Madeline is a former Akronite living in Orlando, Florida. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture degree with a French minor from The Ohio State University in 2010. After the recession, she found her way back to landscape architecture with a position at Nimrod Long & Associates in Birmingham, Alabama. She gained experience in both public and private work then obtained licensure in June 2017. Later that year, Madeline joined Dix.Hite + Partners where her current project focus includes campus, roadway and streetscape design, multi-family developments, residential design, community hardscape and landscape renovations, and exterior building color studies.

Donnie Longenecker is an entrepreneur and educator. His firm, DTC, provides a planning, program and project management services for a wide variety of clients and projects. Donnie also serves as a Lecturer and Continuing Education Coordinator for the University of Georgia College of Environment and Design.

Laurel Raines is a landscape architect with a career spanning over four decades, focused on transforming communities through environmentally sustainable design. Co-founding Dig Studio in 2012, she has pioneered water-wise practices and local ecological vernacular in public projects like Paco Sanchez Park and Carpio Sanguinette/Heron Pond Park. A Fellow of the ASLA, Laurel advocates for landscape architecture’s role in shaping healthier, more sustainable environments. Her design expertise includes parks, recreation centers, and inclusive play areas. Passionate about community, she serves on various boards and holds degrees in Plant Science from the University of Vermont and Landscape Architecture from Harvard.

Will Viitanen is a landscape architect and project leader at Livable Cities Studio. He specializes in enhancing the creative process, design, and technical execution across various project types, including public realms, green infrastructure, and university campuses. His work focuses on using design to tackle social, economic, and environmental challenges, creating unique and memorable spaces. With a background in architecture, Will approaches design with an emphasis on craftsmanship and detailing, while his landscape architecture expertise supports a sustainable, integrated, and place-based design approach that prioritizes performance and resilience.

Gordon Robertson has been a Parks and Recreation professional for over 30 years with an Urban Planning Degree from the University of Texas. He possesses an internal passion for nature, the physical environment, and placemaking. Gordon has learned to love urban planning, community outreach and understanding, and strategic organizational alignment. He has worked for the Lower Colorado River Authority in Austin, TX, as a community planner and as a project manager (1995-2001), then as Director of Park Planning, Design and Construction (PDC) for the City of Arlington, TX (2001-2007) before taking his current role as the Director of PDC for the City of Denver, CO (2007-).

Shawn assists with the compilation and transmission of Council Records; evaluation of Council Records for CLARB Certification; and answers questions about the L.A.R.E. administration and eligibility.

Jeff Holzer is a licensed Landscape Architect in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is a Certified Playground Safety Inspector for Kimley-Horn and Associates. Jeff has 7 years of experience with a practice in active and passive parks, playgrounds, streetscapes, school/universities, and athletic fields. As Kimley-Horn's only CPSI, Jeff has advised on over 70 playgrounds across 19 states. Jeff volunteers on the LARE Prep committee for ASLA, and the REC TALK committee for the National Recreation and Park Association. In 2020, Jeff won the ANOVA sponsored napkin sketch design competition with a sketch and essay entitled Inclusive Playgrounds for All.

Madeline is a former Akronite living in Orlando, Florida. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture degree with a French minor from The Ohio State University in 2010. After the recession, she found her way back to landscape architecture with a position at Nimrod Long & Associates in Birmingham, Alabama. She gained experience in both public and private work then obtained licensure in June 2017. Later that year, Madeline joined Dix.Hite + Partners where her current project focus includes campus, roadway and streetscape design, multi-family developments, residential design, community hardscape and landscape renovations, and exterior building color studies.

Sarah combines a passion for play, the outdoors and movement with more than 12 years in the play industry and hundreds of presentations given on topics from inclusive design and musical play to trends in play at Parks and Recreation Conferences, District Meetings, Landscape Architect Firms, and Representative Trainings. As an advocate for play as a critical part of development, she serves on the Steering Committee of the US Play Coalition, on the Parks & Recreation Editorial Advisory Board, as part of the IPEMA Marketing Committee, is a member of multiple play research project teams, the Product Development Council, and presents at a variety of conferences. She studied Communications and Political Science at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and has been an integral part of many research studies on play, movement and community impact. She spends her spare time hiking, running, biking, and climbing and with her (many) rescue dogs.

Rachel Gora has been with Buell Recreation since 2010, bringing over a decade of experience in the playground and recreation industry. Known for her consultative approach, Rachel partners closely with landscape architects, municipalities, schools, and community groups to deliver thoughtful, high-quality outdoor spaces.

With a background as a kindergarten teacher and a mother, Rachel offers a unique blend of creativity, empathy, and practical insight. She understands how children interact with play environments and uses that perspective to help clients create spaces that are inclusive, engaging, and built to last.

Rachel collaborates with designers, product specialists, and manufacturers to ensure each project meets the highest standards of quality and functionality. She is passionate about creating environments that bring communities together and believes every project is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on children and families.

Emily is a Senior Associate and licensed landscape architect at Dana Brown and Associates in New Orleans, Louisiana, with over five years of professional experience. She currently serves as co-chair of the Advocacy Subcommittee of the National ASLA Climate & Biodiversity Action Committee, where she helps develop resources for members and expand the nationwide Climate & Biodiversity Action Network. Emily also serves as Climate Action Chair for the Louisiana Chapter of ASLA, advancing climate and biodiversity initiatives by highlighting how firms across the state are implementing the plan and connecting practitioners with national resources. Driven by a deep commitment to preserving Louisiana’s cultural landscapes and heritage, Emily designs spaces that are both resilient and community centered. 

Aida Curtis has over 35 of experience as a landscape architect, arborist, certified landscape inspector and leader of her firm Curtis + Rogers Design Studio. Leading the Hispanic/Woman-owned landscape architecture firm in South Florida has allowed her to create sustainable spaces that are economically and socially inclusive. Aida’s portfolio includes award-winning transportation, recreational, institutional and civic projects. She serves on the American Society of Landscape Architects National Climate Action Committee and lectures on landscape architecture’s ability to address climate change. Her commitment to environmental stewardship, sustainable development and resilient landscapes has benefitted hundreds of municipal, transportation and other civic projects.

Chelsea is an Associate, AICP-certified planner, and landscape designer at Livable Cities Studio, where she focuses on community-driven, climate-resilient planning and design. She is active in external organizations, serving as the Deputy Director of Marketing & Communications for the WxLA organization and serving as President on the executive board for the ASLA Colorado/Wyoming Chapter. She brings strong communication skills and a collaborative approach to advancing resilient outcomes for communities. Chelsea earned dual master degrees in Landscape Architecture and Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Colorado Denver in 2021.

Amy Syverson-Shaffer is passionate about connecting people to nature and to each other. Her past work as a landscape architect and in business development frames her collaborative approach to taking on big challenges. Today, she is lending her design acumen and contextual understanding to leading sustainability for the modern craft manufacturer, Landscape Forms. Since 2023, she’s served on the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee, working to bridge between key efforts by Landscape Architects and their industry partner community. On any given day, you'll most likely find her working in the garden.

With a background in public health and biology, Gaelle approaches landscapes as a set of living and social systems. She believes that wonder and play are central to designing active, social, and healthy places that inspire stewardship. Gaelle embraces wide ranging landscape influences to create spaces, finding inspiration from her childhood in Mexico, France and Alabama. Gaelle has both managed and designed projects ranging from single family residential to schools and mixed-use trails.

Sarah is a planner who focuses on creating meaningful planning processes and public engagement that result in effective plans that will be used for years to come. She is passionate about fostering vibrant, strong communities through creative, engaged, and meaningful planning. Through each project she uncovers and celebrates the unique assets of communities, crafting tailored policy and project recommendations that build on their authentic identity.

With a background in environmental science and urban planning, Kelsey is the founder of Mental Landscapes, an emergent emotion-meets-design lab that weaves understanding of depression with landscape design to reimagine spaces that comfort, support, and accompany people through mental health experiences. She was named the Fall 2023 Artist-In-Residence at Allerton Park and Retreat Center, a speaker at SXSW 2024, and published her first book, Mental Landscapes: Depression as a Design Lens for Belonging in Public Space, in 2025. Kelsey practices at Epstein as a Senior Planner and holds a master’s of Community and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon.

For over 20 years Jennifer has worked at the interface of ecology, landscape architecture, & conservation planning, leading projects ranging from regional greenways to state and national parks, institutional and educational campuses, and citywide ecological networks merging landscape ecology, climate resilience, and equity strategies with regenerative design. Her practice engages principles of systems-ecology, resilience, biodiversity, and environmental justice, facilitating dialogue and socio-ecological narratives that engage nature in design. Jennifer has published pieces in Landscape Architecture Magazine, PLACES Journal, theEarthIssue#4, The Nature of Cities, and contributed to the book, The Landscape Approach: From Local Communities to Territorial Systems.

Grant Thompson, ASLA, PhD, PLA, LEED AP, is a landscape architect, horticulturist, and urban soil ecologist with over 15 years of experience. His practice career includes planning and built work in parks and open space, urban design, and college and university markets. His research includes peer-reviewed publications about tree biodiversity, soil microbiomes, and biodiversity-ecosystem function in the built environment. He co-organized the 4th International Urban Tree Diversity Conference in 2022, is the chair-elect of the Board of Directors for Trees Forever (IA, IL, WI), and Iowa Urban Tree Council advisor, and a member of the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Change Committee.

Christian was the lead designer for the Louisiana Children’s Museum, working with museum staff and local horticulturists and biologists to design the experiential and ecological landscape. Christian is passionate about designing at the intersection of nature, culture and human health in the public realm. He has worked on parks, education and ecological design projects across the country, from the Mariposa Grove Restoration at Yosemite National Park, to Blakely Elementary School on Bainbridge Island, and the Issaquah Anchor Parks Master Plans. He is currently designing several inclusive and nature-based playgrounds in park and educational landscapes in the Pacific Northwest. 

Kyle Verseman currently serves as Regional Sales Manager for Landscape Forms where he leads a team of business development representatives across the Southeast Region. In this role, Kyle works closely with landscape architects, designers, and planners to turn conceptual needs into built realities. Having spent two decades as a landscape architect and project manager for SmithGroup, Kyle is well versed in building meaningful relationships through listening, understanding client aspirations, and providing technical expertise to ensure design intent is met while optimizing project outcomes. A Past President of the Michigan Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, he currently serves as President of the Michigan Chapter ASLA Foundation, a non-profit committed to providing educational and financial resources to improve diversity within the profession of landscape architecture.