizations such as the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure and the Urban Land Institute to advance regenerative design and implementation strategies.

Jade is humbled and thrilled to serve on the LAF Board of Directors. She truly believes landscape architects are a key in solving our climate crisis because landscape architects have a deep understanding of how nature can give back, balance, add beauty, and self-repair, simultaneously.

Veronica Rivera is a registered landscape architect and architectural designer at Field Operations in the San Francisco office. Having worked in Puerto Rico, Berlin and New York City, she brings a broad international perspective of culture, ingenuity, and creativity. Veronica is a remarkably creative designer with a notable attention to detail, focusing on the continuity of projects from concept to construction. Veronica’s experience includes Resilient by Design work in South Bay, the Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront and Salisbury Gardens in Hong Kong, Navy Yards Central Green in Philadelphia, and the Presidio Tunnel Tops project in San Francisco.

On the LAF Board of Directors, Veronica looks forward to infusing her creativity, enthusiasm, and range of cultural insights into the organization's mission. She wants to further amplify the reach and impact of landscape architecture, elevating it as both a discipline and a passion.

Richard Roark is a landscape architect and partner at OLIN. Physical and social resilience are the principle drivers in his work, which spans a range of scales and types from planning a climate adaptation plan for New York’s food distribution system, to building a resilience park in Hoboken New Jersey, organizing a community based economy in the Eastern Market of Detroit, and connecting Los Angeles across the 51 miles of the LA River. Richard is committed to bringing communities together in the public realm while ensuring development creates value without displacement, is socially just, and creates opportunities for many.

Gary Sorge, FASLA, AICP, is the Landscape Architecture Practice Lead for global design firm, Stantec.  His 35-year career has been dedicated to advancing a collaborative and systems-based approach to landscape architecture as it intersects with transportation, ecosystem, public realm, and community design.  Leading nearly 300 landscape architects, designers, and technicians, Gary’s breadth of knowledge from ecology to economics yields a richly grounded practice.  Under his leadership, the practice has maintained a longstanding focus on the role of landscape architecture in addressing complex infrastructure renewal and adaptation challenges. 

Gary has led major interdisciplinary projects from planning to implementation.  He is a fellow with the American Society of Landscape Architects and has held numerous elected and appointed civic positions with a focus on conservation, education, preservation, and economic sustainability.  

As an LAF Board member, Gary hopes to help broaden our presence as interdisciplinary leaders, elevate STEM education to best prepare practitioners for the technical environmental challenges facing our communities today, build awareness of and access to the profession, and establish fairness in compensation so that students and emerging professionals can foresee life-long careers in practice.

Anna Spooner, PLA, is a principal and partner at Anchor QEA, where she leads the firm’s landscape architecture practice. With nearly two decades of experience, Anna has built and directed interdisciplinary teams of landscape architects, engineers, ecologists, and planners to deliver transformative waterfront and coastal projects across the West Coast and beyond. Her work integrates ecological science with social relevance, from restoring vital salmon habitat in Puget Sound to advancing climate adaptation strategies in California that merge flood protection, public access, and habitat restoration.

Starting her professional life as a wildlife biologist to balance recreational use within critically endangered habitat, Anna has always been fascinated by the interface of people and wild landscapes. Anna is committed to mentorship, collaboration, and expanding the role of landscape architects in shaping resilient and inclusive communities.

Sustainability Leader at Landscape Forms, Amy Syverson-Shaffer, ASLA, is a SITES Accredited Professional and TRUE Zero-Waste Advisor who uses her design acumen and deep contextual understanding to implement industry-leading sustainable approaches. Since 2023, she’s served on the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee, and prior to joining Landscape Forms, she honed her landscape architecture expertise at leading firms DAVID RUBIN Land Collective and Sikora Wells Appel. She graduated Cum Laude from the Temple University School of Environmental Design with a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture where she also served as an adjunct professor. Amy is driven by connecting people to nature and to one another, drawing on her background in landscape architecture, her passion for great design, and her strength in facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration to implement innovative new strategies to reduce environmental impacts and expertly take on today’s biggest challenges.

Autumn Visconti, RLA, is a Regional Design Lead at HOK and a recognized leader in landscape architecture and urban design. She specializes in transforming infrastructure into resilient, equitable public spaces that prepare cities for climate change and strengthen community connections. Her award-winning work includes leading the design of the $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency project in Manhattan and the forthcoming Brooklyn-Queens Park, which will convert a highway into a linear park and greenway. She also led the design of Etihad Park, New York City’s first soccer-specific stadium, which is set to be Major League Soccer’s first fully electric venue.

An Urban Design Forum Forefront Fellow and “Outstanding Alumna” of Virginia Tech, Autumn is also an active member of ASLA and a frequent speaker on the role of landscape architecture in city-making. Autumn values LAF’s mission to advance cross-disciplinary collaboration and is inspired to serve on the Board of Directors to help shape a more climate-resilient and equitable future for cities.

Kona Gray, FASLA, PLA, is a firm leader with 30 years of experience in 30+ countries and his global design and management sense has positively shaped the outcomes of many environments. His portfolio ranges from large-scale planning to detailed site design with emphasis on communities, parks, hospitality, public realm, and campus spaces that solve meaningful issues.

Kona is the Immediate Past President of the American Society of Landscape Architects. He is also a Past President of the Landscape Architecture Foundation and an active member of the Urban Land Institute. He is a registered Landscape Architect and holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Georgia.

Taner Özdil, PhD, is an Associate Professor for the Program in Landscape Architecture and Associate Director for Research for The Center for Metropolitan Density (CfMD) at The University of Texas at Arlington. His scholarly and professional activities focus on economic, environmental and social value creation through landscape architecture, urban design and physical planning practices primarily in mixed-use environments, high density urban areas, and metropolitan regions.

Dr. Özdil is the 2025-26 President of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) and previously served as Vice President for Research and Creative Scholarship. He is a three-time CSI Research Fellow in LAF's Case Study Investigation program (CSI). Dr. Özdil received his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Ankara University, his Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Colorado at Denver, and his PhD from Texas A&M University.