A Path Forward: Identifying Accessibility Challenges and Solutions for Historic Landscapes - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

Alexa Vaughn is a Deaf landscape designer, accessibility specialist, Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, and PhD student at UCLA. She has extensive expertise in designing for the Deaf community, facilitation of disabled community engagement, and deep knowledge and passion for the ADA and Universal Design. A visionary speaker and thought leader, her goal is to create more accessible public places that center on disabled experts’ and stakeholders’ lived experience and full participation in the design process. She is a prolific writer and researcher whose work has been featured in numerous publications. Her work can be found at www.designwithdisabledpeoplenow.com.

Laurie Matthews is Director of Preservation Planning + Design at MIG and a nationally recognized expert on cultural landscapes. Her work has helped rehabilitate some of the most iconic historic places in the country such as Yosemite National Park, Willamette Falls, and Point Reyes National Seashore. Laurie's work is guided by the principle that landscape preservation requires managing rather than halting change. Laurie has an M.L.A. and B.L.A. from University of Oregon where she also teaches. She is Oregon's HALS representative, serves on the Restore Oregon board, and is former president of Oregon ASLA.

Monica Rhodes is an international award-winning cultural preservationist who has made significant contributions at the intersection of history, policy, and civic engagement. She has established programs at national organizations to advance socially and economically inclusive preservation practices. Rhodes was appointed by President Joseph Biden as an Expert Member of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

Over the course of Rhodes' career, she has spearheaded the development of hundreds of partnerships, engaged thousands of community members and impacted millions of visitors to national parks through preservation efforts at some of our nation’s most iconic sites.