A Conversation: The Power of Equity in Climate Action - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

Recorded On: 10/07/2024

Sparking a broad conversation about the role of equity in all work, this session poses ways the ASLA Climate Action Plan can structure equity as the umbrella. The power of centering equity in the plan's goals and initiatives will be discussed by leaders of BlackLAN and the Climate Action Plan.

Learning objectives:

Be able to identify the inequities that exist with regard to climate action.
Learn how equity guides the goals and initiatives of the ASLA Climate Action Plan, what the benefits are and how structural equity provides different benefits.
Learn how equity guides the goals and initiatives of the ASLA Climate Action Plan, what the benefits are, and how structural equity provides different benefits.
Learn about strategies for building structural equity that can apply to all work.

Diane Jones Allen, FASLA, PLA

Director of Landscape Architecture / Principal Landscape Architect

UT Arlington / DesignJones LLC

Diane Jones Allen, D. Eng., PLA, FASLA, is Director/Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of Texas at Arlington, and Principal Landscape Architect with DesignJones LLC, which received the 2016 American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Community Service Award. Diane is part of one of a cross disciplinary team, that won the 2020 Skidmore Owens and Merrill (SOM Foundation Research Prize, which examined social justice in urban contexts. She was a 2021-2022 fellow for Garden and Landscape Studies at Dumbarton Oaks, where she researched Maroons in coastal Louisiana. She currently serves on the 2025 ASLA’s Climate Task Force.

Matt Williams, ASLA

Senior Economic Development Advisor

Planning & Development Department, City of Detroit

Matt Williams is a national award winning urban planner (APA) & landscape designer (ASLA) based in Detroit, MI.

Matt currently serves the City of Detroit in the Mayor’s office as a senior advisor on neighborhood economic development. Previously, he served as the project manager of the Warrendale Cody Rouge Strategic Neighborhood Framework plan for the City of Detroit Planning and Development Department. Matt is also the President of the Black Landscape Architect's Network.

He holds a masters degree in landscape architecture from Louisiana State University, and completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.

Jean Senechal Biggs, FASLA

Transportation Planning Manager

City of Beaverton

Jean Senechal Biggs, FASLA, is the Transportation Planning Manager for the City of Beaverton, Oregon. She leads transportation policy and planning, major capital projects, active transportation initiatives, and regional coordination for this growing Portland suburb. Collaboration and community engagement are central to her work, and she frequently finds herself bridging the gap between planning and engineering. She is passionate about building climate forward, equitable communities through walking, biking, and transit. Jean has been an active member of the Transportation PPN Leadership Team since 2016.